There have been many suggestions over the past few months to fit equipment to gliders of all flavours, most of them requiring electrical power. The list is long, transponders, strobe lights, anti collision warnings and thermal predictors. We already have electric varios, turn and slip,...

I might be wrong, but my sense is that now in this soaring season, and considering *only* quantity of gliders "substantially damaged" or worse, few semi-regular, US-based, RAS readers would not agree this U.S. season is - statistical pedantry aside - already distinctly...

wouldn't it be better NOT to use TE probes at all? they only increase the drag! Why not use electronic compesation and/or i.e. a bohli vario instead of TE probes?

Hi, I have noticed that most if not all modern gliders are built with a T-Tail (not sure about the term, I am talking about the elevator being located at the top of the tailfin). While most power-aircraft I know right up to the airliners have it at the bottom. What are the aerodynamic or...

http://www.schupfer.eu/uploads/pics/GroessenaenderungP1040655.JPG

Paragliding is the only soaring sport that's actually growing, and this pretty much explains it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxkXNC31Z4 Or, any other vid by Jean-Baptiste Chandelier.

Ever ask yourself, why doesn't our safety record improve? We seem to have the same type and about the same number of accidents every year. Lets take the *controls not hooked up*, its about time for another one of those. Every year a couple of guys will try to fly without hooking up a control. This...

After last year's dismal weather in Alaska, 33 days of straight rain, and then more days of fog and low ceilings, I can not tell you how much I am looking forward to a normal and glorious Alaska summer as well as the roaring roaring spring mountain thermals in the Chugach and Talkeetnas...

A simple (EW Microrecorder) is under $800. In todays money, an extra $20 for a badge flight is less than the round of beers you buy. 40 badge flights and you can buy a second one. Pretty soon, you hold a club meeting to decide what to buy next once there are enough recorders. Again...

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Here is something that you might be able to do to improve glider safety for everybody (yourself included). Buy yourself a brand new variometer (you deserve it!). Give your old "perfectly good audible variometer" to a club, a commercial training operation, or one of those pocket-empty "first...

http://www.sgp.aero/ - Seems almost all continents except North America (and Asia - although one might count Australia as being in Asia) have a Sailplane Grand Prix - why is this?

Annoying... It's been years... Common!

There are certainly enough 18m ships around to support an 18m class at regional contests. Anyone want to fly 18m configuration at Perry and/or Cordele? So far, I know of at least 5 guys who want to...... the usual answer is, "yeah, sure.....uhmmmm, if there's about 10 guys." So, speak up, ...

Just noted today that the scores from the 2011 U.S.Seniors are still listed as 'unofficial' - why is that? Frank

Smart phones can talk to each other (through the cell system, duh) and they have substantial computing power. They have GPS so they know where they are, how high they are, and how fast they are going. We know they can output and receive that data in flight because we use them to track our gliders...

The subject says it all Bill Snead 6W

To someone/anyone out there who cares, I imagine that of our SSA membership information (member expiration date, etc) in held an SSA database under our member profiles. This same profile auto-fill's our contest registration forms when we do online SSA contest registration, etc. If this is true,...

The Discus 2 is now well over 15 years old - why is there nothing better in Standard Class? Has glider design reached a plateau in terms of performance in the Standard Class?

This was copied from rec.outdoors.fishing.bass. It sounds like the very same things that we talk about when we discuss the decline of our sport. I am not saying it has answers, but it is...