At 15:18 04 February 2019, Ian Webb wrote:
Hi All,
Planning on going to the US for a holiday later this year. I plan on
having a couple of glider flights and was wondering if anyone had
actually managed to go through the paperwork - FAA/CAA/BGA- to be
able to fly solo with the BGA Licence. Flying solo is not a necessity, bu

would be nice to have the paperwork in order should the chance arise.
Any help appreciated.
thanks

Webby



When I tried to do this a couple of years back, I was told initially that
unless I had an EASA glider licence, I couldn't have a glider rating added
to my EASA PPL even though I'd had one previously on my old FAA piggy back
licence.

However, I came across the following paragraph from the FAA inspectors'
handbook:

""(FAA Order
8900.1, Volume 5, Chapter 2, Section 14) is:

J. Flying Clubs. A foreign pilot license issued by a flying club under a
specific delegation of the foreign CAA of an ICAO member state is
acceptable for the issuance of a private pilot certificate under § 61.75.
For example, several countries may delegate the authority to issue glider
pilot certificates to members of their national gliding clubs."

When I put this to the FAA, they conceded the point and I got the rating
included. If you don't have a PPL, then I'm not sure how it would work now
but they do recognise British (and Australian/New Zealand) qualifications .
The thing is, the FAA certificate would be issued under what is called
section/para 61.75 and is piggy-backed onto your UK licence. If you don't
have a licence, then there's nothing to piggy back on to. You could of
course fly solo as a student pilot under the supervision of an instructor,
and if you're not bothered about x-country flying, that shouldn't be a
problem. Might be an an idea to discuss options with the nearest FAA Flight
Standards District Office (FSDO) to the area you'll be visiting.
Hope this helps