Originally Posted by
BigA1982
There is a budget and I was specifically looking for pros / cons on my final two choices.
I have no experience of neither of your choices, but such small trivialities doesn't keep me from having opinions :-)
The Yuki model seems to be a (more or less accurate) scale model of a full-size glider. From what I've read gliders rarely scale very good, the high aspect ratio of full-size gliders can give rather nasty flight characteristics on a model. On the other hand, when flown correctly they really look good.
The FMS model is on the smaller end of gliders, which give it a rather high wing loading. Besides, a smaller model limits it's visual footprint and makes it harder to see and thus limits the area (or height) you can cover when searching for lift.
That's the only comments I have on those two, and, as I said, I have no personal experience of them so there is a chance they turn out to be excellent gliders despite my doubts.
Some other comments: There is no single 'best' beginners glider, most of them are, in my opinion, 'good enough', but some will have some advantages depending on local conditions and personal preferences. Much more important is how much you fly. If you're going to fly much, you have to have a plane you like. If you are a T-stab-fan, go get yourself a T-stab-glider. If you are a floater fan (like myself), go get a floater and just accept the fact that it doesn't fly as good as a heavier plane when it's windy. If you are a...., well, you get the idea.
You don't have to be afraid to limit yourself with the first glider. The challenge isn't so much to control the plane, as to understand where to fly your plane. I mean, if you don't find lift it doesn't matter if you have Gentle Lady or a Ava - they both come eventually. OK, the Ava might float a little bit longer, but that's beside the point. What matters is that you'll learn to find lift just as good in a 'simpler' plane as in an expensive one. And to learn to find lift might take a while (at least it did for me).
As to foam versus woodie I have no personal preferences. Several of my first planes were woodies and they have survived surprisingly much abuse without being unrepairable. I've had a very good time with my electrified Fling 2M from Great Planes (balsa wings, fiberglass pod and boom, now discontinued). OTOH, my favorite low-budget glider right now is Multiplex EasyGlider Pro.
My two cents.