On Friday, December 2, 2016 at 4:15:15 AM UTC-5, Jim White wrote:
In Europe there is probability that it has much do with the cost of
certification of a new manufacturing process. Here where the weather is
often cr** people do go for light weight empty.

If it's good enough to fly, it's good enough to fly at 7 lbs / sq ft. Otherwise it's a better day for a bicycle, or hiking boots or maybe sitting indoors in the rain annoying the folks on r.a.s.

From the XC performance standpoint, there's little advantage to empty weight very much below 500# in a 15m sailplane. For self launching, well, weight is really important...

-Evan Ludeman / T8