Sailplane Classes - a different perspective

Michel Talon wrote:

And as far as performance is concerned, look at was has been achieved
with the Diana, sticking with normal sized wings. Much more than a lot
of open class gliders.

Maximum L/D is only one little part of the story. Much more important
than 2 or even 5 nominal points are the flatness of the polar curve, how
it behaves in turbuence, with bugs, in rain, and, of course, for fun
flyers like myself, the overall feel of the glider.

E.g. many pilots in our club fly the LS8 with 15 meters rather than with
18, because above ca. 150 km/h, the L/D is better with the short wings.
I personally fly it always with 15 meters and unballasted, just because
of the feel. There's much more in a glider than maximum L/D.

Stefan

Stefan wrote:
Michel Talon wrote:

And as far as performance is concerned, look at was has been achieved
with the Diana, sticking with normal sized wings. Much more than a lot
of open class gliders.

Maximum L/D is only one little part of the story. Much more important
than 2 or even 5 nominal points are the flatness of the polar curve, how
it behaves in turbuence, with bugs, in rain, and, of course, for fun
flyers like myself, the overall feel of the glider.

E.g. many pilots in our club fly the LS8 with 15 meters rather than with
18, because above ca. 150 km/h, the L/D is better with the short wings.
I personally fly it always with 15 meters and unballasted, just because
of the feel. There's much more in a glider than maximum L/D.

Yes, and the Diana performs reasonably well at high speed, as far as i
can see on the loaded polar ...
So i was saying, and you confirm, that 15m wings allow very good
performance when good design is achieved. This also allows light enough
wings, hence easy retreival when outlanding, and doesn't take too much
room in hangars. As far as price is considered i remember that an ASH25
was something like 3 times more expensive than an LS4, which should draw
the attention of people who want more affordable gliding.


Stefan

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Michel TALON