On Saturday, March 8, 2014 2:23:27 PM UTC-6, Allan Tribe wrote:
Hi



I am visiting Manhattan Kansas 25 Mar - 14 Apr (my son works at K State). I

am a UK glider pilot with 2500 hrs, 3 Diamonds (in the UK!), an instructor

and comp pilot.

Could anyone stateside give me advice on licencing and what gliding I might

be able to do prior to my visit.



Regards



Allan Tribe

Allan,

There are a couple flying options in the Kansas City area that will probably be the closest to you. KC Eagles in Gardner, KS and Midwest Soaring at Richter's Airport SE of Kansas City. Check out the SSA "Where to Fly" page to find contact info. It looks like Midwest Soaring's website is currently inop. KC Eagles don't show that they start regular operations until May.
http://www.ssa.org/WhereToFly

If you want to drive a little further there are two operations in South Central Kansas. The Kansas and Wichita Soaring Associations fly at the Sunflower Gliderport near Hutchinson. We have monthly meetings in Wichita but unfortunately none of them line up with your visit. There is also a few towplanes at the Wichita Gliderport northeast of Wichita which may be more suited to your short term visit needs. No club membership required. If you're interested contact me offline and I can get you contact info there.

In general you're not going to be here for a historically good soaring time, but occasionally we get a good day that time of the year. You'll have a chance to fly classic american trainers (2-33 and 2-22) over terrain that has been statistically proven to be flatter than a pancake.

I'm not intimately familiar with the details and I'm sure others will chime in but I think it is relatively easy to get your overseas license converted to a US Certificate and then you just need a flight review with a US CFI in order to fly solo or carry passengers.