At 00:56 23 November 2017, Retting wrote:
Flaps are also a big safety benefit in outlandings? Std Class ships
come
in comparatively much hotter?

Really? 44 contests flying a Discus and not a scratch. 5 retrieves
with
tail booms broken....all flap ships.
So, I say lousy pilots fly flap ships. Or, flap ship pilots make poor
decisions.
Find the ship you want to race. It will take hours and hours to
become
tuned with her so you might as well love the ride.

R


Oh yes, and Henry neglected to mention that he's got a nice race
ready D-2b for sale on W&W.... It might well be worth a look for
you.

Both the original Discus-b and the Discus-2b have very nice handling
characteristics. (the "a" models also, but the cockpits are for shorter
pilots) I don't know how tall you are, but I am 6'2" and 205 Lbs. My
D-2b is the first glider that I have owned where I can get in with a
normal chute, without removing the seat back, lay my legs flat on
the floor, and pull the rudder pedals back two notches from full
extension. All of that, and my head is still far enough forward so
that I can turn around and see the tips of the horizontal tail if
needed. In my original Discus-b, I had to remove the seat back,
and then my head was so far back that rearward visibility was very
limited past the 3-9 O'clock line. This is important if you want to fly
in contests and thus will be doing some gaggle flying. My D-2b is
the first glider that I have had where I have not been at a
competitive disadvantage from a cockpit comfort point of view.
(The V-2b has the same cockpit dimensions as well...)
This is also important when racing, because if you aren't
comfortable, you aren't devoting your full attention to the task at
hand.

So, as Henry says, "You might as well love the ride". Whatever you
buy, try to make sure you love the handling, and will be comfortable
in the cockpit for long hours at a stretch.

RO