On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 22:06:04 +1100, "smjmitchell"
wrote:

As many posts have pointed out the problem of dwindling numbers in soaring
is more complex than simply the cost of gliders ... however the cost of
gliders is a big factor. Lets not confuse current debate by bringing in
other issues. These issues (some of which I list below should be debated
separately).

There are many reasons that new gliders will NOT be made in the US,
and most of them are out of the control of the people that would like
to see them.

First, cost. Can it be made cheaply with a high profit? No.

Can it be made to a low quality standard and still be serviceable?
Again, no.

Any company head that has been "trained" in the last thirty years is
going to have foremost on his mind, "can we outsource." This is going
to have a chilling effect on those that can afford it, but are
dependent on maintaining a means of support when it comes time to open
the wallet.

It requires a reasonable sustained effort to learn, "reasonable
sustained effort" is now something that our "institutions of higher
learning" teach is to be avoided. Fast and cheap is the only way now.

IOW, there has been a basic change of attitudes in the US, from "Can
do", to "It's impossible." From, "It's old, but it was well built,
let's rebuild it" to "It's cheap, throw it away and buy a new one."
And the downhill spiral begins as one manufacturer after another tries
to "outcheap" the next, to maintain, "market share."

It used to be that someone entering the workforce had a reasonable
expectation of having a job, a means of income for the rest of his/her
working life. The only question today is how many jobs you will have
in your lifetime, there is no such thing as a job you can depend on,
thing of the past. Restore some stability in peoples daily lives, and
you might find a market, and a few more that will attempt flying, but
until there's stability again, it won't happen. As with one person I
know, lost the job with a major communications company, said screw it,
retired. Enough money to live on, but don't look there for one to
start flying.

And yes, the Chinese can probably make things cheaper, due to the lack
of good paying jobs there. The problem is that when they've cut YOUR
income, through competition, to THEIR level, a used and abused 1-26 is
still going to be out of your reach.

It isn't just a soaring problem, it's a global problem. That nobody
seems to want to look at. I don't see it improving during my
lifetime.