Doing it as a favor to a friend, a club, or the sport of soaring is admirable. I did it once that way and was happy to. I knew the seller and they knew and trusted me. But it can involve a considerable amount of time and effort, especially showing the glider to interested parties and helping them with the paperwork.

An estate sale is a different matter. The reason to charge a modest fee to the estate is it incentivizes the agent to get the best price. I'm sure most soaring folks would do a reasonable job anyway. But for a few percent, the estate will feel more confident they're doing the right thing and (as important) they can demonstrate that if asked later. Awkward questions could include: will the "agent" go to the same effort as he/she would if it were his/her own sale? And: might the agent be motivated to give someone a little better price because they're a friend or are deserving? Estate administrators/executors are legally bound to do what's in the best interests of the estate's beneficiaries and can be held personally liable if they don't. And for that reason, I wouldn't expect them to be open to donating the glider, no matter how worthy the recipient, unless the beneficiaries are all on board.

Listen to Ed Kilborne's "The $65 LS-4" for an example where selling a glider for free backfired.

Chip Bearden