On Friday, January 3, 2014 1:24:27 PM UTC-6, Paul T wrote:
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?

Paul, flying an LS8-18, I have of course to take issue with your premise of the "best Standard Class Glider". However, UH is right on all points, manufacturers concentrate on higher revenue classes. Also, the development potential of unflapped 15m wings (and maybe the flapped ones as well) is minuscule and does not warrant a new design. Rolladen Schneider basically took the LS6 fuselage and wings (sans flaps) and optimized those components for a "new" model they called LS8 - and it is still competitive.
ASW-28, Discus 2 and LS8's are very much in demand with prices of $70-$80k and with new 18m ships costing $150k+ I can see why: you get about the same enjoyment and OLC miles for half the price. So yes, Standard Class has peaked and there's not too much wrong with that.
Herb