What First Glider to own?

Originally Posted by Hagbard Celine

That's a nice and diverse fleet you have there! As to getting your own
glider, in that price range you can look at several older glass
standard class ships. In this group I include:
Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus
Schleicher ASW-15 / ASW-15B
Glasflugel 201 / 201B Standard Libelle
Rolladen-Schneider LS-1C / LS-1D
SZD Standard Jantar 1

They all have their strengths and weaknesses, to me none of the
weaknesses would be deal breakers. If you look at Paul Bickles "Polars
Of Eight" and Richard Johnsons flight test evaluations you'll find
that they all have very (very) similar performance. At this point the
variation in the condition of an individual glider would probably
account for a greater performance difference than any that might be
inherent in the design.

You might also find an LS-1F or DG-100 in this price range. If you're
alright with the heavier rigging an Open Cirrus would be an option
too. I don't know enough about the Phoebus B and C to offer any advice
on their flying qualities and parts support. Maybe some owners can
weigh in? A Grob 102 Astir CS or CS-77 would probably fall into this
price range too. The Grobs are a bit sluggish in terms of control
response and they are more difficult to rig than they need to be (a
Libelle type rigging tool would make them much easier to assemble) but
they are roomy and have decent performance. I've heard differing
experiences when it comes to parts support. We needed a new rudder for
our club's single Grob and some parts for the airbrake system a few
years ago and I got them from Linder with no trouble but I've also
talked to people who haven't been as lucky.

The Soaring Magazine Sailplane Directory issue has a summary by Derek
Piggott of these gliders and many others that could be helpful. He
offers a more in-depth evaluation of a number of gliders in "Gliding
Safety" if you can find a copy.

If you can find any obliging owners, try them on for size. Your
height, weight and leg/torso proportions will probably rule some of
them out for you. (example: I had enough headroom and fit alright
lengthwise in the Libelle but still found it lacked shoulder room and
felt too cramped on the other hand I was comfortable in my clubs
Standard Jantar but I was one of the few who was, many said it didn't
seem to be designed for human beings!)

As I've owned an ASW-15B for five years I can give you some more
detailed information on that particular glider: roomier than a Libelle
but a bit more cramped than the L-33, very docile at low speeds and
not inclined to spin, quite powerful airbrakes, light ailerons (both
in terms of aerodynamic loads and system friction), a ridiculous
amount of rudder authority, although the gear handle is on the same
side as the airbrake handle there is little chance of confusing one
for the other because they are widely separated (when you look inside
a 15 it's pretty obvious it was designed as a fixed gear as per the
standard class regs of the time and then changed over to retractable
as an afterthought), the long one-piece removable canopy is a bit of a
pain as you really need someone to help close it for you before
flight, it has an all-flying tail but it was properly designed so it
isn't twitchy at all, lastly I've found that when I've needed any
parts, TN's or general advice John Murry at Eastern Sailplane has been
extremely helpful. It's also pretty easy to rig. I've shared the field
with two Libelle owners and I usually get the 15 together and ready to
fly quicker than they do...

Since you mentioned the IS-29 I was wondering if you were considering
getting a metal ship and tying it down outside? If I was in this
situation I would seriously consider the Schweizer 1-35 myself.

I was only considering the IS-29 since there is one for sale and originally I was thinking that a metal ship would be easier to maintain and somewhat bulletproof. As of now, I'm not sure if those are correct assumptions.