European License

Chris Reed wrote:
In the UK there is no licence.

Turn up at a gliding club (locations via www.gliding.co.uk), show your
licence and log book, take whatever check rides the instructor of the
day requires, and then fly whatever he/she is happy with you flying.

It's sensible to telephone in advance to discover local peculiarities -
for example, I believe that the Midland Gliding Club (Long Mynd) is
winch only during weekdays, so you might only be able to fly dual if
your previous experience is aeerotow only. Small clubs might have one or
more aircraft out of service, which could mean little chance of flying
that day, etc.

So the answer, if in doubt, is to go to a big UK club, one that
operates 365 days per year and has aero-tows as well as wire launches.
Ring them up first to see what deals are on offer for non-members.
Bring your gliding logbook and any pilot licences with you.

The largest UK gliding organisation is Lasham Gliding Society (a
consortium of several clubs and many private owners) between London and
Southampton, but others include the historic London Gliding Club at
Dunstable Downs, Husbands Bosworth in the Midlands and the Bristol Club
at Nympsfield. In the North, the Yorkshire club at Sutton Bank and in
Scotland the Scottish Gliding Union at Portmoak. Apologies to any
large organisations that I have left out! The BGA web site has all the
details, see www.gliding.co.uk

Ian Strachan
Lasham Gliding Centre
Hampshire, UK