Why is Soaring declining

On 13 Apr 2004 22:43:27 -0700, (Lennie the
Lurker) wrote:

right away. Almost every sailplane made today is made with the
competitor in mind, and the manufacturers aren't going to listen to
any suggestion that maybe something more pedestrian might sell. Which
suits the competitors quite well, and insures that the number of new
people will remain small, and declining.

About 8 years ago, about the only new hang gliders available were
curent competion models and aged designs for beginners and
intermediates. Wills Wing introduced a modern training/novice glider
and soon couldn't keep up with the orders. Other firms took note and
saw similar results. Competition gliders went topless (rigid cross
bars, no upper wires) and the topless race was on. That settled down
and allowed the manufacters to turn their attention to the long
neglected middle performance wings. A US rep of an eastern europen
company convinced them to build a modern intermediate glider that
could glide with the racers when flying 40mph and below, but with
forgiving handling, launch and landing characterists. The result was
an almost instant 2 year order backlog. There are now several such
wings available and I know two guys who sold their comp gliders to buy
one.

All it takes is for one manufacture to have a winner and others will
follow. Given the small size of the market and the uncertainty of
acceptance that may mean putting the financial survival of the firm on
the line. Maybe it will happen when a company has to choose between
inovatation of bankruptcy.