Soaring not compatible with modern society?

Dave, Why do you speak of the "little engines" in a negative way? They are part of the way you can greatly reduce your risk of landing out. Yes, landing your expensive composite glider in a farmers field is "idiotic". I agree! I was a hang glider pilot for 35 years before taking up sailplanes. Many of us were. Every HG XC flight has a landout at the end, usually in some field. But HG are way less expensive, fold up easily and weigh ~75 lbs. So landouts are not much of a problem. Sort of like the Grunu Baby you mention, I imagine, without a trailer.
The big problem with entry into our sport is the huge amount of money required. Face it, this is a rich man's sport! Any young person with a desire to soar to the clouds these days can do so for just a few thousand dollars with a paraglider or hang glider. No license, no trailer, no crew required. For them, the choice has already been made by their financial situation. Sailplanes are in their distant future (maybe).

On Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 5:15:07 AM UTC-4, Dave Walsh wrote:
Well I think there is a simpler explanation. In the past
sailplanes were cheap and did not have "little engines", if you
flew cross country you sometimes ended up in a field.
Now it's very different: firstly sailplanes are vastly more
expensive and secondly many have those "little engines",
thirdly todays sailplanes are much heavier and land much
faster. Landing a Grunau Baby is not the same experience as
landing a Nimbus 4.
Landing into an unknown farmers field is idiotic, why would
you willingly strap multi thousands of $'s of carbon fibre to
your backside and choose to land in a field?
The accident statistics clearly show how many field landing
accidents result in damage. I don't think it's anything to do
with personal risk; lots of people still rock climb, mountaineer,
sail, ski, sky-dive etc. They don't set off on each trip with the
expectation of a vast bill from their local repair shop!
Dave Walsh