Hello, R44. I started in gliders, went on to convert a silver certificate into a PPL, have done a fair bit of tugging over the years. If you definitely prefer to fly something noisy around the sky, why may as well stick to that discipline....but the real challenge for me has always been the cross country in a glider; if you get it wrong you visit a farmer....no harm done. If you get it wrong in a power plane, its can be very expensive, and the thought of all that petrol in the wing tanks makes me nervous....
The whole scene at a busy gliding club requires tug pilots who are very very switched on. Some clubs are airtow only, others combine winch and airtow, which can make for exciting moments. Giving way to gliders has to take priority, and they can all come in to land at once! Eyes on stalks all the time a requirement. So sign up for a course at an airtow club, become familiar with the environment. It still won't cost as much as maintaining a private aircraft.
You want an interesting story? I was tugging at a competition at Weston on the Green; it had been Notamed and all that. Pulling up an ASW19, I saw a twin presumably climbing out of Oxford, heading straight for me. So as the rules of the air require, I turned right. The twin TURNED LEFT! Only thing left was to dive, and the glider behind me hung on throughout, which was the smart thing to do, presenting one target instead of two to the opposition.
The glider pilot said later he wanted his money's worth, having paid for a 2,000 foot tow.....