Before this thread dies I do want to mention one of the greatest all-time flights in a 1-26 I know of ... George Hanke flew a 1-26 from Saratoga NY (5B2) across MA and out to Martha's Vineyard! He circled the airport there, came back to the mainland, flew back west to where GBSC flew back in that day (IIRC, not Sterling where they fly today), landed, stayed overnight.

And the next day he took a tow and flew it back to Saratoga!

Adjusting for the realities of Northeast soaring that's mind-boggling, given being able to bring it home (upwind) the next day.

Getting one's diamonds in a 1-26 is doable, but yes ... a feat. A great deal of it is the feat of persistence, planning, and being ready to go when the conditions are right.

The hard one is the distance. There are basically two strategies -- out east it's pretty easy along the Appalachian ridges.

Out west you wait for a post-cold-frontal day with a decent wind ... and do the "vulgar down wind dash." Even 20 kts of wind on your tail changes the whole picture for a 1-26, and with any sort of luck you get some streeting too.

Problem is ... somebody will need to drive 600 miles RT to get you. (This assumes you are not George Hanke with his luck, too.) And you will probably not succeed on the first try.

Anyone who has done this has good friends or family.