wrote:
SSA will be exhibiting gliders, with an info booth, at Oskosh this
year. That's great! But their choice is a bit surprising: "The
current plan is to exhibit two sailplanes, a Ximango to represent motor
gliders, and a Sparrowhawk for the purists." (quoted from the SSA
website).

I think the Ximango is something of a poor choice to show off on our
behalf. Because it looks fairly airplane like, I suspect all the
motorheads will only look at its airplane qualities, as in "Where do I
put my golf clubs?", or "Only cruises at 95 kts, might as well walk!"
and ignore its soaring potential. A Stemme, Antares, or "JATO" Silent
would be a more novel (if unrepresentative) intro to the sport.
The Sparrowhawk seems like a good choice too, if they can't get an Eta. :-)

Shawn