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Old March 15th 17, 02:00 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
RR
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Default All US Records are Now Motor Glider Records


Just to roll this back to the issue at hand, does this "advance of technology" justify somehow creating/maintaining separate categories. I believe the feeling expressed by Evan is, that it is unfair to have this new technology compete with the old. There is no question that technology marches on, and the records advance as it does. Do we keep the old categories as it goes forward, no. We don't have "wooden glider 300k speed triangle". That time is past. That said, the records do show the equipment used (at least the glider used) and when you look back in time, you can be impressed with the performance in relation to the equipment. In the past we had open primaries, then enclosed wood and fabric, then metal, then first, then second, then ..., generation glass and carbon. At the moment, nearly all the new production gliders have some form of auxiliary. The records advance with the accepted technoligy. While there are many advantages to self-launch and self-retrieve, they do not add up to the performance gain of gen one glass vs a modern glider.

Evan pointed to a record that was saved by the use of the motor before the start. This is true, but the record was the result of the pilot's performance after the motor shut down. That was all pilot skill, and a record day was not wasted.

So Evan, the good news is that as long as you resist your temptation to trade in your testosterone reserves, and come over to the darkside, your 15m glider is not likely to be in contention with self-launch gliders, as most of those will start with larger spans, for a while...

RR