I'm not trying to paint gliders negatively -- I agree that they're
great, and they *do* enhance power flying. But realistically, not
everyone has even ONE sailport within a reasonable drive from their home

That's been our dilemma. We wanted Joe (and now Becca) to do gliders at age
14, in (relatively) nearby Muscatine, IA, which has a small glider
operation -- but getting there is a 45 minute drive, minimum. We simply
don't have 90 minutes in our day to waste sitting in a car.

Mary and I experienced soaring over in Ames, IA, and had a wonderful time --
but that's so far away that we had to fly to get there. Kinda makes soaring
less-than-cost-effective...

No, buying an old Ercoupe is a great solution for affordable LSA flying.
Fuel efficient, burns car gas, has a canopy you can hang your arm out of in
flight. Low, slow, and we can park in the "Antique/Classic" section, if we
want to...

We'll see how negotiations go. Here are some pix we took of it in April, if
you're interested: http://www.alexisparkinn.com/ercoupe_n2572h.htm

It would sure be pretty if the guy hadn't let bird crap sit on the bare
aluminum for so many years. Now, the only solution is to paint it...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"