::quick quote cutdown snip here on my post - just trying to keep the quite size down:::

Again, thank you all so much for this info. As of now, I'm looking at gliders I probably wouldn't have looked at, and rethinking the list. Everyone seems to think the LS4 is the greatest first glider since sliced bread. Interestingly, it appears to be back in production with a company called AMS out of Slovenia.The Libelle looks more attractive, which I never would have considered. It's funny that some think it's horribly ugly and others hold it as beautiful. And I'm on the larger side (5,11 and almost 200lbs) so many have warned I'd fit in it like a surgical glove. Newer ships in partnership are looking more attractive, though I don't know enough people yet at my local club to consider it. I like the low price and lightweight performance of the carbon fiber Sparrowhawk, but I can't find any information about it lately. Seems like their website (windward performance) is a couple years out of date and I don't know if they are even being produced. Naturally, a new one would be out of my price range, but it's certainly an interesting plane and the price is not bad. I like the LAK-12 I saw on wingsandwheels.com, and it's not too highly priced. I like the big name companies, like Glasflugel, or Rolladen-Schneider, and the fact that so many of their gliders are still flying. There's a theory in boats and motorcycles that it's almost never a good idea to buy the first generation of a new design, even from the big boys, and any design that has a long history is a good choice. I would love to see more side by side seating in gliders. I like the Pipistrel Taurus. Very cool self-launcher with arond 40:1 performance and a liquid system for CG that moves fore or aft depending on single or dual pilots. There is now an electric model. I love the idea of self launchers (though almost everyone seems to think they are not great for first gliders), and I admit I like the idea of having them there to sustain if you're in trouble. I know a lot of people think that's a bit like cheating, but safe is good. And I love the BRS all-plane parachutes. Seems to me every plane should have them, mostly for the idea of really impossible places where you can't land out or mid-air collisions. I can't imagine using a regular parachute and actually getting out of the plane. How the hell is that supposed to work while you're wingless and falling out of the sky at an increasing 32 feet per second per second? There's an old Preiss on wingsandwheels.com that looks interesting since it's a side by side, but it's one of the HP-14's I think originally which was converted. It's hard for me to like experimental ships and especially homebuilts. Makes me nervous. I'm sure there are many fine ones out there and by all accounts the HP's were well designed. I just can't help but imagine some joker building the thing in his garage, swilling cheap beer, while his kids are running around stepping on parts and wonder what he missed. I didn't really think much about trailers and rigging until this thread gave me some important info on that. It's a good point that if the thing is a pain to rig, you'll spend more time on the ground than in the air. I have learned about a lot of brands I'd never heard of when I originally got into the sport. One thing's for sure. They're really beautiful and its surprising how well a lot of gliders have kept their value. I am now officially obsessed.