On Oct 4, 12:35 pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
toad wrote:
Bad idea to require suitability for early solo pilot. This led to
unneeded "dumbing down" of the design. Specific features such as the
nose wheel and non-retractable landing gear. It also leads to
sacrificing performance for easier handling.

Time to update your knowledge to at least the 1980s, when the LS4,
Discus, and other gliders showed you don't have to sacrifice performance
to have a glider with wonderful, forgiving handling.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

Then why doesn't the PW5 have better performance ?

Trade offs between handling and performance might be:
span, easier handling with lower span.
wing loading, high for performance, low for safety, happy medium ?
airfoil and twist for better performance or stall ?
fixed gear vs retract.
high wing for safety vs lower drag mid wing ?

All of these items can be optimized one way or the other. The LS4/
Discus got a really good happy medium with both good handling and
performance. If the PW5 had near the performance of either of these
gliders, I would own a PW5, but the PW5 does not.

Todd