Got to wonder SH, two seaters designed to carry two
elephants,
single seaters to carry stick insects. FAI should set minimum size
for cockpits or it will only be jockeys wining contests in the future.


Come on now... Really? Klaus designed the "a" fuselage for himself
and any other person approximately his size. For everyone else, he
designed the "b" fuselage which has more room in the cockpit. He
started this process with the original Ventus and Discus lines. I am
6'2", and had a Discus-b which I flew in 2 WGC's between 1985
and 1988. I did have to remove the seat back to fit in comfortably
with a normal chute. My head was fairly far back though, so I used
2 small dash mounted mirrors to help with the rear view which was
somewhat obstructed by the rear canopy frame. That small
concession did not stop me from 5th and 2nd place WGC finishes
though.

In 1999, I bought my present Discus-2b which I have had now for
going on 18 years. When I went to test fit in the prototype at the
S-H factory, I was amazed that I could get in with a normal chute,
not have to remove the seat back, lay my legs flat on the floor, and
had to pull back the rudder pedals 2 notches for my feet to be
comfortable. Tilo and Biggo just smiled and said that they had
decided to build a glider that almost anyone can comfortably sit in.
The current S-H "b" fuselage design should accommodate pilots up
to 6'5" with no special mods.

I had to laugh after my test flight in the prototype. Helmut Treiber
(wing designer) asked me if I didn't want an "a" instead. He told
me that he thought I could squeeze into one. I just laughed and
told him that I just wanted to be as comfortable in the cockpit as my
competition was for a change.... My old co-worker buddies at S-H
built me a great glider, and I have never had any regrets with this
one at all. I don't think you will be able to find many of my
competitors bad-mouthing the performance of my glider either, even
though it has the larger "b" fuselage....

RO