Where do I send in my deposit?

I'm sorry, but your statements are ridiculous. Please, go ahead, knock yourself out and prove this model.

If you actually believe that your new business idea...

Let's call it "Magical Flying Unicorn Sailplanes" by Wilber" shall we?

....is a viable concept (dirt cheap sailplanes?), please, teach us. Start that company. Start producing 25k sailplanes and prove to the world that all current manufacturers are greedy robbers and that we are all idiots for paying their market price. I have no doubt the sailplane that you describe would sell (at 25k). But show us that you can make a profit (I wish you could see the smile on my face right now). Show us that you can stay in business for a year producing and selling dozens of these "Magic Unicorn 15m's!".

Design it
Tool it
Build the prototype
Test it
Refine it
Re-tool it
Certify it
Hire your employees - pay for their healthcare and benefits
Train them
Retain them
Lease the building
Heat the building, Cool the building
Deal with the EPA
Deal with OSHA
By the supplies
Market it,
Sell it
Support it
Warranty it
Pay all the regulatory fees and taxes, etc., etc., etc.

ALL FOR 25k A POP! :-) Good luck!

This would change the game (like...magic!). I honestly do hope you can succeed. But, sadly, its just not going to happen, even for 100k, especially in the USA, and even you know it.

Last I checked, a 14-foot sailboat (think Sunfish) was almost $20,000 USD.

You can thank your previous President (sorry, community organizer) and his 10 Trillion in new US Federal debt (an increase of 100% in 8 years). Now, interest rates (near zero for eight years now) are starting to normalize. That sailboat above (worth 10k eight years ago) will be up to 25k in 5 years. Even a 13.5m Silent is 120k.

I look forward to you showing us that I am wrong.






On Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at 8:09:32 AM UTC-4, wrote:
What we need in soaring is a new glider built for a reasonable price. $150,000 for a new glider is just not even a consideration for most people. Let's face it, you can get a low mileage Ferrari for half that price!

The PW-5 was a terrible failure. The engineers made the wingspan too short, without a common T-tail and failed to have the gear retract.

What we really need is something that looks like an ASW-19 bare bones that is brand new for $25,000.

It needs to have only the basics:
-15 meter wingspan
-T-tail
-Retractable landing gear
-Hinged canopy
-Airspeed
-Altimeter
-Basic VSI (no audio)
-Tube trailer
-Mag compass

With a basic tube trailer similar.

If the PW-5 can be made for around that price, so could something like this.

Just to get a basic sailplane for $25,000 that has a 35:1 to 40:1 glide ratio, pilots could once again afford this sport and it would be one less reason for pilots to not get into soaring.