Schempp-Hirth gliders for sale on W&W

[John Foster]

Has anyone else noticed how many Discus 2 and Ventus 2 gliders have been coming up for sale lately on W&W? Is this because of folks moving up to the new V3, or is there some other reason?

[[email protected]]

On Tuesday, 3 December 2019 20:47:51 UTC, John Foster wrote:
> Has anyone else noticed how many Discus 2 and Ventus 2 gliders have been coming up for sale lately on W&W? Is this because of folks moving up to the new V3, or is there some other reason?

Mine (https://wingsandwheels.com/class/classified.php?id=4069) is for sale because I'm changing to 15m class. I think Standard class is a class people move through on their way to hotter, harder and heavier ships.

[Bob Kuykendall]

I suspect more than a little of the surge is late boomers who started soaring in the heyday of the 1970s and are starting to age out and unload. It has saturated the local word-of-mouth networks that are still the primary sales channel for used sailplanes.

[Mike the Strike]

On Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 1:47:51 PM UTC-7, John Foster wrote:
> Has anyone else noticed how many Discus 2 and Ventus 2 gliders have been coming up for sale lately on W&W? Is this because of folks moving up to the new V3, or is there some other reason?

A bunch of them were brought in when the dollar was a bit stronger and they are now fifteen to twenty years old. Gelcoat issues will be starting to emerge and pilots who bought them are getting older too.

Mike

[Roy B.]

On Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 3:47:51 PM UTC-5, John Foster wrote:
> Has anyone else noticed how many Discus 2 and Ventus 2 gliders have been coming up for sale lately on W&W?

I would not read too much into this. Last year there were 3 ASW-27s for sale on W&W. Now there are none. It's a very small market for both buyers and sellers.
ROY

[John Foster]

On Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 8:54:50 AM UTC-7, Roy B. wrote:
> On Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 3:47:51 PM UTC-5, John Foster wrote:
> > Has anyone else noticed how many Discus 2 and Ventus 2 gliders have been coming up for sale lately on W&W?
>
> I would not read too much into this. Last year there were 3 ASW-27s for sale on W&W. Now there are none. It's a very small market for both buyers and sellers.
> ROY

As of this moment, there are 5 D2s and 6 V2s listed on W&W, not including the earlier variants, or other SH gliders. There are a few ways to look at this.

1. These models of gliders were very successful, and many were bought, so now many are coming up for sale as pilots age out of the sport.
2. SH has the next best thing to sliced bread in the V3, and everyone is wanting to upgrade.
3. These models were "dogs" and no-one wants them anymore (very unlikely).
4. Coincidence.

I'm inclined to believe the 1st, and maybe 2nd reasons, myself.

[Tim Taylor]

On Thursday, December 5, 2019 at 12:19:00 PM UTC-7, John Foster wrote:
> On Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 8:54:50 AM UTC-7, Roy B. wrote:
> > On Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 3:47:51 PM UTC-5, John Foster wrote:
> > > Has anyone else noticed how many Discus 2 and Ventus 2 gliders have been coming up for sale lately on W&W?
> >
> > I would not read too much into this. Last year there were 3 ASW-27s for sale on W&W. Now there are none. It's a very small market for both buyers and sellers.
> > ROY
>
> As of this moment, there are 5 D2s and 6 V2s listed on W&W, not including the earlier variants, or other SH gliders. There are a few ways to look at this.
>
> 1. These models of gliders were very successful, and many were bought, so now many are coming up for sale as pilots age out of the sport.
> 2. SH has the next best thing to sliced bread in the V3, and everyone is wanting to upgrade.
> 3. These models were "dogs" and no-one wants them anymore (very unlikely)..
> 4. Coincidence.
>
> I'm inclined to believe the 1st, and maybe 2nd reasons, myself.

The D2 and V2 are two of the best gliders ever made. They are for sale mostly because the owners are switching classes or moving up to V3, a few to JS3 or ASH 31, and some owners aging out. They are both significantly better than the generation before (Discus and Ventus a&b. I have flown the Ventus 2a for 10 years and still have not found a better glider. The Ventus 2 a&b and D2 a&b can fly at nearly 7 pounds wing-loading. Nothing else produced today can get near that. Yet, fully loaded they will run with the current gliders. The handling is superb and the feel for the air is unmatched by any other glider. They are getting older and will need refinish like the AS 27&29's in the fleet. But they all make very enjoyable gliders to fly.