I think the answer depends on how much you fly in each of the first 3
years. And on how quickly you get comfortable with getting away from
the field. And who you fly with.

You could fly low hours for 3 years and still feel challenged, but if
you have the spare time to fly a lot you might get frustrated in your
second season. And local conditions affect that, look at what fun they
have with 1-26's on the ridge!

If your buddy has a better ship, then you will not be happy as he
leaves you behind every flight.

I know one who shared/rented a PW5, had some good flights and moved
along to higher performance because he could not get far. And another
who thought an ASW19 would be great for many years... and know is
'kind of' looking because he can get left behind on occasion.

So, lots of factors. I had great fun for many years in a 1:34 ship,
but I bumped into a wall when trying to get much over 300K in my local
conditions. But I never lost a penny on resale. So it was
inexpensive.

I am not saying don't plan on a season or two of lower performance,
that will certainly make you a better pilot on weak days. But DO pick
a ship you know you can resell quickly when the bug bites! as I know
it will!

Good luck!



On Mar 8, 11:18 am, wrote:
I have read many posts about how gliders like the PW5, L33, and other
similar performance gliders are not the greatest cross country gliders
and that for the same money you can get older higher performance
gliders. My question is, if you forget about dollars per L/D, do
these type of gliders have enough performance to not cause frustration
in the beginner cross country pilot? Another question is, would the
avg pilot be satisfied with these for a few years or would most really
get the itch to trade sooner?

Thanks