2005 SSA Handicaps Posted

M B wrote:
The pilots who DON'T buy langer spans but have plenty
of money to do so are buying shorter spans for some
reason.
Is it mostly the ground factors, or is there a pretty
'natural' cutoff? Single seat vs. 2-seat I can understand,
and maybe some extra wing for those pilots who are
a bit
heavier, but 24 meters seems REALLY long to me...


Increasing span changes your style of flying, and this is one reason why
pilots don't buy as much span as they can afford. My recent step up from
15m to a princely 17.7m made a surprising difference in the kind of
flying which was most effective, and having once flown with Brian
Spreckley in an ASH25 I can say that this much span gives vastly more
difference from 15m.

Big wings (in my case, "just a bit bigger" wings) don't suit everyone,
and even 18m can feel uncomfortable or unnatural for those pilots who
like snappy handling.

Chris Reed