Marco,

The news that I have is that my glider, roughly SN 12-15ish, should be completed around late spring to early summer. Dave Nelson's might be in production right now, maybe. Tom Holloran is the by now not so new, USA representative; he is doing a great job and has been doing A LOT of work getting the FAA and Port Authorities, etc. ready. He and his wife are currently in Krakow, Poland visiting the factory, and he plans to make videos of his flights in the JETA and the VELO. I can't wait.

My wife and I were in Ostrow for the 2018 WGC; we went to do flight support for our friend and fellow club member Bif Huss and his wife Ceil. We wanted to touch the JETA and speak with Mr. Kawa. Like you said, the GP-15 was retracted from the contest. The reason makes huge sense; the glider had not finished its certification flight tests. The factory did not want to expose the prototype to the rigors of a world-class competition. Mr. Kawa had to switch back to his glider. He, too, did not want to compete in a glider that was not fully ready for prime time. As good a pilot as he is, he wants everything perfect. By the way, he is very particular.

Part of the delay in testing and production was due to changes that Mr. Kawa suggested; by the way, he is the factory's technical adviser. Those changes were 1) New design winglets, 2) Wing roots streamlined to the fuselage in the negative flap position, and 3) A change in the angle of incidence of the horizontal stabilizer. So when the top glider racer in the world wants something, he usually gets it. And, he wants speed.

Other recent changes include the steerable tail wheel and a cheaper way to charge the batteries while the glider is in its trailer.

Raul Boerner