World Championship gliders

On Wednesday, August 6, 2014 2:31:34 PM UTC-7, Sean Fidler wrote:
I agree the 15/18 meter thing is going well, for now. No glider in these classes has a clear advantage (perhaps the Diana 2 but the company is a mess...) but only a certain subset of gliders are competitive in each class. If you don't have a 27, V2 in 15m (http://www.wgc2014.hb.pl/wyniki/15m/486_15m.htm) or a 29, V2 or JS1 in 18m (http://www.wgc2014.hb.pl/wyniki/18m/486_18m.htm), good luck! This has been the case for 10 years or so. But for how much longer will that last?



If a new glider comes along that is a "game changer" in either class (only a matter of time) the delicate balance that we currently enjoy would likely collapse pretty quickly. And hundreds of gliders that are today competitive will become basically obsolete.



Imagine if the Duckhawk had turned out to be "unbeatable" or clearly better in 15m and 20 US guys/gals ordered them. Imagine if 1st-8th at the US 15m nationals was composed of Duckhawks (every year), then a mix of 27s and V2's, etc. For how long would the Nationals attract 27s and D2s? Sure, a few would upgrade their gliders to the new performance level but many would simply no longer attend.



In 18m (and 15m as well), the rumored Ventus 3 approaches perhaps as early next year. Deposits are already flying into the US dealers hands. Why? Because pilots all want to buy a competitive advantage. This is part of the game in soaring today. If the V3 turns out to be dominant (its design goal!) then the V2's, 29's etc all the sudden scramble for the new performance level. But a certain number will simply give up on the Nationals.



If a designer/builder "nails it" and designs/builds a game changing glider...all bets are off. The risk is that the 15/18 meter classes get destroyed and not enough new buyers are willing to spend the money to "be competitive." A net loss initially that may never recover.



In the US, our already delicate Nationals scene would be severely disputed by such a glider. The SSA response would likely need to be handicapping. Etc, etc. A whole new set of problems there.



The PW5 was WAY too low of a performance level for One Design to work. If a glider of the 45:1 or greater performance was available at a reasonable price, a builder could get tremendous buy in for a one design class at all levels (Nationals and World level). One Design is a completely different mindset than trying to leapfrog other builders performance level. In leapfrogging, a builder gets a surge of sales and then a steep taper. In One Design the builder gets a gradual build in sales after an initial commitment from perhaps 50-100 buyers, then a steady track of sales over 20-30 years or more.



I for one would be very interested and supportive of a mid/high performance One Design glider concept being offered by a builder.



One Design is also less about the builder and more about developing a large consortium of like minded pilots. A group of pilots who are thinking long term.



Imagine is the ASW27 or LS8 or D2, etc was introduced as a one design class. Or look at it this way. The Olympics does not even allow different builders of their One Design boats. All boats are built in the same run, etc.. Soaring could learn a thing or two from sailing I think.



Sean

Of course a massive shift to a one design glider costs the same to the participants as a massive shift to a new competitive glider.

Even in one design yacht racing, some boats seem to be faster than others whether is it newer sails, a 3 sigma light hull, or whatever. That's why the fairest racing is done in collegiate, where in many regattas crews rotate boats every race of the series. Bringing a "hot" or tweaked boat then gives you no advantage. Somehow I don't see that being agreed to in soaring....