After WWI Germany wasn't allowed to have an air force, and the development of aircraft was severely limited.
But, being Germans, they thought well outside the box. They formed glider clubs, which most young males really loved to fly with.
One serious glider pilot was Erich Hartman who shot down over 500, (mostly Soviet) aircraft. Another was Adolph Galland who shot down somewhere near 200 allied aircraft before he was assigned to administrative duty by Hitler.
This summer I hope to do some glider riding and hopefully dual flying.
Your remarks about the value of flying gliders are very well said.
Good luck with your introduction to soaring. Theres nothing else like it. I got my glider rating at 16, a few weeks before I got my drivers license. My parents had to drive me to my check ride. Ive flown the Schweizer 2-33, the 2-32, the 1-26, and the Grob G-103 Twin II. Im waaaaaaaaay older now, but I keep thinking about getting back into it, and would love to get maybe an LS-4 (though my dream glider is an ASW-27). If you want to see some exceptional, and incredibly educational soaring videos on YouTube, search for Bruno Vassel. He flies an ASW-27, and hes like a flying college professor. His videos are incredibly interesting and informative.