Is the PW-6 built any better than a PW-5? I can't imagine a trainer built like a PW-5 able to withstand the kind of abuse a trainer takes.



On Friday, April 5, 2013 4:24:28 AM UTC-7, Evan Ludeman wrote:
On Thursday, April 4, 2013 11:50:05 PM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:

On 4/4/2013 4:41 PM, GM wrote:



Please - someone explain to me why a manufacturer



like Windward Performance does not jump at the opportunity to build a



modern two-seat trainer rather than trying to compete with the latest



super orchid grown in Germany. I think something like this would



sell.







Let me explain...







I talked to Greg Cole of Windward performance today about this subject.



He thinks the ideal two-seat trainer...







+ should have good performance, significantly better than an ASK 21



+ be light weight (but rugged) with wing panels weighing less than 140



pounds each, so club members don't mind rigging it each weekend



+ have very nice handling







And ultimately, it should have a front mounted electric motor with a



folding propeller ("TFP" - tractor folding propeller). That would allow



it to use a car launch to 500', turn on the motor, and look for



thermals. No thermals? Climb with the motor.







When it lands, the battery can be exchanged for a fully charged one if



it needs recharging, and the depleted one put on charge (maybe you need



three batteries if the thermals are weak).







But even if a conventional towplane is used for the launch, the TFP lets



the student and instructor go soaring, even cross country, almost every



flight. Imagine how cool that is! Students would be much more enthused



about soaring if they actually got to do some soaring on every flight,



rather than being told "XC after you have your license", or "XC when you



have your own glider".







Whether it's car launch or towplane, the TFP would allow and encourage



more soaring, even XC, during instruction, and more XC when flown solo.



The light weight and easy rigging would subdue the concerns about



landing out (unlikely with the TFP), and the utilization of the glider



would be much higher than the typical heavy low/medium performance



two-seater.







Greg thinks it would sell, but bringing this glider (any glider!) to



market is very expensive. The full design, molds, production tooling,



and testing will easily exceed a million dollars (aka $1,000,000). So,



for Windward Performance to jump at this opportunity means coming up



with a lot of money. That will a lot easier to do if there are some



orders, so if you want one of these, or think you can find some money



for Windward, please call Greg Cole, and talk to him about it.







Get his contact details he







http://windward-performance.com/contact-us/







--



Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to



email me)



No motors! That adds cost, complexity and training issues all out of proportion to any supposed benefit as a trainer. We need *trainers* and a safe, reliable, economical way to launch them. The PW-6 is the closest thing on the market.



Evan Ludeman / T8