In message
,
vic20owner writes

Thanks everyone for the very detailed replies. I have to admit I am
surprised at just how helpful the member of this list are to
beginners. I would prefer a 2 seater so I can fly with
friends,family, or other fellow pilots. At the moment (this may
change with experience) I am primarily interested in a Let Blanik L-23
or L-12 simply because I am flying an L-23 in my lessons and enjoy it
quite a bit.

When you learnt to drive, did you go out and buy a car like the one you
learnt in? Would you still enjoy driving the type of car you learnt on?
Do you still do the same type of driving you did when you learnt? When
I went solo just under 3 years ago I had barely been out of glide range
of the club. Then I started getting more adventurous and found the
performance limitations of the basic 1-seat gliders we have, so I got my
own bit of glass and am having a ball doing XC flying when conditions
permit.

I'd suggest you try as many different gliders as you can during the next
year before deciding to look for something. Try to have a go with some
more modern types including glass gliders - the Blanik you are flying is
basically a 50-year old design, updated a bit.

And think very hard if it's really appropriate to have a 2-seat glider
to give an occasional joy-ride. It will cost more to insure and
maintain, and be harder to rig. Wanting to do some flying with friends
is fine, but most of the folks I know use the club gliders for that.

--
Surfer!
Email to: ramwater at uk2 dot net