On Feb 2, 2:14*am, (Michel Talon) wrote:

...The glider factories seem to think that glider buyers
are like Ferrari buyers, who will accept to pay any price
for their toys...

Michel, I think that you have hit the nail on the head. The glider
makers are acting just as you say. And the reason they are doing so
seems to be that they are correct in their assessment; that there
continues to be folks who will pay top dollar for high-performance
sailplanes.

What I don't understand is why you seem to take issue with it. Do you
think that it is unjust or unfair for them to want to make a profit?

In order to make at least enough money to stay in business, the
established glider manufacturers have focused their development and
production on gliders for which they can command the highest prices
and so make the most profit: high-performance racing machines with
cutting-edge aerodynamics and many pilot-friendly amenities. And who
can blame them? That is what businesses do. The business of business
is definitely business. Expecting any business to do otherwise means
that you consider it a charity and begs the question, how much time or
money have you donated lately?

Furthermore, there is absolutely no evidence that the established
glider manufacturers are making excessive profits as we have seen
among greedy Wall Street bankers. We don't see their CEOs flying
around in business jets, and their top managers and engineers don't
get huge bonuses and live in mansions. In fact, when I met the man who
is arguable the best and most prolific sailplane designer ever, he was
wearing a grubby T-shirt and sweeping out a hangar with a borrowed
broom.

To my way of thinking, just about the only folks who make gliders for
free are those who expect to hold posession of said glider when
they're done. That certainly describes the sailplane homebuilders with
whom I hold the honor and privilege of working. But it doesn't and
needn't describe businesses that are in the business of making
gliders.

Thanks, and best regards

Bob K.