At 17:42 06 July 2007, Bumper wrote:

'Bill Daniels' wrote in message
(really important stuff snipped)

The Genesis 'T' tail is actually a hindrance.
Bill Daniels

I bet not nearly the 'hindrance' as would occur if
you attempt to fly the
Genesis without that horizontal stab.

bumper

I don't agree that the Genesis elevator on the tail
is a hindrance.
Like everything else in engineering it is a trade off.
Putting the
all-flying elevator on a 'T' tail keeps it out of ground
effect so the
control feel is the same during landing as during flight.
The moment
arm of the Genesis elevator allowed the designers to
move the
cockpit forward so the pilots head is in front of the
wing leading
edge giving much better visibility than would occur
if the pilot has to
sit on the cg. The chord at the wing root on the Genesis
is quite
large but the trailing edge is just as robust as the
rest of the glider
so handling the 140 Lb. wing isn't a problem.
With a large elevator at the trailing edge there could
be an
assembly/disassembly issue. Would it be separately
removable
or fixed to the wing? The elevator on the Genesis
weighs less than
10 Lbs. and is short enough that you can stick it under
your arm or
carry it off with one hand. The Genesis has a cockpit
large enough
for a 6'10' 255 Lb. pilot to move around in. I think
just the size of
it is as great a 'hindrance' to performance as any
other trade off.