In message , Andreas Maurer
writes
snip

These fees include a 255 Euro "flat rate" for an unlimited number of
winch launches and an unlimited number of flying hours.
Member fee per
year is 64 Euro for student pilots and 128 Euro for members with an
income. At the current exchange rates this is about $500. Most German
clubs are slightly more expensive, this is why I mentioned the number
of $800.

That is very cheap flying. My UK club charges £7 per winch launch and
38p/minute, though that clock stops ticking after 2 1/2 hours. Another
UK club charges 50p/minute, and remember that the UK Pound and the Euro
are pretty much equivalent these days.

There are other reasons for flying my own glider as well.

1) I can fly when I want for as long as I want - no-one will be calling
me back so someone else can have a go in it. I heard the Discus being
called back on a lovely wave day not long after I got it, and smiled as
it wasn't going to happen to me.
2) Trying to go XC is logistically simpler. I know I have a road-worth
trailer etc., plus see point 1 above - no problem when I land in a field
other than getting a retrieve crew to come out for me.
3) I fly a glider that is comfortable for me. My club has Juniors and a
Discus, and I do not fit the Discus.
4) I know who has been flying it (me!) and what they have done to it.
5) My canopy is in fantastic condition compared to all the club gliders.
6) I can take it to other clubs in the UK without having to grovel to
the Committee to get permission to take a club glider away from the
site.


--
Surfer!
Email to: ramwater at uk2 dot net