I just received an email with the monthly news from DG. The 2 paragraphs that struck me most is the explanation of the cost of a new glider and cost of replacement parts. The high cost of a new sailplanes and the delays in production was blamed on the war between Airbus and Boeing. OK, lets say...

I would like to start a thread to determine just how many (or how few) Phoebus B1 owners there are in the US. Being a new Phoebus pilot myself, I am interested in comparing thoughts, and exchanging ideas about this unique ship that is really well constructed, and ahead of it's time being that it...

Robert Bates wrote: Does anyone know of a good, layman's reference to the differences between airfoils? I've heard some "old-timers" refer to characteristics of different ones, and was wondering if there was an "Airfoils for Dummies" out there somewhere... ;) Thanks! --

A low cost ACW based on GPS will be tested in Switzerland. See www.flarm.com George

Has anyone every sold a glider without the buyer looking at it? I have my glider listed for sell and the guy is buying without looking at it and sending a cashiers check and arranging shipping....sound familiar. Casey

I had a chance to load a new config file and was able to fly today. There was no "flarm range" in my original config file. With the file I used today the "flarm range" config was set to maximum with the statement below. I had several flarm detections that occured around 4 miles. This is between...

Friends: I thought that it would be interesting to start a discussion on whether the FAI and different countries should begin to recognize 18 meters as a separate category for distance and speed records. The class has become very popular, even more popular than was the 15m class when those were ...

I am making a new instrument panel for my ASW27. The original panel appears to have a textured overlay that looks similar to leather. As far as I can tell the panel was made from carbon fiber over a plug and then the texture was bonded to the panel most likely using a vacuum bagging method. It...

Is there anyone who has experience with both of these sailplanes? They seems at the same price range but I don't know what would be the difference during xc flights. What about the maintenance, handling and any other issues? Thanks for your advice! /Janos

Looking for an FSG 50 mounting bracket If you have one available let me know Thanks Jim

Question for u guys. Do you think we are going to see a massive glider fire sale after this china virus deal subsides? I wonder if this crisis and its associated lack of flying opportunities is going to convince many of the non-die-hard guys to leave the sport and divest themselves of many good...

Any suggestions? Either currently available or coming in the near future (next year or so) would be ok, I am not in a rush. Prefer it would fit in one 57mm hole. I take care of navigation and tasks with other standalone devices (full on OpenVario with its own vario/STF sensor board, and a Kobo...

I have not seen any polar for the L-13 other than the one in the factory manual POH. It does not reference the flap positions. I have flown the L-13 and the L-23 (no flap) For the L-13, the flaps do lower landing speed and the angle of the fuselage on approach which affects the AOA of the wing. I...

In the spirit of fun, what gliders (makes or specific ones) do you hate, distrust, or are just plain tired of. Have you given so many rides in one model that you never want to see it again? Is there a plane that, despite treating it right, just seemed to want to hurt you? Or is there one out there...

This is an interesting piece of news from the helicopter industry: STRATFORD, Conn.,- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), today announced an agreement to acquire Schweizer Aircraft Corp., a privately owned U.S. company specializing in the...

My Cobra trailer is difficult to open and close in colder weather. It seems to be with the struts. Any suggestions? Thanks, Bob

Robert Mudd took two aluminum panels from our workshop to build a trailer for his apis. In return me promised to replace those with two 12 foot sections of similar material. I reluctantly agreed to this trade but Robert has never given us those panels. I reminded him just before he left for...

I wrote the following article and submitted it to Soaring for publication because it was something I was interested in and I thought others would be too. It was rejected because the subject matter wasn't suitable for soaring. Greg Cole is doing something extraordinary at Windward Performance and...

Rob recently documented his nook installation from his glider he http://xcsoar-robd.wikispaces.com/XCSoar+on+Nook+Simple+Touch He hooked it up to his cai302 via serial and patches in the power from the aircraft battery. I think this is the most cost effective way for a sunlight readable...

What we saw on the new start at the Seniors was in simple words....works great, will be good for along time. Just a note you might want to remember. When you leave threw the top, make sure your flown distance agrees with the distance given you by the scorer. Most of us found a good thermal, dropped...