In Europe the real cheap *World Class* is the Club Class. This is a
handicapped Class for essentially Standard Class and 15m Class gliders
that are no longer competitive in their original unhandicapped classes, so
can be bought quite cheaply compared with a new PW5, and still give much
better performance for general non-competition flying.

If you can't afford all of a glider, even a cheap one, then why not form
a small syndicate with a few of your gliding friends.

If you really want a new one design 'World Class' glider I can't see
that adding an extra 0.75 metres to each wing to bring the span up to 15m
is going to add all that much extra cost, but will give a big improvement
in performance. As in sailing one design classes, you would have to have a
series of measurements that would have to be complied with. To keep it
cheap I would suggest a wing section that is thick enough to allow it to
be made from low cost materials. Something like the LS4 design would be a
good starting point.

Derek Copeland


At 15:30 07 February 2009, Brian Bange wrote:
This ought to get the juices flowing- Don't shoot the messenger.

So far, no one has mentioned the 800 pound gorilla in the room:

In all classes but sports:
$50,000 absolute minimum for a ship that ?might? be
competitive.
$50,000 minimum for a motor home. (USA)
$1000 minimum for a week at a regionals
1 week off per contest, minimum.

In sports class:
$25,000 average for a ship
$200 tent
$1000 minimum for a week at a regionals
1 week off per contest, minimum.
Sleep in your tent listening to the air conditioners running in all
the motor homes.

Who attends these competitions? Do you really wonder why Joe
average income does not come out to play with his PW5? His
significant other would give him AIDS (aviation induced divorce)
for trashing the family finances.

I see racers as rich guys with time and middle class guys who
are willing to make huge sacrifices and/or have extraordinary
support from their spouses. The average middle class guy with
a wife and family just can't do it. That's just the way it is.

Perhaps this is why the 1-26ers are still going strong after 40
years. They don't have to work on Wall Street to have fun.

So - back to the subject of the thread: Was the World Class a
good idea? As a venue for a new competitive class, probably
not. The people who buy them don't have the opportunity to
compete in the manner competitions are held presently. All the
PW5's, Russia's, Juniors and L33's that have been sold are being
flown by someone though. Their owners think they are great
little ships. They are affordable and relatively new as compared
to old German glass with scabby gel coats costing the same or
more $$$. The sport benefits from them, even if the class
competition never takes off.

OTHER OPINIONS WILL VARY... and yes it is a very long winter.

Brian

At 09:45 07 February 2009, Derek Copeland wrote:
Gettin back to the main subject of this thread. The entry lists
for the UK
Nationals have just been published, and the most popular class
by far is
the 18m Class, followed by the 15m (flaps allowed) Class.
There is no
interest whatsoever in the World Cass, although at least one
PW5 will be
entered in a Regional Competition.

Does this tell you anything?

Derek Copeland