On Jun 9, 7:26*pm, KevinFinke wrote:
What is sad is that they call the PW-5 a "World Class Sailplane."

What I think would be cool would be a very strict one design class
like in sailing. Start with a Discus and have very strict class rules.
Only have a GPS for logging the flight, give them a basic and standard
set of instruments, audio variometers and the same cockpit layout.
Ballast them to the same weight and CG and then have everyone fly a
different ship from day to day. Would truly be a pilots contest. And a
Discus would ensure a level of performance that would make for
interesting tasking in a variety of weather conditions.

-Kevin

While not perfectly identical, the current std and 15m classes are
close enough that no one wins on sailplane performance. And yeah,
that's pretty cool :-).

Looking at the FAA registry, I am surprised to see 70 PW-5s in the
US. Apparently, most were not bought to race.

-Evan Ludeman / T8