I seem to remember a wonderful letter in Sailplane and Gliding in which
the writer noted that, when he first started gliding in his twenties,
average glider LD ratios were around 1:20's. In his thirties, this rose
to 1;30's and, at the time of writing, in his forties, 1:40's. He was
looking forward to his 100th birthday! May be new materials, better
design will prove a substitute for span. The one thing that there will
never be a substitute for is Money. Anyone who disagrees may care to
explain the absence of K8's from the various handicapped comps.

-----Original Message-----
From: Glider Pilot Network ]
Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2003 10:10 PM
To: Steve Hopkins
Subject: [r.a.s] 50+:1 15m sailplanes


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Newsgroup: rec.aviation.soaring
Subject: 50+:1 15m sailplanes
Author: Robert Danewid
Date/Time: 22:00 24 December 2003
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JJ, negative thinking - use the force!

Robert

JJ Sinclair wrote:
"There is a substitute for span, it's called skill, but you can buy
span"


OK, it's 7:00 PM, the sky has been completely overcast for hours, you
have
5000 feet and your looking at a 50 mile final glide. Now SKILL your
way
home.

A very mery Christmas to all my RAS buddies.
JJ Sinclair


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