"Chris Rollings" wrote in message
...
Slightly off topic, but addresses your last point.

'Rollings Law of Price and Performance (for NEW gliders)'

Performance varies with the square root of wing-span;
price varies with the square of wing-span.


The first is aerodynamically correct. The second is market observation.

The cost of materials varies by the weight of the bare airframe. All else
like instruments are the same for all gliders. Labor for a given production
technique probably related to surface area.

The biggest determinant of the final price is production volume. Or, more
correctly, the volume anticipated at the start of production. If a
manufacturer knew from the start that the final production numbers would
exceed say, 3000 gliders, investments in labor saving tooling would make
sense. This, in turn, would increase the production run yet more since
lower prices would eintice still more buyers.

But of course, how do you know you are going to produce a lot of gliders?

Bill Daniels