On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 7:37:36 AM UTC+12, firsys wrote:
On Sunday, August 28, 2016 at 5:15:23 AM UTC-4, John wrote:
Returned to gliding after many years and out of touch with types and prices.

Have narrowed it down to one of these types but nothing set in concrete.

ASW20, ASW27, ASW28, Discus, Discus 2 or Ventus.

Was originally looking to buy a lower cost glider but with interest rates being so poor, I am thinking that a good glider may be a better investment than money in the bank.

Any suggestions and a rough guide on prices? (appreciate that it ultimately depends on level of equipment and condition.

Thanks

Here is a wild card which will attract a lot of derision !

The Kestrel 19 is in an orphan class, but represents best L/D
per Euro. I owned one for 10 years, and I and several friends who
flew it rated it a very nice glider to fly ( except in rain).
it climbs well, is fairly docile, and does excellent short field
landings. I flew it for the first NA 750 km triangle thanks to the
cockpit comfort for 8 1/2 hrs.
The gel coat was schwabellac, less of a problem than later coatings.
May be easy to buy but hard to sell. Hardware support not known to me but there are many in the UK needing it.
Heavy wings, but there are excellent all body covers available for
1000 euros; leave it securely tied down and go flying in
20mins.

Being basically a Glasflugel design (and not a Std Libelle) it should be well made, comfortable, and without vices.

Max L/D isn't everything, but looking at a few internet threads and spreadsheets over the years, it looks quite ok at a decent cruising speed too. The spreadsheet I looked at worked out to about 29:1 at 80 knots.