I'm sure I won't be the first to suggest it....but if you are looking for a
"good" ship in the 20-25K range there will be a lot of "really good" (some
will even be far cheaper) Libelle's, Hornets, Mosquito's, LS1f's, LS3's
Jantar's and so on and even some later gliders like ASW19's, DG300's and
now even some LS4's ect that will be in or near your price range just to
name a few .....many will even be certified with Standard airworthiness....
performance isn't everything, but all of these will certainly out-perform
your wish-list and give you solid, record proven reliability and known
habits....plus since many of these have already depreciated (and
appreciated) you'll have some known value and resale.....plus plus plus.....
tim

"Willie" wrote in message
m...
(John) wrote in message
. com...
Rumor is there will be a new US distributor announced this year.

Thanks for the information. I have been considering a used ship in the
20 -25 thousand range. I really like the look of the Russia, it
reminds
me of a Phoebus, but without the heavy wings. I am also watching the
Sparrowhawk and Apis, but since they are so new, I don't think I will
find a used one for awhile.

The PW5 seems to be a good fit for me in terms of performance, but I
have heard and read nothing but negative comments from other
sailplane pilots. Is it really a bad ship? It seems to have the
performance
that I'm looking for (33 to 1) or better.

I am in no great hurry and can afford to wait for a deal, so I will
keep my eyes open and watch for the new Russia distributor.

Thanks again,
Willie