Tony wrote:
my recommendation on how to buy a glider affordably is this:
buy an old homebuilt ship with poor to decent performance.

Or...get a partner, then buy a low(er) cost motorglider like the Apis or
Silent, or a used Russia AC-5M, DG 400, PIK 20E.

spend the rest of your money on gas for retrieves and extra tows for
relights

Won't need the money for tows or retrieves, but you should put some away
for mechanical problems.

enjoy staying up and going cross country

Oh yeah!

when the lift is weak.

This part doesn't work out so well with the extra weight of the motor,
but you can still have a nice flight if you don't mind starting the
motor a time or two (I don't mind).

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

"Transponders in Sailplanes" on the Soaring Safety Foundation website
www.soaringsafety.org/prevention/articles.html

"A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org