Very interesting thread.

Im glad to see that a few people enjoy my reports of cheap dirty fun
flying in the upper midwest. I'll keep it up.

Sometimes someone asks me when im going to buy a different glider. my
standard response is "when i can afford something better than what I
have!" Fact is we all are going to buy the best glider we can for the
money. I didnt buy the Cherokee cause I was in love with a 40 year
old wood glider. Or because i thought the forward swept tail (like a
mooney) looked cool. I didnt even buy it because it had stellar 25:1
performance. I only bought it because the price tag equalled the
amount of money I could scrape up over a summer of working, and I
really wanted a glider!

Saying that 40:1 + is necessary for going cross country is a great way
to kill enthusiasm and interest in the sport. now now now, i know that
there is a lot of unlandable terrain out west and it may be a good
idea to either have good performance or lots of alititude out there,
but I have had great fun on some pretty short low altitude flights
here in the midwest. Obviously you can go out there with low
performance but you must tip toe.

If composite construction is so difficult then why not make it metal?
pulling rivets is a pretty simple task.

carry on...