LS-4 ? What about 1-26 ?

As many posts have pointed out the problem of dwindling numbers in soaring
is more complex than simply the cost of gliders ... however the cost of
gliders is a big factor. Lets not confuse current debate by bringing in
other issues. These issues (some of which I list below should be debated
separately).

Other issues a
* Tow costs (this needs to be addressed by lighter smaller gliders than can
be towed by ultralight or smaller more compact winches).
* Access to two seat training and instructors (no point is producing new low
cost sailplanes if there is no affordable two seat trainers).
* Most pilots who enter the sport with a desire to fly competition quickly
realise that this is the domain of the wealthy and quickly decide that they
cannot affort this elitist sport (we need an affordable and active one
design class).
* Lack of young people (aging glider pilot population - currently not the
sort of scene that young people want to hang around - hang gliding and
skydiving are better alternatives for young people. Young people consider
glider clubs to be something akin to a retirement home).
* External financial pressures means that people have less to spend on
gliding (rising cost of housing, social pressures to live a more extravigant
lifestyle).
* The entry cost of our sport is too high (I am continually frustrated by
the comments of the small group of people who fly Discus' and LS-7's etc
that state that the cost is the cost - goddam it - the people we should be
attracting to the sport are the young. The 20-50 year olds. Those with
families and mortgages - how the hell are they supposed to afford a
$100,000+ glider. They will however be those who can affort these gliders in
later years. Gliding is a good family sport but the elitist attitude of a
minority is cutting of the supply of new members at the grass roots level).
* The current club environment is probably no longer a valid model for the
basis of our sport - we are now competing with many other sports that have
developed far more efficient models (in cost and time) and have promoted
themselves in a much more sophisticated manner. Take a close look at the
parachute industry ... they run large skydive centres near major cities,
they have a commercial basis, they attract the young by the hundreds, equal
mix of females and males which is important to the young. You go, you pay,
you do, you socialise a little and then go home. No hassle, a good time had
by all. Gliding has too many hassles.


Minestones in Glider Design:

The point I was trying to make in several earlier posts is that it is time
for a new designer to emerge with ideas that will take gliding in a new
direction. The current gliders designs have matured to an almost uniform
degree of conformity. Think back through history and the names of several
designers loom large that have shaped modern soaring:

Rudolf Kaiser (KA-6/7 and AS-K series)
Karel Dlouhy (Blanik)
Eugen Hanle (Libelle)
Gerhard Waible (AS-W series)
Klaus Holligaus (Cirrus, Nimbus, Janus, Discuss)
and there are others ....

Think how the creations of each of these designers changed the course of
gliding. Most of these designers created gliders that set new levels in
glider performance. We have reached a point now where we can no longer
afford more performance. We need creative ideas to reduce cost. We need a
new bunch of designers to tackle this issue. This problem is not unique to
gliders ... take jet fighters for instance. Exactly the same issue exists.
There comes a point where you have to balance cost and performance.


Costs of Labour:

Hang gliders and Paragliders are increasingly being made in China. To keep
the cost of labour down. There was a recent article in the 'Oz Report' (the
daily HG email newletter) that stated that there is one factory in China
that makes 7000 sails a year. It has to happen ... how long before we will
have a Chinese Discus or Apis. The cost of labour is the biggest hurdle that
manufacturers have to deal with (say 400 hrs x $50 = $20000). Either reduce
the number of hours by automation or reduce the labour rate. Glider
manufacturers need to be looking to China or Mexico etc. Of course this is
only a temporary fix to the problem. As living standards rise in these
courties so will the cost of labour. So ultimately out challenge is to
automate production for the long term.


Old Cheap Gliders:

This is not going to fix the problem.
* The supply is limited.
* Styling out of date (you may laugh but styling is important - perhaps why
the PW-5 was not as big a hit as it should have been).
* They require a lot more maintenance because of the age and construction
techniques.
* The are heavier to tow and rig than a AC-4 or Apis.
* If people are spending 15K+ then they want something new.
* They simply don't have the performance of an Apis or AC-4.


Performance:

I think arguements such as this are always hijacked by those who fly
competitively in high performance gliders. They could not see themselves in
a PW-5 or AC-4. This is one of our fundamental problems - no one is speaking
for the members we are yet to attract . For most beginner to intermediate
pilots the AC-4 or PW-5 are great little gliders that they can do a lot
with, learn heaps in and probably the only glider that they will really ever
need - especially if there was sufficient volume of these gliders to have an
active competition scene.


Certification and Light Plane Category:

We need a worldwide uniform standard for the new crop of gliders. JAR-22 was
previously almost universal but times have changed. The future will be in
the light sport / ultralight area. The current crop of ultralight sailplanes
are for the most part on shakey ground certification wise. Most of them are
somehow made legal in the ultralight categories of various countries. This
needs to be fixed and fixed urgently so that those making these machines
have some increased certainty. Light Sport aircraft are the future in the US
but there is no design standard. We need an ASTM subcommittee to start
looking at an ASTM glider standard - we already have standards for Light
Sport Aircraft (Powered) and Powered Parachutes etc. We also need handbooks
and guidance material on how to certificate gliders in a cost efficient
manner ... probably a task for OSTIV ????