On Jun 17, 9:00*am, " wrote:

anyone ever said "I should have waited to buy my first glider" and
everyone regrets not buying sooner.
Welcome to the club, "sweetie".
R

R -

Too late, I already bought my first glider a year ago. She's a bit
ugly, but I've ridden her hard and she rides well (Russia AC-4). Did
165km on Sunday in 2-4 knot lift, below 4000 ft most of the day... not
bad for stubby wings and only flying gliders for a year, if I do say
so myself... :-)

BTW, I've *never* seen an ASW-24 come up for sale online in the nearly
2 years I've been on the market... They must be good; but they're
hard to find!

The issue with the performance is that I feel like I'm already
outgrowing my Russia after just a year of flying it - and I'd hate to
feel that way about a standard-class ship after a couple of years
(whereas a flapped ship will have a steeper learning curve which - as
a twisted wierdo obsessed pilot - I like).

But the tide of opinion here and in my club is carrying me along
towards buying the less-expensive glider with the better finish and
known resale value - even if its unflapped and has a higher (i.e.
worse) handicap... I'm not a racer, I just want to feel like I'm
maximizing the day's opportunities and make some decent distances in
our relatively weak conditions here in Seattle. I'll fly in the
desert a few times a year; but I started out thinking that ergonomics,
safety, and maneuverability are the important factors - and it seems
that I'm being guided back around to that mode of thinking by all of
you. Ya gotta admit, though, performance is a seductive mistress!

And now that people know the glider I want is for sale, I'd better
hustle! :-P

--Noel