Eric Greenwell wrote:
Jon Meyer wrote:

I'm saying it must be smaller to be cheaper. Bigger costs money.

Here was an important goal: "substantially lower costs than then-current
new gliders". It's the first one on the list in the history section of
the World Class Soaring Association (www.wcsa.org/history.htm).

A big part of this was to achieve "cheap".

Fixed undercarriage, no waterballast, even the requirement
for no flaps, are in my opinion all unnecessary requirements
for a world class glider,

If you want cheap, you have to leave off the things that make it costly.

Having seen three used PW-5's/Russias in the past year for
half the price of an LS-4, cost is an issue...

I'd also have to classify myself not as a soaring performance
enthusiast, but as a soaring consumer. Sort of like I'd
have a boombox instead of a six-speaker Bose, a 32" TV instead of HDTV,
etc. As a soaring consumer, I fit what Carl Herold has profiled:
doing X-C in 1-2 years in the sport, having soaring as a hobby,
etc.

As a consumer, I'm thrilled about the NON-performance aspects of soaring
that the PW-5, Russia, and Sparrowhawk provide.
Namely, lower cost, lighter weight, simpler features, modern
technology (which does not necessarily mean better performance).

Having lighter wings to assemble, a smaller trailer, shorter
wings, no flaps/gear/water ballast certainly are not things
that help performance, they only appeal to me as a consumer/hobbyist.

I can completely understand why the soaring enthusiasts would be baffled
at anyone who wants a new glider which performs worse than
the top 50% of gliders in the world. From their perspective,
which is perfectly understandable, this is absurd.

But if you eliminate the word "performance," every single
aspect now goes the other way. This is what I as a
soaring "consumer" look for in value.

Model aircraft builders have a similar quandry. The motor
airplane builders enjoy much more performance, but the
electric models are much easier to start, cleaner, and
less expensive. Electric model aircraft are gaining a lot of
popularity with "consumers."

I don't expect a Yugo to be appreciated by Ferrari drivers...
But you can drive a Yugo by the Ferrari shop AND the
gas station every day...

I don't think the World Class will ever draw pilots out of their
retract gliders in any numbers. The fixed gear and low cost
(read short wings) simply can never challenge span and
reduced drag. The World Class is a consumer class, and I
don't expect the enthusiasts to accept reduced performance...

On another note, I would like to see the World Class develop in
2009. One change perhaps is the "homebuild" option. This may
have discouraged some entries, and I'm not sure added any benefit
(another poster said this too). I would also like to
see a 36:1 or better glide as a minimum. I think the Sparrowhawk
Russia, Apis and Silent all have the potential to compete
with only minor modifications (different wings, changes to eliminate
flaps, different landing gear designs, etc.). And a lot of
improvement can happen given five years...

Will any of this now attract soaring "enthusiasts" to trade in their LS-4s?
I don't think so. But hey, I'm comfortable with that...

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Mark Boyd
Avenal, California, USA