GBSC Juniors Program
Mature students aged 13 to 18 are eligible to apply for membership in GBSC Juniors Organization.
A trained and qualified person may fly solo in a glider at age 14, and may become an FAA-certified Private Pilot at age 16 (and can take their parents for a flight before they obtain their drivers license).
Q: Where can I find out about GBSC
A: www.soargbsc.com
Junior members are assigned work shifts at the field and receive glider flight instruction. A shift typically includes:
Moving club aircraft in and out of GBSC’s hanger
Learning to preflight gliders and performing positive control checks
Ground towing club and private gliders to and from tie downs/trailers to the grid
Retrieving gliders after they land, acting as wing walker,
Hooking up tow ropes to tow planes and gliders
Acting as wing runner to
launch the gliders
The work shift in turn provides credits for the flight instruction, glider rental and tow fees.
GBSC Junior membership is a remarkable opportunity for young people to acquire important skills in the science and sport of flying, as well as teamwork, and that may also develop into a life-long hobby. Once acclimated to their skills and responsibilities most of our Juniors demonstrate a remarkable maturity, safety-awareness, and presence-of-mind while executing their ground duties and flight training.
Q: What
commitment is required of a Junior?
A: The junior must have:
A genuine interest in aviation.
Be available for shift duty approximately twice a month. (Though assigned shifts are scheduled around school and family activities.)
Acquire and actually read the recommended text used by the club for instruction.
Take flight instruction on a regular basis.
Q: When are
work shifts scheduled?
A: The Jr is scheduled based on their availability from April through November
for either a Saturday or Sunday AM or PM shift (more below).
Q: How do I
learn to fly?
A: Show up on the weekends, take flights with GBSC instructors, talk with other
pilots, read about how to fly, and then fly some more. Your GBSC instructors are
excellent. Not only will you learn how to fly, you'll learn how to do it safely.
Q: When can
a Junior get instruction?
A: On a day when they are scheduled to work, that is their main focus. But if
other instruction demand is not high the student can take a flight on their
shift day. They can also fly on any other non-shift day getting the same
priority to fly as any other member. During the season there is also a midweek
TEG (The Evening Group) that generally starts mid-afternoon into the evening
(note the number of students may be capped on any TEG based on instructor
availability).
Q: How does
flight instruction work?
A: A junior will fly in a two seat glider with an instructor. The student will
be in the front seat, the instructor in back. Both front and back seats have
identical controls so if needed during flight, the instructor can “nudge” or
take over the controls to help ensure a safe flight.
Q: Who can join the GBSC Juniors program?
A: Any mature young man or woman over 13 is eligible, but there are a limited
number of slots in the program. The Juniors Coordinator can advise you
concerning availability. Note that any Junior must be mature enough to develop
both a safety first attitude and situational awareness (these skills are taught
and nurtured by the club). As you can imagine, operating around spinning
airplane propellers and aircraft moving at high speed can be dangerous, and as
such definitely requires a safety first attitude.
There are
also both min and max weight limitations. Depending on the two seat glider used
for instruction, the weight range for a Junior must be around 80 to 220 lbs.
A prospective Junior can not have any physical or mental disabilities that would
prevent them from safely participating in ground operations or flying a glider.
Contact the Junior coordinator if you would like to discuss this further.
Q: Is it dangerous?
A: First off, note that any junior must be mature enough to
be safety conscious and develop situational awareness (this is a skill taught
and nurtured by the club). As you can imagine, operating around spinning
airplane propellers and aircraft moving at high speed can be dangerous, and as
such requires a safety first attitude.
So yes, it can be dangerous, but a Junior will be taught the skills needed, both for ground operations and in flight instruction, to minimize unsafe conduct and actions. Risks can be minimized through learning and skill development, but they will never be eliminated. This pretty much applies the same to any other activity in life.
Q: Is it a lot of work?
A: It requires a commitment in time and energy. Learning to
fly is largely a practiced skill and is VERY fun to learn. There there is also a book and studying component. You'll find
that reading makes your lessons much more productive and much more fun. Is that
work? No, not really.
Q: I can join the club as a "Student" and qualify
for lower membership rates than an adult member. What is the advantage of being
a Junior?
A: You mean besides the cool hats and secret handshakes?
You'll be working and learning to fly with a group of people very much like
yourself in so many ways. The Juniors form a
relatively close knit group of friends, many of whom form friendships that
extend to off the field and throughout the year. In addition, there is a
significant financial advantage to Junior membership:
dues are less than Student level and instructional flights are completely free
by performing "field duty".
Q: How much time is needed for field duty?
A: A junior can be scheduled as much as twice in a three week period. But the
scheduling revolves around their availability (such as school activities, family
vacation, etc.). A shift is five hours: 9AM-2PM and 12PM-5PM. Two Juniors are
scheduled for the AM shift, one for the PM. The overlap of shifts provides for
extra help during the busiest time of the day. If you cannot work a particular
day for any reason, it is your responsibility to find a Junior replacement. (So
you can pick up extra shifts this way).
Q: What does this "working" entail?
A: Mostly ground operations - launching, retrieving, and towing gliders. Also,
sometimes washing and helping fix gliders. Miscellaneous things like helping
clean out the shacks, stepping in for the logger, etc. You'll be trained for the
tasks.
Q: How much do lessons cost?
A: There is no charge for lessons. There IS a charge for a launch: $11 for the hook up, $10/hr glider rental (2 hours maximum), $12/1000' of tow. As a student, you will typically tow to 3000' above ground (AGL). That's typically $57 per flight with or without an instructor. (Prior to receiving an instructor endorsement for solo, you'll always fly with somebody else, almost always it will be an instructor.) The Really Good Part: each shift you work is worth a 3K tow in any of the club ships. Essentially, you're making a bit over $10/hr doing fun work and hanging out with cool people.
Q: Does the club only operate on weekends?
A: All the regular operations occur on the weekends from
mid-April to the end of November.
Q: Is it worth it?
A: Working around an airport and flying aircraft can be
dangerous so you have to pay attention. Getting your license requires a
Q: What
happens if operations are canceled?:
A:
Unfortunately, bad weather happens. If it is raining, too windy, or expected
conditions are not conducive to having a safe operation, the op may be delayed,
curtailed, or outright canceled. In these events emails go out on a club group
email list. It is a Junior’s responsibility to
monitor for club emails announcing op changes. Unfortunately the
club can not provide work credit in
these situations.
Q: Is
flight simulation software helpful in learning to fly?
A: The
club strongly endorses Condor soaring software to help develop basic soaring
skills. It is quite noticeable to an instructor when a low time student flys the
glider at a higher level of proficiency than expected, due to the student using
simulator software. Note that there are other flight simulators, such as
Microsoft’s Flight simulator that students use, but Condor was written
specifically for gliders and as a bonus, New England scenery can be installed so
that the student can practice taking off and landing at Sterling.
Q: Can
a Junior fly more than they earn credits for?:
A: Yes they
can, but parents will be on the hook for any extra charges that aren’t covered
by their work credits.
Q: How
can a Junior help defray the cost of additional
instruction?
A: A
number of scholarships are available each year from the Soaring Society
of America (SSA) and associated aviation organizations.
For further information contact the Juniors' Coordinator.