gliding is definitley good news. although the hours count for nothing ( i have 600 'useless' ones!) it certainly helps judgement on approach, and will generally improve your lookout. oh, and have also done plenty of genuine forced landings, which is also useful experience.
i dont think anyone who does go gliding would be negative about it though! where do you guys fly? £4 a flight is well cheap!
and we tend to have a better understanding of the weather too...
[This message has been edited by landedoutagain (edited 24 February 2001).]