On Friday, January 4, 2019 at 7:16:48 PM UTC-7, WB wrote:
We just went to one of our local banks. Told them we wanted to finance an aircraft and stipulated that we wanted a loan where we could choose to just pay interest if we wanted. I seem to remember that it was Suntrust Bank. They were OK with that. I think we paid maybe $1500 down on a Ka7 that was going for around $8000. Don’t remember the interest rate. Lea County State Bank in Hobbs, NM specializes in glider loans (thanks to their relationship with SSA). They would probably be the logical place to start.

Thanks. I'll look into those two options.

On a separate note: how was the Ka7 as a first club two-seater? I realize that visibility from the rear seat is sub-optimal, but was it an OK glider to start with, for the money? I've been given a Ka8, which I intend to restore and use as a club glider, but it could only be used for licensed glider pilots, and right now, there are only two of us in the area.