A WEEK IN THE SUN Earning a glider rating with friends TAKE A VACATION IN THE SOUTHWEST with friends and pick up a glider rating in the process. What could possibly go wrong? The plan: Go to Arizona with friends to earn glider ratings in a week. Fly all day; hangar talk over beer at night. Leave with larger BMIs, smaller bank accounts, and fresh glider ratings. The reality: five nights of serious studying, four emergencies or urgent situations, two checkrides busted on the first attempt, and one of us bowing out entirely. And no regrets whatsoever. B Y J E F F VA N W E S T | P H O TO G R A P H Y B Y B R YA N K I N C A I D E www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 67http://www.aopa.org/pilot