In article ,
Papa3 wrote:

Just to expand a little bit more... all of the major manufacturers have
changed their philosophy to a greater or lesser extent around cockpit design
over time. I fly an LS8, which is largely based on the later model LS6.
If you look at the cockpit of an early LS6, vs the later LS6 and the LS8,
you can see significant changes in the construction of the cockpit area and
the seat pan in particular. The same applies to Schemp-Hirth (e.g. later
Ventus2 vs. original Ventus). So, other things being equal, a later
generation of a given class of glider from a given manufacturer probably
affords better crash protection than the prior generation (e.g. ASW-24 vs.
ASW-19; LS8 vs. LS4; Ventus 2 vs. Ventus). How the various manufacturers
stack up when comparing gliders of the same generation (e.g. LS8 vs. ASW28
vs. Discus2) is probably a little harder to quantify without extensive
testing. I know some has been done (see the OSTIV link in this thread),
and I'm sure the "conventional wisdom" gives the nod to Schleicher. It would
be nice to see some more hard data.

P3


I fly an early H-301 Libelle (serial #19). It has a significant safety
feature not seen in many other gliders. The fuselage is so thin that it
allows one see out if the canopy fogs over.

Seriously, Libelles would, in no way, be construed as having a "safety
cockpit", however, there have been relatively few fatalities in
Libelles. I think their slightly wobbly, unstable feel encourages pilots
to pay attention to their flying.

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