On Monday, September 12, 2016 at 3:23:47 AM UTC-4, wrote:
UPDATE:

I went out to the soaring club this weekend and tried on a few gliders.

1. The LS-1f is totally out. We tried every possible contortion and adjustment. If I slide down low enough to close the canopy, my knees are buried in the back of the instrument panel, lifting it out of position. I'm not keen on the possibility of accidentally disconnecting pitot-static lines, either.

2. The club has a G103 Twin II, which I can fit in.

3. The club also has a G102 Std III, which was tight but acceptable.

4. The club has an SGS 2-33, which I didn't bother sitting in because it's pretty obvious I will fit. And I'm not particularly keen on flying it much.

5. A club member has an SGS 1-26, which was very roomy and might be something I'd consider buying in order to get a lot of cheap flying under my belt before moving up to slicker ships. How does a Ka-6 compare to the fit of the 1-26? They seem very similar from the outside.

I think my biggest problem with fitting in slick single-seaters is going to be my long neck preventing canopy closure. That seemed to be the theme of the day, finding ways to lie as supine as possible to get the canopy closed.

As for chutes, since I don't intend to fly in competitions and the Grob hasn't had the AD mod to be flown acro, I feel no urgent need to get one.

A few of you mentioned the Lark; I thought they were all getting scrapped because of the life limit issue. Has anything improved on that front? A Lark might be a cheap thing to get and make available to the club.

Funny thing, the guys in the club who were helping me try on gliders started licking their chops at the idea that I might not fit in everything and thus would be flying tows most of the time! I guess there aren't a lot of guys willing to do that; but I don't mind.

FYI, I am in FL, not NY.

You might also look at the 1-34 if metal doesn't turn you off.
UH