Open Class

On Friday, February 13, 2015 at 6:42:17 PM UTC-8, Tony wrote:
On Friday, February 13, 2015 at 8:11:29 PM UTC-6, Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot) wrote:
On Friday, February 13, 2015 at 7:29:03 PM UTC-5, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
I have been away from soaring for 12 years and have noticed the open class now has long wing and much shorter wing birds (JS-1C) competing. I am curious how do the 21 and 23 meter new ships keep up with the ASW-22BL's and Nimbus-4's. Are the new shorter wing gliders better overall (better L/D, better penetration ) or just better on strong days when wing loading counts more than the ability to stay in the air?

I think a lot depends on where you"re flying. Strong conditions may favor higher wing loading, weaker prefers lighter wing loading/higher aspect ratio.

the JS-1C seems to have done pretty well and run with "the big boys" at both Uvalde 2012 and Leszno 2014.

http://soaringspot.com/wgc20112/resu...ay-by-day.html

http://soaringspot.com/leszno2014/re...ay-by-day.html

My (limited) understanding is that span loading is a significant factor. If you can make a lighter glider with a high aspect ratio, the span can be reduced as the weight is reduced without sacrificing un-ballasted performance. With a smaller wing area the wing loading can be increased without busting the overall weight limit for the class.

I know of at least one pilot that has passed on the Quintus or EB-29 to go with the JS-1c. As a Nimbus3 driver I can't help but be envious of the lighter empty weight, shorter span, better handling that comes with better performance to boot.

Cheers,
Craig 7Q