On Monday, 20 November 2017 07:56:29 UTC+11, flgliderpilot wrote:
The problem with 1-26 is that you will have to be catching every thermal ahead of you or you
will have to hurry back to the last one to prevent to be landing out. You will land out with 1-26
a lot and with that the safe 1-26 has a risk factor. Go for something better performance. The
Libelle: My shoulder with is 19" and I cannot fit in the Libelle 201, however if you have 17.5"
will work for you. There is lots of leg room in the Libelle, a 6ft 3" tall person would fit in. There
is one for sale in St. Louis for $9500 (Wings and Wheels) with TWO trailers, (open and closed), has great vario, new canopy..... It is a nice glider and the seller is super nice.

True, this described my silver distance attempts exactly. I'd do 2/3's of the triangle and get stuck in a weak thermal trying over and over to get to the next thermal anywhere up wind. I'd have to scurry back re-gain altitude over until the thermal would break up and I'd land out. The challenge was of course fun at first but the cost of tow plane retrievals started to add up and take the joy out of it. But, I hadn't given up.

I may not actually fit in a Libelle... only 5'4 and around 200 pounds. Not all that fat but stocky and wide (and add parachute).

Then go for a Hornet (H206). Armchair cockpit, inflight adjustable seatback and rudder pedals. Lots of room. Goes just a bit better than a Libelle and and is even easier to rig, also has a T Tail. Support for this old line of gliders by Glasfaser is nothing short of superb.