wrote:
A few weeks ago there was on RAS a thread concerning the increased cost
of German gliders, due apparently to the voracious appetite of Airbus
for the raw materials: fiberglass, carbon fiber, etc...I read today
that FedEx had cancelled its order and options for a number of A380s,
and UPS was mulling the decision. So...perhaps with these
cancellations the shortage of raw materials will abate, there will be a
glut, and the cost of sailplanes will go down. Or perhaps not !

Cheers, Charles

Fedex is opting for 777's instead. Boeing's 7E7 is reportedly 60% CF,
with the wings to be built in Japan (a big CF producer).

You be the judge, Google around a bit on 'carbon fiber price-fixing'
and 'carbon fiber cartel' and 'carbon fiber production' keep digging
for a while. I think the artificially limited supply of the past 30
years has now resulted in a lack of production capacity. The stuff's
not available at any price to some producers at present. A few hands
got slapped.

Frank Whiteley