Not only has carbon fiber gone up in price, but the availability has
been severely limited. I bought about 100 yards more than a year and a
half ago for about $25.00 a yard. This was for the Hexcell 282 and 284
styles. These are very close to what the Europeans use. I can get the
same styles now for about $36 to $38 a yard. If you buy more, the price
goes down a bit, and I'm sure that the best prices go to the biggest
customers. I'm just glad to know when I need more if SHOULD be
available.

Not only have Boeing and Airbus cornered the market, but they also have
specified different weaves and weights, so the carbon manufacturers
have obliged them by making that instead of the "common" styles used by
the rest of us.

I rather enjoy working with carbon, the HP-24 fuselage I made using
carbon, and carbon/kevlar hybrid is quite a bit stiffer, stronger and
lighter than the equivalent fiberglass only fuselage we made.

Cheers,
Brad

Jacek, how many gliders do you have?

Neal Pfeiffer wrote:
What is for sure is that the cost of carbon-fiber cloth has gone up
greatly (well over 100%) over the past two years. Whether that is tied
to Boeing using (or stocking up with) much more of the aircraft-quality,
carbon supply for their 787 is a matter for discussion.

For some new gliders, the increased cost for carbon makes a case for
using carbon only in the highest-stress locations and glass for the
majority of the structure. The end product may be a little heavier, but
should cost much less.

wrote:
I just received an email with the monthly news from DG. The 2
paragraphs that struck me most is the explanation [1] of the cost of a
new glider and [2] 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'll buy some of that....but at the
same time I started thinking about cost of used gliders. If the analogy
used in the newsletter was applied both ways then the cost of used
sailplanes should go up significantly....or maybe for European market
the best purchases on the used market are here in the U.S.? When you
take the cost and read the explanation about the cost of parts...well,
it seems to me that the used market should be booming now. I don't know
how many of you received the DG newsletter but ....are there any
thoughts? I guess I will sit for a while on one of my gliders and wait
for improvements of prices on used market.

Jacek
Pasco, WA

And by the way Tom.....you can get parts to the PZL Jantar line without
any problems and that is not from one but multiple sources......