On Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 1:22:09 PM UTC-8, Hans Gijrath wrote:
Hi, just joined this group because I am looking for glider rental options in California-Nevada for when I am visiting the US from Europe. I am seeking for a performance glider 1 and 2 seaters 18/20 meter (~59/65 feet) wings span, preferably self-launch or sustainer engine equipped such as DuoDiscus, Ventus2 or different makes. Are there any clubs/private owners who rent out such category gliders? I fly a private Ventus 2ct in Europe, have 1500 hours of which more than half mountain flying experience and recently acquired my FAA equivalent SPL license.

Thanks!

I suspect your expectations might be unrealistic. The USA does not have a lot of clubs or commercial operations with high performance gliders that you will be able to rent and let you take off cross country as PIC. I suspect the folks most likely to help work with you are commercial operators more than clubs. The best situation would likely be a private owner, somebody you already knew and even then you might be better off fishing around for dual time with the owner not looking for rental/PIC. If you are PIC you do you will likely need to arrange hull and liability insurance with a USA insurance provider and it will likely be expensive.

I expect it is more likely that you would find a club or commercial operation with a two-seat XC glider and that you could fly with an instructor for a while (more than just a checkout). Williams Soaring has an ASG-32Mi for example in Northern California. Bay Area Soaring Associates has a DG-1000S in the Bay Area (you would have to bum a ride with members), Soaring NV used to operate Duo Discus out of Minden, NV With change of ownership, I am not sure if the Duos are still there. You will need to reach out to those folks.