On Friday, March 29, 2013 at 4:55:59 PM UTC-4, wrote:
These are all great responses so far! Paul Leal and Gus Johnson each posted 500+ KM flights in 1-26s. Ron Scwhartz is knocking off 200+ KM flights with 5 to 6 hour durations like there is nothing to it. All very, very impressive for a sailplane that has supposedly limited performance capabilities.

I fly / soar primarily for fun. Maybe simpler and more affordable is a better way for me to go.

Yeah you see some great distances in 1-26's, but they are nearly always out west along a ridge.. with constant good lift. You'll never see these 500KM flights over here in Florida for example, going thermal to thermal at 2500' AGL.

I remember when I got my 1-26. I had been flying a 1-34 until I purchased my own 1-26. When I got off tow, I took a thermal and thought hey this is great! Then I dropped the nose and headed for the next thermal and once I got the speed up I was basically looking at the ground... and I thought "OH WOW I JUST SCREWED UP BUYING THIS GLIDER!". I felt like I was just falling out of the sky. Once I got a better sense of cruising speed for my 1-26 things were better, and enjoyed flying it, but it was very easy to end up on the ground. Anyway I accomplished my primary goal which was start cross country, land off field, and get over the fear of landing out. That was really the entire reason I started with a 1-26. I admit I do still love the looks of the 1-26 especially with a round tail.