"Ted Wagner" wrote in message news:bsjGb.13545$7D3.12440@fed1read02...
I'm a new glider pilot, having just switched my FAI air sport of choice
after 23 years of leaping out of airplanes.

By this summer it is almost certain I'll be purchasing my own glider. I'm
interested in having fun, cross-country (eventually competing), and having
fun, in that order.


Ted, welcome to the sport!

Are you flying at Turf or Estrella?

Please take a moment to check out the Arizona Soaring Association (at
ASA-soaring.org), we are an active group that does a lot of XC and
racing out of primarily Turf but also Estrella and El-Tiro. We have a
Grob 102 (fully equipped for XC and racing) based at Turf, rents for
$25/hour (or $500/year for all you can fly), and membership is only
$40/year (if you have already joined, sorry, didn't see your name on
our roster).

We fly a wide variety of gliders, from PW-5s on up to the latest
racing glass, so if you want to get together over a brew or two and
discuss relative merits of what gliders are available, and suitable
for our conditions, please feel free to drop me a line at
. A bunch of us can usually be found hanging out at
Turf on Saturday at our Clubhouse.

We also have a bunch of ex-jumpers (and some current ones) to compare
war-stories with...

Kirk Stant
LS6-b "66"
Over on the West side of the Valley