Death of the 13.5m class?

Sailing eh? The sailors complain that every new class is more $ and smaller fleets. Sailors maintain that the foiling boats have done nothing for increasing sailing participation. If that new Ventus M doesn't inspire anyone a new 13.5 whizbox at half the price isn't going to either. Participation numbers are a separate issue from intermittent engine runs in soaring. First is cultural, second will lead to ridiculous electric airplane races, and less people racing or setting records once they merge the classes. And they will. Remember when it was thought ludicrous to have motorgliders and pure gliders in the same class? For the motor guys to feel legitimate they need to eliminate the pure class. With separate motor classes their accomplishments will never feel equal to them so pureness has to die. Since you brought up participation it's a cultural problem, men no longer own their free time. In the heyday if dad was a glider pilot you spent weekends at the airport, if dad was a sailor you spend weekends on the water. Now dad spends weekends driving his kids to playdates, recitals, and sports games. Not saying it is doom and gloom, plenty of bums to keep soaring going, but for the numbers to come back men need to reclaim their time and that is a cultural issue larger than any one sport.

Geb (john), the point most of us are making is NOT against technology, its against what defines "soaring" flight. I dont care how a guy gets in the air, towplane, bungee, onboard engine, falling off a cliff. I DO care that someone "assist" their "soaring" flight using an engine while on course. You start the engine on course, your soaring flight just ended.

If you want to start another "class" of racing thats fine, and who knows it might catch on, but don't call it or equate it with what we have now.

As for your lack of tow pilots, we could lend you some of ours. We have a club of 50 members and have 8 tow pilots with more wanting to do it than we have flights for. Maybe you think you don't have any tailwheel fliers up there. You need to recruit from the ranks of crop dusters and wantabe crop dusters. They are all tailwheel guys, and the youngsters wanting to get into dusters are always looking for a place to get more free tailwheel time. If you don't want to do that, sell your pawnee and replace it with a c-182. There's always guys wanting to build time.
Dan

How ironic. This whole “engine run� issue has been fought over in all the FAI classes of radio control soaring for 10 years now. Some of the classes involve scale birds (JS-1s, Arcii, ASG-29s, etc) with spans up to 30 feet. It’s as contentious as ever and makes a Chinese fire drill look like a Marine parade. Good luck.
Remember when men where men (post above) and gliders didn’t have engines?? Old fashioned? Proudly! Snobbish? To the max!