At 03:49 07 November 2010, sisu1a wrote:

They were walking past all these gorgeous glass
ships that were fueling his fancy -and kept going past them, to what
by his description of what he remembered could only have been a 2-33.
His heart sank, he lost his inspiration as well as his confidence;
enough so that he didn't go through with the flight and lost the spark
of interest.

Gotta feel sorry for somebody with so little imagination. I transitioned
from power to gliders in 1975, and trained almost exclusively in 2-33s
(and the occasional Blanik). Perhaps it was different, already being a
pilot, but the first revelation of what even a ratty old 2-33 could do in
the air was amazing. So it didn't look all that great, it had those big,
big wings. And when you're inside the heap, it doesn't look so bad.
Like the man said,

My face, I don't mind it,
For I am behind it.
It's the people in front whom I jar.

Jim Beckman