I got my PPL and was then introduced to gliding by a friend (who owned an old Auster and was unhappy I didn't know what the foot rests were for).
I agree the way
weekend flying is organised at most clubs does mean it's an all day activity - as opposed to pitch up just before your booked slot, fly, go home. When I was a member the subject of arranging a booking system, for the weekends, used to come up occasionally in the bar - every time, once the extra costs involved in paying the winch driver, retrieve driver and wing holder were considered, it was dropped as the vast majority were not prepared to pay the extra. So the system is:
- Those that get there first and help get the gliders out and setup the winch / control point get their names at the top of the flying list
- When you reach the top of the list you will have 1-3 flights (depending on whether its a winch or aerotow site)
- Once you have flown you can add your name to the bottom of the list - most weeks you'll get another go
Everywhere I've been the list is on view - no chance for a self important instructor (not that I ever met one) to play with the order. There will tend to be 2-3 instructors and gliders - so its suprising how quickly the list turns over.
At the end of the day all those left are expected to help pack everything away. At the club I belonged to there was never a shortage of helping hands as "The bar opens AFTER the hangar doors close" was a firm rule.
That said many clubs run weekday courses as well (See Mary Meaghers post). If you want a more intensive course then this is for you. Unless weather intevenes 1 instructor, 1 glider, 2 pupils works well - both pupils will get 8 winch launches a day. 8 flights is enough for anyone to "fill their boots" at early stages of gliding - you really don't want much more. The non-flying pupil helps retrieve the glider, after landing, and learns an awful lot about gliding while they are the student non-flying. On one of these courses most(?) PPLs will go solo.
There are even some clubs / instructors around who you can arrange 1:1 tuition with (that's how I did my basic training).
The bottom line is that its a different environment from most flying clubs - some will love it, some won't. I truly believe you will get out of it as much as you put in. I loved the 8 years I spent gliding regularly (illness in the family means I can no longer devote the time needed - so I'm having a break at the moment).
One comment I would make is that some clubs are more welcoming than others. When I was deciding which club to join I spent a weekend just walking into the clubhouse of various clubs and looking lost - at some clubs I was ignored (so didn't even bother to ask for information), at others I was immediately asked how I could be helped. Guess which club I chose. Again - much the same as flying clubs. I would strongly suggest that, in view of the amount of time you're going to spend there, a similar approach is very worth while before deciding on a club.
Addressing Ghengis point about being "inviting" to visiting aircraft....
Once I had solo'd in the glider I occasionally used to pop up to the club in a C172. As a fairly low hours ppl / tyro glider pilot I was always worried I would miss spotting a glider in the circuit and would cause the pilot problems avoiding me on final. On a couple of occasions I got to the club, realised it was a busy day, and flew home again without landing.
Imagine the problems that could be caused by a visting power pilot, unfamiliar with gliding, who gets in the way of a first time solo gliding student on final - they don't have the opportunity to go-round (as a light/microlight pilot can).
I don't think, in most cases, its that they don't welcome visiting pilots - its more a question of making sure that any visiting pilots are going to be safe in a glider circuit. The variable nature of the circuit (variable height, variable shape, variable direction) will not be something most power pilots have experienced.
Wow - once I started didn't I go on.....
OC619