add on rating recommendations

On Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:15:13 -0500, bryanrene
wrote:

Bryan,

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your decision to take up
soaring.

I'm a CFI-G(lider) down in Houston, flying with Greater Houston Soaring
Association. We wouldn't be a great choice for a 5-10 course, since we
fly mostly on weekends.

Earlier this year, I went out to Estrella and did some aerobatic
training. I was really impressed with their operation, and one of my
students from Houston went there to "finish up" his add-on quickly. He
also was impressed.

It will be hot there (probably hotter than Minden), but if all you are
going for is the flying I think it would be worthwhile to check them out.

Another option, if you want to stay here in Texas, is Burt Compton's
operation in Marfa. I haven't been there, but a number of our members
have. Burt's schedule seems to be a bit "iffy", but if you and he
coordinate ahead of time and he's available on the dates you have in mind,
he comes well regarded.

--Stefan


Hello all. I'm a newbie just getting interested in soaring. Power
pilot with 1200 hrs, enjoying a RV4 currently but would like to get an
add on soaring rating. I live in central texas and Texas Soaring is not
too far away but I have about 10 days off in August and was considering
a full time school and doing the rating at one time.

I tried "search" but obviously wasn't too successful.

It seems that Minden is considered a great soaring destination but I
wanted advice on a good place to do a 5-10 day add on rating.

I have also read about Estrella but thought Minden might be nicer than
Arizona in August (coming from Texas).

I'm really open to anywhere in the US/Canada that would be nice
experience.

BTW, glad I found this forum, it is surprisingly active and I know
there is a ton of experience and wisdom here.






--
Stefan Murry

I transitioned from Power to Gliders (then later on went and got my
Commercial rating). My club isn't very well-organized so I wound up
going to a couple of commercial operations for those ratings. I've
also visited a few since then (for contests and such). Many of the
good commercial operators in the western US are going to be beastly-
hot in August; but I'd recommend the following (in no particular
order):
Williams Soaring (central California, about 2-3 hours' drive inland
from San Francisco, CA)
Estrella (about 30-45 minutes south of Phoenix, AZ)
Sky Sailing (about 1-1.5 hours east of San Diego, CA)

Williams is probably the largest and is run by the Mayes family
(husband, wife, and teenage sons are all hard-workers and have a good
staff). Its not the cheapest place to get your license; but they
arguably have better equipment than the others. I haven't flown _at_
Williams; but the Mayes family ran the National Championships that
just finished last week and I was mightily impressed with their skill,
organization, and generosity of spirit.

Estrella is run by Jason Stephens and a small crew of very capable
folks. Jason is a multi-time aerobatic champion in gliders and has a
lot of enthusiasm for the sport. I had a good down time there,
finishing up my commercial glider ticket.

Sky Sailing is where I got my private glider rating after making the
switch from power. Its a somewhat-isolated desert valley location
with a pace and a feeling all its own. But the Willat family are
accomplished glider pilots who teach well.

One word of caution: Training to fly gliders is *not* the same as
soaring! You may be surprised to see some of rudimentary trainers and
short flights that make up the training regimen. Sadly, soaring is a
skill that takes a bit of time and effort to build up to. But it is
WELL worth the time and effort, as long as you stick with it!

Best of luck, and feel free to post here if you have more questions!

Take care,

--Noel