On Friday, July 27, 2012 1:50:44 PM UTC-7, S. Murry wrote:
If I lived in Europe and needed EASA-approved "flight manuals" annually,
perhaps I would be willing to pay the annual fee (I guess I would have no
choice besides selling my glider). However, living in the US, I do not
need this, all I need (maybe) is parts. Charge me a profitable price for
the parts-fine. Charge me by the hour for consultation regarding parts or
service-fine. Charge me an annual fee for something that I probably will
never use, and make it back-dated forever-not fine. I have no problem
paying for services rendered, but I have a big problem with being charged
for things I don't need or want.

Just to add on to what Stefan said, I've owned three DG gliders over the years, including one purchased new from the (Glaser-Dirks) factory. I've been quite happy with service provided by the factory, and the US distributors, including Chris, who goes out of his way to batch orders for small parts to reduce shipping costs.

Chris, quite sadly, I won't buy another legacy DG or LS glider, as the annual fee adds a significant amount to the ownership costs. Nor will I ever buy a new DG or LS glider, as I can't trust that the the company won't seek to add additional fees in the future. Unlike Mr. Weber, I'm not a wealthy man, and I can't take the chance that ownership of one of these gliders will end up being a financial burden, or lose part of its resale value overnight...

Marc