18m Nationals weight restriction at Seminole

Dan,

Here's the short summary from a tow pilot & dude with an old 15m ship and no skin in the game.

As tow pilots, we all get that gross weight on the back end of the rope is what matters, everything else is in the noise. No one suggests that the SLGP guys don't have a good handle on what they can tow, so we're good with an 1150 # max gross.

Let's consider two specific gliders only, the ASG-29 and ASH-31Mi.

Absent any restrictions, the numbers a
ASG-29, 1320 # gross, 11.7 psf.
ASH-31, 1389 # gross, 10.9 psf.

This wing loading difference will be important at Moriarity, but not at Seminole. Wing loading above 10# just won't get you any benefit at Seminole except on some crazy unicorn of a day.

Put in a flat restriction at 1150# gross. What happens is this:
ASG-29, 10.2 psf
ASH-31, 9.0 psf

At Seminole, the 29 pilot doesn't care. He wasn't going to fly heavier than 1150 *anyway*. The 31 pilot has a wing loading disadvantage on strong day.

That's what AK is ticked off about.

What's been suggested is to go with the 1150# max for the glider with the largest wing area (probably the ASH-31), then restrict all other types to the same (in this case 9 psf) maximum wing loading.

The other thing one could do is move anyone that wants to fly heavier than 1150 gross to the back of the grid. That's what I'd recommend.

Hey Andrzej... I think I'd like to go fly the 18s... since you won't be using your glider... :-).

best,
T8