Buying LS3a or ASW20a? ~$25k cross country glider. Which one and why?

So I just re-read this thread from the top.
A lot of good information here. I appreciate it.
I'm going to take a deep breath and re-review what is available.
I'm going to focus on a good glider with good finish and trailer that has the potential of being re-sold in a few years.
Anyway, there is a lot to think about here.
If you know of a glider not currently on Wings and Wheels, I'd like to hear about it.
At this time a partnership is not in the cards due to traveling.

On Monday, 1 April 2019 20:49:47 UTC-6, Michael N. wrote:
So I just re-read this thread from the top.
A lot of good information here. I appreciate it.
I'm going to take a deep breath and re-review what is available.
I'm going to focus on a good glider with good finish and trailer that has the potential of being re-sold in a few years.
Anyway, there is a lot to think about here.
If you know of a glider not currently on Wings and Wheels, I'd like to hear about it.
At this time a partnership is not in the cards due to traveling.

Not sure if you are a member of the Utah SOaring Association, there is a Mike N on the membership list, but you should be a member as you mention you are part time in UT. Four different airports, G103 and Twin Astirs to fly and access to a Pilatus when you are checked out.

The club is the best bang for your buck to stay current and gain experience as you are performing your search.

On Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 9:59:15 AM UTC-6, Ron Gleason wrote:

Not sure if you are a member of the Utah SOaring Association, there is a Mike N on the membership list, but you should be a member as you mention you are part time in UT. Four different airports, G103 and Twin Astirs to fly and access to a Pilatus when you are checked out.

The club is the best bang for your buck to stay current and gain experience as you are performing your search.

I am joining the Utah Soaring Association. Hoping to be in Utah most all of the summer and doing a lot of flying with the group. Also, need some refresher training and a BFR. Thanks!

Ive flown The Mini Nimbus, Mosquito and DG 202. For gliders of that era using the FX67-k170 airfoil there is only a small spread of Performance, with the Pik 20 slightly worse due to poor airfoil accuracy, one locally is 19% thick rather than the 17 % it should be. The LS3 seems to be the best handling of the bunch, and the 20 with its thinner airfoil has the best performance.
I bought a 202. I would put the Mosquito second behind the DG, though for larger pilots the cockpit is a little small. Johnson said the DG was the most comfortable glider he had flown at the time.
The Mosquito was very nice to fly and had a big cockpit. The DG showed a slightly higher performance in Johnson’s tests, of about 1.5 L/D points. When I recently ran templates of my 202, the airfoil was still very accurate. I have found no great issue flying with flaps, compared to retrimming a standard class glider, there really isn’t much difference.
Both the DG and Mini have versions with carbon wings, which are lighter and make rigging easier.
All of these gliders are nice to fly and viceless handling. It really comes down to what suits you personally best, my advice would be to try and test fly as many of them as possible before making a decision.
The LS3, ASW20 AND DG200/202 have optional span extensions to about 17m which gives a worthwhile improvement in performance. Only the Mosquito has full automatic control hookups, I have fitted Wedekind sleeves that make hookups much easier, and is not a great cost or difficult to fit.
Recently Ingo Renner took my DG for a test flight and remarked that it is a very nice glider with no “buts�
In order of performance.
ASW20 =LS3
Dg 202
Mosquito = Mini Nimbus
Pik20
All capable of 1000km flight in the right hands and condition.