All US Records are Now Motor Glider Records

On Monday, March 20, 2017 at 12:29:25 AM UTC-7, krasw wrote:
On Monday, 20 March 2017 06:46:06 UTC+2, jfitch wrote:
15m and standard category still exist and are effectively motor free - but no one is making record attempts in them either.


Virtually all 15m class world records are flown by 18m motorgliders that have been installed with 15m wingtips (I bet record flight attempt is only instance these gliders have been flown with short tips). But as I said before, very long record flight attemps are possible only with motorgliders. There is no way to get up in the wave, probably to some remote start point, and still have option to motor back for another start attempt if first fails.. Without engine you are sitting on the outlanding field after first glide and thinking of switching hobbies to golf.

Up until now, you have had separate categories for non motorgliders, yet almost no records have been set in them for decades. Of what use is keeping these categories, if no one attempts records in it? If you love the category, why aren't you out there attempting records? Far from reducing participation, the consolidation will increase it, since now those you are actually flying records (rather than whinging on about technicalities) can also apply for a world record.

Anecdotes from non record attempt flights 22 years ago are entertaining, but shed little light on what is happening now. I can bore you with countless stories of "pure" gliders getting low and digging out, landing after dark, flying low over rocks, etc. Ridiculously risky piloting examples exist in all types and makes. Pull your head out of the sand and look at the actual record attempts being made in the last few years (most are not set in wave so that argument is also specious).