Why is Soaring declining

Martin Gregorie wrote
As far as the gliders go, I had my 1-26 and was happy with it, I was
even happy with it after I had flown it.

Dammit, Lennie, you keep putting reasons in front of me to visit the
States again - I really must fly a 1-26 to see why so many pilots like
them.

Pilots like them because they're fun to fly. Light on the controls,
turns tight, thermals on a fart. Won't penetrate worth a damn, but if
the winds are light or you're going downwind it's a hoot. Think Ka-8,
only the wings are shorter (and consequently the glide ratio is lower)
and the control feel not quite as good. Thing is, Ka-8's are not very
common in the US and in that class of glider, the 1-26 is the next
best thing (among those commonly available in the US). Also, Ka-8's
have wood wings, which scares some people and makes it impossible to
tie them down outside. 1-26's have metal wings.

Michael