"mosquito" wrote in message
...
Other things you should know about the USA are that FAA
training is mostly gliding vs. soaring

Gliding vs Soaring?

Yes, some places will teach you to tow, maneuver, land, and little else. My
experience with UK training was that we soared at every opportunity and that
each soaring flight had a tow and landing built in. You can't say that
about training that concentrates largely on tows and landings and filling
PTS squares. You must choose wisely. You can solo in the US on a student
ticket, but will have to complete a training syllabus. If cost is not a
real object, it can be done quite handily. You might also consider Texas,
Colorado, and New Mexico. Like California, Arizona, and Nevada, these
places have big air and powerful conditions. The farther east and north,
the more UK-like things become.

Does this cinch this message as a put-on?

It was a simple request for info.

Very anonymously posted. Have you been put off by the BGA for some reason?
Typically there are fewer hoops to jump through there. I speak from
experience, having been trained in a BGA club. US training requires far
more paperwork and knowledge of air regulations.

mosquito, elegant bomber and sailplane, also irritating pest and disease
carrier (We have west nile virus in horses again this year locally)

If you were solo before, you should be able to regain this in 3-10 flights.
You are never far from a club in the UK and some of the big clubs operate
daily much of the year, so intensive training is quite available.

Once you've crossed the Atlantic, is there that much difference?

Yes. About six hours coast to coast.

The time and distance has little to do with airfares and the time is minimal
on a non-stop flight. One may get to Denver more cheaply than some east
coast locations at times. We fly year round here, when the air fares may be
heavily discounted.

And thanks for the enlightenment.

If it's the weather, well.....we've just come through a record heat spell
with daily 100-110F temperatures. (Even hotter in AZ). Pretty intense until
about 4000agl, very nice at 17000msl;^)