On 30/08/2016 20:48, John wrote:

Thanks for the nice reply. I'm not wealthy at all, sold my house and
bought a caravan when the ex. left me. I love my caravan, it's in a
fantastic location and then I found a really exciting ridge soaring
site nearby and here I am! May as well spend it whilst I can and have
some fun. Thought a decent glider will be as good as money in the
bank just now. Really appreciate the friendly help from everyone.

Sounds like you intend to fund your post flying career pension by
reselling the ship. Be careful gliders are not always readily saleable.
A popular make of ship that is suitable for low our pilots would be most
easily resold. You may still take a bit of a knock if you have to sell
in a hurry.

Then look for a good trailer. A good finish, preferably already
refinished in PU. Modern radio and vario/computer and good instruments
with appropriate units (ft, m, knots, km/h, m/s etc) for your country.
Also a ship with good factory support.

Remember to budget for insurance costs if you not in a position to
absorb a "self insurance loss" and "maintenance plan" tax if you go for
one of the older LS/DG models.

Maybe a nice LS4? Or LS8, Discus 2 etc.

Ian