Too true. My first flying experiences were as a Staff Cadet on Vikings (proper gliders !!) I spent many a weekend strapping on parachutes, walking out first time fliers, strapping them in, lying in the wet mud hooking up the cable and running alongside holding the wingtip till the pilot could hold it up themselves (
)
I may get the odd flight at the end of the day, a few if I was lucky. Slowly but surely, I made my way up to C cat instructor before joining the RAF.
I now have over 3000 hours, 100 missions in OIF/OEF and would love to get back into gliding if I had the time. And when I do, I expect to repeat it all again to get trained up.
The VGS is a great place to fly, which runs on the hard work of those already in it. It's a place where your dues need to be paid before you get to do the fun stuff.