(Gus Rasch) wrote:

I bet the 1-34 would stand a chance at better sales/completions
versus the HP series for a few reasons.

It's a tried and true conventional platform easily
recognized for what it is with hundreds of examples in the
field or parked under a cloud already.

Did you mean "hundreds of 1-34s" or "hundreds of gliders
similar to the 1-34s"?

No doubt the numbers from the directory have changed,
but at least it is a consistent baseline for comparison.

Source: 1997 Soaring Sailplane Directory.
SGS 1-34 No. in US 70

(versus the HP series which are harder to locate and more
likely to have a side-stick, V-tail, etc.)

Source: 1997 Soaring Sailplane Directory.
HP-11 No. in US 13
HP-13/14 No. in US 40
RS-15 No. in US 20
HP-16 No. in US 10
HP-18 No. in US 50

That's 70 1-34s vs 143 HP series. Unless of course
you meant gliders similar to the 1-34 in which case there
will be many more SGS. But the HPs are really not so
hard to find.

Also, all of the HPs listed have 3-7 points higher max L/D
and equal or significantly lower min. sink than the 1-34.

As far as "tried and true" goes I believe all of the HP-11 thru
14 predate the 1-34.

and more
likely to have a side-stick, V-tail, etc.)

*Only* the -18s had a side stick. Many of which have
been converted to center stick. If not converted, Bob
Kuykendall sells a nicely engineered custom center
stick kit for the -18.

Bob K. has a background in homebuilts/kits. I
would tend to believe his estimations.

My .02

Regards,

-Doug