All,

One of the guys in my flying club is planning a trip to the US next summer after he finishes his Abitur (High School+ graduation exams).

He's asked me for a recommendation on where he could spend some time flying.. He has some flexibility in his schedule, and I'm not sure of his plans since they won't be fully made until after the flying location question is resolved.

He's flown ASK-21, ASK-18, LS-1, and Discus, so flying something in the US shouldn't be hard. I've made him aware of the FAA's webpage about how to pursue a certificate, either based on his German GPL or an independent one.

I think that somewhere that flies seven days a week would be best. Somewhere with aerotow and winch would be great. I can see value to thermalling over the desert in Arizona or Texas. There's great experience to be gained flying ridges in Pennsylvania or Tennessee. Summer probably doesn't offer great wave at Minden...

I don't want this to be "where's the one best place in the whole world/US to soar." Instead, I solicit your input as to places he should look into and consider visiting. Some sort of bunkhouse or cheap, cheaper, cheapest hotel is a must. Reasonable access to a major airport is a good planning consideration, too.

Despite being an American with an FAA commercial glider certificate, I've only really flown gliders in the US on two occasions - the initial add-on rating and the commercial - so I'm ill prepared to help a nice young man.

Thanks for your input, and I'm ducking...

Terry