AviationBanter - View Single Post - Feds Want to Equipe Gliders With Transponders and Radios

**Shawn[_5_]** · April 30th 08, 04:11 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting,rec.aviation.soaring

wrote:
On Apr 29, 5:35 pm, Larry Dighera wrote:
On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:15:46 -0700 (PDT), "kirk.stant"
wrote in
:

Larry Dighera obviously hasn't been around a modern
glass glider recently or he would understand that most have electrical
systems and many have transponders.
As a percentage of the entire sailplane fleet, how many would you
estimate are "modern glass gliders?"

Been to a glider field lately? Or a contest, or fun meet?

At my club, we have 5 older generation, non-glass gliders. The rest
of our fleet, club and private, totals perhaps 12 glass ships - all
with electrical systems (and one with a transponder). So that is a
pretty high percentage.

I would estimate that by flight hour, the majority of glider flying in
the US (and the rest of the world) is done in "modern glass gliders".

So if your idea of a typical American glider is a beat-up 2-33, you
might be surprised. While you will still find a lot of them around,
it's amazing how little they fly (with some obvious exceptions, of
course!).

Similar in Boulder. 60% of our club fleet is glass (OK it's only three
out of five, but still...) Mile High Gliding is about 50:50, then there
are the 30 or so private ship. I believe there are one or two HPs, the
rest are composite.

Shawn