Todd - I was being sarcastic about "one-design" classes. I bought a
Russia AC-4 before I bought my DG-300, so I know the story of the
World Class all too well.

....And as a separate comment about this thread - It really sounds like
the people here arguing for a second handicap class all have the same
underlying desi They want a handicapped class, but one that only
includes SOME gliders - the ones they think are most fair to compete
against each other and the ones they think are already close in
performance.

(*with my tongue fimly planted in my cheek for the next few
statements*)
Wow, what would these same people think about something as "crazy" as
the Standard Class! Imagine, a Discus2 going up against an LS-10!
With NO handicap! Boy, that Discus sure is at a big disadvantage (2%
or 5%) under specific circumstances - Hell, that's a "1.05"
handicap! They ought to do something about that... Its a travesty!

Also, If we really wanted a "Club Class" in the USA that was
representative of most Club fleets, we'd see an AWFUL lot of G-102s,
Schweizer metal birds, and Blaniks or Twin Astirs... Maybe a Junior,
for the "high dollar" folks! Anyone with a glider produced after the
mid 1970's would be disqualified! And how long would it take for
people to start complaining about how that 1-26 or 1-36 can't be
handicapped well-enough to compare with that Astir or Junior on a
windy or strong-lift day? After all, the G-102 and Junior have much
better penetration and handicapping alone can't account for the
differences in their polars under various conditions!

*sigh*
--Noel