Oh, one more thing: the pilot's wife is so pleased that he now makes it
home in time for dinner!

I can relate to that :-)

Based on a conversation with a former hang glider pilot that was
spending less by soaring in a sailplane, flying more, and enjoying it
more. And it was only a Ka-6e that he was flying.

For me, in the Northeast US, a day of hang gliding meant a multi-hour
drive (one way), and then a long hike to the launch site - it was an all
day affair. Because we have trees everywhere, launch site usability on a
given day was often limited by the wind direction. Trekking to the
launch site and then not flying got old after a while (OK, it took a
couple of decades :-) ).

I'm very happy flying my LS6 but nothing can replace flying from the top
of a mountain of launching from a cliff (very different on a calm day
than on a windy day). I miss it sometimes.

Tony V.