On 10/23/2017 10:16 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
I was "delighted" to learn that my 2004 Stemme S10-VT is still in development,
that there are no pictures available, and that there are several pictures in
the gallery.Â* I don't think I'd put much faith in the directory to make a
purchase decision.

When I last put serious, concentrated, effort into updating the online
Sailplane Directory (2012?), said effort went into: 1) identifying ships
outright missing from the Directory at that time; 2) obtaining as much info
about them as I could (e.g. from manufacturer websites & directly contacting
U.S. importers); and 3) updating older ships about which I'd obtained various
info over the years (e.g. polars, etc.). About the same time, a generic plea
for "missing info" from owners/builders/etc. was inserted in "Soaring" mag,
the thinking being that self-interested folks as present-owners might prove a
rich source of identifying/conveying those sorts of things.

FWIW, I remember exactly zero feedback flowing from the request/opportunity
related to ATC-ed ships, though one owner (two?) of a one-off did so (Thanks
again!).

Also FWIW, my present understanding is all "LBA-related" (likely the incorrect
German bureaucracy...DLR?) performance info pertaining to new German designs
remains sequestered for a minimum of 3 years, purportedly for reasons related
to competitive concerns of the individual German sailplane manufacturers. IOW,
obtaining "hard performance info" about newer designs is "for all practical
purposes" impossible. Kinda-sorta related, obtaining "other
salesmanship-related info" about *any* newer ship proved - at that time, for
me - pretty much limited to scouring manufacturers' websites. Maybe Jane's
might have "some other magical Wiki-leaks sources"...but historically, when it
comes to sailplanes anyway, I've never noticed they do!

A note about pictures - the Stemme S10 is far from the only entry absent an
image on the "About" tab while containing one or more in the "Gallery" tab.
Back when I last updated the Directory, Titian Scholtemeyer (its primary
developer) and I discussed what we'd like to see for each sailplane's
"About-image," and "opted to go the 'Grabber' route," by which I mean in our
Ideal Worlds each entry would have "something more than a generic snapshot" as
its feature photo. So Dan, here's a photo-op for your 15 minutes of fame!!!

Bob - highly paid occasional volunteer - W.

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