On Feb 3, 6:24*am, ric375 wrote:
Are any of the major manufacturers looking into making next generation
models for the standard class?

is there even much room left for developement here? what could really
be improved? fuselages and tails seem more or less set, and any
tinkering with wing planform and angle of incidence involves trading
off either low or highspeed performance, with no overall gain compared
to current designs at different wingloadings.

As i see it, the only real improvements available are in the wing root
area(like on the new JS-1), and possibly thinner wing sections. but
given the wide range of CL these unflapped wings have to work at i
imagine that it is harder to make a thinner section work than on a
flapped ship.

what do you think/know?

--
ric375

There are plenty of gliders available on the used market to satisfy
the need. Additionally, the segment of the market who can "justify" a
new glider are the ones quite well off where the higher price for 18m
glider isn't as much an issue.
It would be pretty hard to do a glider that would obsolete the LS-8 ,
D2, ASW-28 group of gliders.
FWIW
UH