On Friday, January 10, 2020 at 10:08:25 AM UTC-8, Rob wrote:

It was interesting that a number of ships I tried that everyone was certain I could fit in, I did fit just fine legroom-wise, but could not close the canopy.

I studied anthropometry in my Human Factors courses, and I've had the opportunity to observe how a wide variety of people fit into sailplanes. It is kind of amazing how much variability there is in the relative sizes of arms, legs, and torsos, and how much difference it makes in cockpit fit.

Unfortunately, your height places you up around the 99.9 percentile, which is a sparsely accommodated corner case.

If for whatever reason you wanted to build your own glider, we could adapt our cockpit to fit you.

If there's a glider you really like, but don't fit into, you might consider having the cockpit modified to suit. From what you describe, it's your torso length that's critical, and moving the control stick and bolster forward could give you the room you need. There are a couple shops around the US that could do this kind of modification work, though it would really help if the glider carried an experimental airworthiness certificate. As you might expect, resale value will likely take a hit, so you'll want to factor that into your calculations.

--Bob K.