Depending on how retarded the clerk is during the registration process (I say that in jest!) it can be either a Light Sport, or like ours, a Glider. (Yes, the FAA considers it a type-rated glider!).
I seriously doubt that this is really registered glider, maybe you are thinking 'motor glider'? Also I believe it can be registered as a motor glider and still qualify under the rules of a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). That is the new classification by the FAA to allow 'sport pilots' fly light 2 seat aircraft with less training than a private pilot. The way I understand it many
existing aircraft do not need to be re-registered to be flown as an LSA by a sport pilot as long as they meet the other requirements. However new aircraft flown as LSA must be registared as either S-LSA (factory built) or E-LSA ('kit' built or restricted to 49% factory built). This is where registration and classifications get confusing, but what else would you expect from the FAA.
As far as buying something, as others have said it can be very expensive.
The cheapest way is to find an E-LSA (Experimental kit built Light Sport Aircraft) on the used market. The reason being is you can take a 16 hour course and do all of the maintenance and inspections yourself, saving a huge amount of money.
For about $25,000 plus about $20 per hour fixed operating costs, you can own and fly something like this Avid 4. This one also has quick folding wings and can be loaded onto a trailer in a few minutes, meaning you can bring it home and put it in the garage or carport and save on hanger fees.
If you want to go the certified route, you will be paying for maintenance and inspections. Also ever few thousand hours you will need to have your certified engine rebuilt, which can cost almost as much as a new engine. For example, to compare this to the $25,000 Avid above, you could buy a Cessna 152 in the $25,000 range, and your hourly operating costs would be roughly $50/hour, over double! That includes putting aside some money every hour to pay for an engine rebuild every 2000 hours (about $15,000).
The upside to buying a certified plane like this is as long as you maintain it, its very unlikely to loose much value. Of course if you want to start talking about spending more money, the options are limitless. However just keep in mind that operating costs will be the major factor in the long run. Fixed operating costs on something simple like a nice late model 172 could be approaching $100 an hour!
