Plenty of interesting stuff in this lengthening thread.
Assuming (big assume I know) that the concept of one-design
racing, at the lower end of the performance range,
could be a good idea, could work like dinghy racing
classes, and could attract 'new' people to sporting
gliding, can we arrive at some king of concensus about
the spec. No, don't just say why not the LS4 or the
S-H D(a) because there are almost certainly liability
issues that would preclude an open and widespread re-start
manufacture of those, and they are anyway 'old-technology'
now. Consider also that the 'one-type' could be a
homebuild (a kit) and in the microlight class (see
Euro rules for this), or generally de-regulated or
lightly regulated. The comments about how to minimise
cost are correct for sure, so we are looking at a 'small'
glider, and a simple one, so that it can become numerous
rapidly, both as a multi-manufacturer ready-to-fly,
and as a kit. That's not to say it cannot be sexy
or, in the eyes of the oh so conservative existing
glider pilot community, just look cool - whatever that
is!

Generally, it seems that L/D around 38 would be enough
- that would be better than an old Std Cirrus, not
quite as good as a Discus A, but close to the LS4.
Can we agree on that?

And the cost? What would folks be prepared to pay
for this one-class 'new' glider - ready-to-fly bare
hull? Or as a kit?

Club Class, or Sport Class is fine, but the great leveller
is everybody in exactly the same type, and flying at
the same weight. One of the reasons the idea of one-design
got rubbished was that some of the pilots could not
hack it at that level (of performance) and just blamed
the tool.

So, be constructive, iron out the spec, and maybe there
will be interest in designing the glider, and in producing
it quickly enough, in enough places, and in sufficient
quantity to make the one-design concept fly again.
Who knows, maybe more than one one-design will emerge
- just like dinghy racing. And that would be cool.

Roger H




At 16:36 06 October 2007, Marc Ramsey wrote:
Ian wrote:
There was a condition, wasn't there, that the plans
had to be
available to multiple manufacturers? I suppose that
would have put S-H
off a bit. But then, how many manufacturers ever made
PW-5's?

Two, actually, PZL Swidnik and PZL Bielsko which, despite
the similarity
in names, are competing companies. There is also a
third set of molds
from which one glider was built, the builder was killed
in an off-field
landing accident...

Marc