Earlier, (Mark James Boyd) wrote:

Is it possible to make a retract gear metal glider with
flush rivets and a carry-through spar which would give
40:1 ratio...?

Yes. All it takes is good attention to detail during construction. And
after that, it takes microballoon mix, primer, paint, and lots of
sandpaper and elbow grease, reapplied biennially or as necessary. The
old Sierra Press soaring books are rife with takes of re-refilling all
the dings, rivet dimples, and seams in the old HPs, Prues, Schweizers,
and Laister ships. Been there, done that, got the bondo-smeared
T-shirt.

I remain firm in my conviction that the most cost-effective way to
achieve the smoothness and fidelity to contour required to get 40:1
glide ratios is with female-molded composites. Dick V. knows this from
his soaring contest experience. It's not the only way, and it's not
the best way for everybody or every situation. But where (quantity
~3), it's pretty much the cheapest and least labor-intensive way.

It's why I'm spending a ton of money making full-size wing molds for
the HP-24 and its derivatives. I spent years messing around with
various sheetmetal and moldless composite schemes. And every path led
back towards female-molded composites in full-size molds. So I'm
making wing molds. Some say I've gone over to the dark side. But once
I finish the molds, these wing sets will darn near build themselves.

Thanks, and best regards to all

Bob K.
http://www.hpaircraft.com/hp-24