Gliding in the US

[Rob Shepherd]

I rececntly spent a short time in Breckenridge Co. and was not only amazed
at how good the sky looked for gliding but the total absence of gliding
facilities in the area.

It then got me thinking that as I travel alot in the US, how does a UK
pilot go about flying in the US?

Cheers
Rob

[[email protected]]

On Oct 6, 8:10*am, Rob Shepherd > wrote:
> I rececntly spent a short time in Breckenridge Co. and was not only amazed
> at how good the sky looked for gliding but the total absence of gliding
> facilities in the area.
>
> It then got me thinking that as I travel alot in the US, how does a UK
> pilot go about flying in the US?
>
> Cheers
> Rob

Go to SSA site at SSA.org and find "where to fly" site. Most clubs and
commercial operations have ways to accomodate guests.
Good luck
UH

[Frank Whiteley]

On Oct 6, 6:21*am, wrote:
> On Oct 6, 8:10*am, Rob Shepherd > wrote:
>
> > I rececntly spent a short time in Breckenridge Co. and was not only amazed
> > at how good the sky looked for gliding but the total absence of gliding
> > facilities in the area.
>
> > It then got me thinking that as I travel alot in the US, how does a UK
> > pilot go about flying in the US?
>
> > Cheers
> > Rob
>
> Go to SSA site at SSA.org and find "where to fly" site. Most clubs and
> commercial operations have ways to accomodate guests.
> Good luck
> UH

What UH says. The currently preferred Colorado mountain site is
Salida, south of Breckenridge, but it only hosts tow services
presently for pilots bringing club or private gliders. Buena Vista
has been used occasionally. There are private gliders at Aspen and
Eagle, further west at Montrose, southwest at Telluride, and a
commercial/club operation at Durango. There's a private club near
Cortez. There are a couple of private two planes along the I-70
corridor and some private owners. There was some talk of a new club a
few months ago, but I don't think that's moved forward. The commercial
operator at Crawford is currently grounded (L13), but tows are
available. The mountains are reachable from Boulder, site of two
clubs and a commercial operation and other Colorado Front Range
locations.

This is the current challenge
http://14er.47systems.com/

Frank Whiteley

[Brian Whatcott]

On 10/6/2010 7:10 AM, Rob Shepherd wrote:
> I recently spent a short time in Breckenridge Co. and was not only amazed
> at how good the sky looked for gliding but the total absence of gliding
> facilities in the area.
>
> It then got me thinking that as I travel alot in the US, how does a UK
> pilot go about flying in the US?
>
> Cheers
> Rob
>

For power pilots, the situation is straight-forward: apply for an FAA
license on the basis of a UK one. But the UK one has to be *KEPT* in
force. (I flew on the basis of a UK license for many years - until
the FAA tightened up on things this year - when they changed from paper
to plastic certificates. It's not usually practical to renew the UK
medical for a US resident, and a US medical - it turns out - is not
equivalent.) Still I flew a US license from scratch in a month,
including the ground test, and I suppose you could too, at some point.)

But for soaring, you can't just rent so easily, and you might not want
to buy...

Brian W