Tony Condon (while visiting the Cafe staff in Uvalde)
Thank you! There are several people that make up the SSA Youth Committee. For example, each of our scholarships has a person in charge of it and we also have contacts with several other organizations, such as the Civil Air Patrol and Boy Scouts of America.
How many young pilots will you have to take care of? Boys and girls? Up to what age are SSA members considered to be youth members?
Right now there are about 750 Youth members of the SSA, and yes boys and girls. SSA Youth members are all 23 or under. We are starting a new membership sub-class for youth under 18 called the Cadet membership which is free to join and includes 3 months of Soaring and a monthly email newsletter. With this new membership class we hope to grow to well over a thousand young members and perhaps more.
Where are they located, and how in this huge country, do you manage to address them or get them altogether?
We literally have Youth members spread from Alaska to Florida and everywhere in between. This does cause a problem with communication and we hope to improve that with the new monthly email newsletter which will go to all SSA members under 23. I would also like to see the return of Junior soaring camps to encourage in person flying activity with youth from around the country.
Which future goals or plans do you have for the SSA youth members? I’ve heard about a program?
Beyond the new Cadet membership, we have a progressive scholarship program to help qualified youth through initial and post-solo training, up to and including the Kolstad Scholarship which is $5000 towards college studies. The SSA is also offering a 90% rebate for Junior pilots flying in sanctioned contests in 2013. Long term I think the general goal is to encourage young people to get involved and learn about the sport and for us to be available to help them out whether they are just solo or trying to represent the USA at the Junior World Championships.
Where are most of the young people being trained? Is there any such thing like a most popular place to fly or to meet for young pilots?
Most young people learn to fly at their local club, like the rest of US glider pilots. Some of our larger clubs, such as Harris Hill in Elmira, NY and the Texas Soaring Association in Midlothian, TX have very successful youth programs where young people work the line and in exchange are rewarded with free flight training.
Tony in Falls City, NE after his Gold distance flight: “A good memory!”
What about your own soaring career? At what age did you start?
I started flying gliders when I went to college at age 19. I had previously learned to fly airplanes and was a CFI in airplanes by then. I started flying cross country in my Cherokee II, a low performance single seater, and never looked back, mostly flying straight out free distance flights. I’ve since worked up to a Gold Badge with one Diamond, some state records, and have flown the Cherokee in a few regional contests. I’m also a fairly active CFI-G and towpilot with my club, the Kansas Soaring Association.
What are you doing when you are not busy with soaring related stuff?
Ha, it seems that everything I do is soaring related! My day job is as a Design Engineer in the aircraft industry in Wichita, KS. Otherwise I do like to occasionally go rowing on our local river with my wife Leah. Everything else that I do seems to have a glider involved.
Do you have a special motto for your new assignment? Will you let us know about it?
No special motto but I will be sure to keep the OLC updated on our activity
Anything, I forgot to ask?
Sure, the Youth Committee’s home page is http://www.ssa.org/myhome.asp?mbr=7503688335. Young people who are interested in the Cadet Membership can sign up at http://cadet.ssa.org. My email address is abcondon@gmail.com and I’d like to hear about local youth activity and what we can do to support it. Thanks!
