I've been getting back into the air after being on the ground for several years and I thought getting a glider rating would be a good way to not only get a BFR but would be fun.

My wife and I happened to be out on the west coast with a couple days to burn so I took my first glider flight out there on the western edge of the cascades. I am now quite spoiled. Even as an amateur with my first flight ever in a glider it was way too easy to find lift off the ridges that butted up against the air strip. I don't think a whole lot of people have that kind of opportunity on their first glider flight. It was roughly an hour long and we only came back out of respect for all the others that needed to get into the air. That's a good omen for a first flight and I think it spoiled me as I live on the flat lands of the mid-west.

The people at Puget Sound Soaring were great advocates for gliding and for GA in general!

Here's why I decided to get my glider rating:

1. Makes a person a better pilot

2. Makes you 'one' with the rudder pedals

3. Adding the rating takes the place of a BFR

4. Seems like a lot more fun than doing the standard BFR stuff

5. Can be inexpensive on a good soaring day

6. Gives me a good reason to fly in some pretty terrain around ridges

7. Doesn't require a medical

8. Opens me up to more a/c I can fly

9. I can't afford a new LSA but I can afford a used glider

10. Social aspect

11. Adds some new letters to my cert and yeah, that makes me feel good too! :-)

Now i'm just trying to keep my head off of the idea of rushing out and buying one. Should I tell my wife before or after I do? I'm thinking I may 'Shoot first and ask questions later' on this one. lol Usually it's quite difficult to separate me from my money or talk me into a loan but this time i've got the itch bad.