13.5 Meter World Championships

On Saturday, August 15, 2015 at 10:11:30 AM UTC-5, Tony wrote:
Blue day, 3 hour assigned area task today.

Team USA wins the day, 1st and 2nd.

Francois Pin on the Podium

Fantastic performance, guys. We are so proud of you.

Agree, fabulous going guys.
Question: Has anyone done a results comparison measured by wing loading? It has been pointed out elsewhere that while the competing gliders share a wing span (13.5) they are not all built to common standards. The Diana2 and the clipped wing Lak have a much higher available wing loading.
Which by the by makes the US team performance all the more creditable.
h



On Saturday, July 18, 2015 at 7:03:26 AM UTC-6, Tony wrote:
I'm headed off today to start the journey to Lithuania. Should be there late next week. Follow along he

https://ussoaringteam2015lithuania.wordpress.com/

Howard,

Max wing loading for the 13.5 Meter class in the WGC is 35 kg/m^2, so the Diana Versus and Mini LAK had the same wing loading as most of the Silents. They did it on less total area, so a lower total weight for lower span loading. Most pilots observed that the Versus, MiniLAK, and Sparrowhawk R all outclimbed the Silents, as they should, and the glider performance was also superior. I particularly noticed that with the Versus. I did not have many opportunities to fly with the Mini LAK. The Sparrowhawk R was closer to the Silent in glide but Morgan also has a fixed gear on his glider to be able to use it for Ultralight World Record attempts.

It is worth noting that once 13.5 Meter World Records are available (in October), there is no wing loading limit. So you might consider sawing down your 27

On Monday, August 17, 2015 at 3:22:34 PM UTC-4, howard banks wrote:
Agree, fabulous going guys.
Question: Has anyone done a results comparison measured by wing loading? It has been pointed out elsewhere that while the competing gliders share a wing span (13.5) they are not all built to common standards. The Diana2 and the clipped wing Lak have a much higher available wing loading.
Which by the by makes the US team performance all the more creditable.
h

I suspect that the performance difference is more about geometry than wing loading.
UH

Very nice teamwork Tony and Francois!
Jim

Yes, the Versus & mini-LAK & Sparrowhawk are down around 8m^2, while the Silent is 9. Higher aspect ratios and thinner airfoil sections. It all adds up.

I should mention that the Russia AC-4DY, in my opinion, seemed to have equal climb and glide to the Silents. It's a carbon, flapped glider. I understand they will sell as a pure glider for something like 25K dollars! Silent seemed to have an edge on the AS-5M, which was fiberglass with no flaps.