Mark,

You have to balance your need against your pocketbook. You seem to have some
sense about you so let me offer you another way of looking at aircraft
selection that is safe, affordable, and gets you a good glider.

Buy what you want to fly and as much as you can afford. If that airplane is
an ASW-20, then good. You end up with a good, well-known glider with good
parts support and a market to sell into when you are done with it.

You don't end up with a useless, out-of-date ship that will keep you from
moving up when the time comes because you won't be able to find a buyer.

How is this safe? Simple: Get trained by a competent instructor in relevant
equipment. When that instructor says you are trained, go fly your glider.

Your instructor will show you spins. If you don't think the trainer is
similar enough or instructor experienced enough, go find one that is. Then
go up and spin your glider. Don't do this the other way around.

And as far as retractable gear, there is one sure fire way of assuring
yourself that you will always put it down. Don't fly it. A good second
choice (but one that can fail) is to develop habits, follow checklists,
maintain situational awareness, and double check yourself. Still....

Every pilot started with NO knowledge and NO experience. An extremely small
percentage have had accidents. This is because sensible pilots get the
training they need. If you don't get instruction and you aren't very smart
and you run out of luck, there is nothing on RAS that will help you avoid
the inevitable.

But, Mark, an ASW-20, like most "high performance" gliders gives you the
performance in soaring to have more fun and since most of your time will be
flying and not crashing, buy something that will help you accomplish that
goal.

Just don't assume you know how to do something until an instructor shows you
how.

John Shelton