brtlmj wrote:
What documents will I need? My drivers license will probably by
necessary... anything else?

I got my US glider license in October 2001 when I was a pretty new
Silver C pilot. I just fronted up at the Denver FDSO with my log book
and a British Glider Pilot License. They looked both over and
grandfathered a PPL-G of the British GPL while offering to copy my hours
into a database in case I lost the log book. Then they issued me with a
temporary pilot license and pointed me at the nice folks at Mile High
Soaring at Boulder to do biennial checks. Job done.

About three months later my permanent license turned up in the post just
as they promised at the FSDO.

The BGA will issue a Glider Pilot License if you have a Silver C (and, I
think, if you have the Bronze badge). I can't tell you about the
procedure as you're pre-Bronze, but that's been covered already.

I thought I'd be quizzed on US air law, so I bought the glider FARs from
Knauf & Grove and swotted up on them, but nobody asked those questions
in any detail. Its worth knowing that American sectionals look
completely different from British air navigation maps, so if you get a
chance, take a look at a sectional.

BTW - can anyone tell me what are the main differences between soaring
in the US and UK? Aerotow signals? Checklists? Landing patters shape?

Differences I noticed:
- aero tow signals are different. You get shown your end of the rope
to check it isn't frayed before its hooked on. I didn't notice an
"up slack" signal. Waggling your rudder means "all out" so don't
kick it when hooked on unless you're ready to go with the canopy
locked.

- IIRC the other signals are much the same.

- I'd never launched without a wing runner he I didn't launch
with one in the US. Picking the wing up is easier than I expected.

- I used CBSIFTCBE after talking to instructors, etc. Nobody objected.

- circuits tend to be rectangular (no diagonal leg). I explained I
was used to the diagonal leg and folks were happy for me to fly that
pattern (at Mile High, Avenal, Williams Soaring and Minden).

- landing circuits are often constrained by powered traffic at the
field. Only Avenal and Williams were pure glider fields.

- on glider fields the runways can be narrow with very rough stuff on
either side. A 2000 ft x 20 ft sealed run seems pretty normal.
I sweated it before my first landing because I'd never tried to land
on anything so narrow before, but it wasn't a problem.

- on a shared GA field you should expect to use the radio joining and
in the circuit.

- Avenal is the only UK-type club I've flown at and I felt very much
at home there. All the others I listed are commercial operations.
Personal opinion: Williams was the friendliest commercial operation
I visited and had the best fleet.

- every UK pilot should fly a 2-33 once for the experience. Fortunately
the bigger operations have G.103 Acros and ASK-21s. Williams had an
immaculate SZD Junior. I was sorry I didn't get to fly a 1-26 - they
look like fun.

HTH


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martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
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