Tim, you do me an unjustified honour by mentioning me in the same sentence as Tomas. However, just to put the record straight, I didn't move to gliding so that I could fly 60:1 and look at "retro" instruments. I moved to gliding because a hip injury (yes, in a hang-gliding accident) forced me to give up the sport. And gliding was, as I saw it at the time, the only viable alternative. I moved to gliding with an ache in my heart.
As for Tomas, I have spoken to him myself on this very topic. He told me (in much more modest language) that he moved to gliding because he had already been multiple world champion at model-flying, microlighting, and hang-gliding. It was time to have a go at becoming world champion at something else. Hang-gliding and paragliding competition is every bit as fiercely fought out at the highest levels - and the relative affordability means that cost is much less of an obstacle to success than in gliding. It's true that hang-gliders would never have been in contention to win a world gliding championship. But this is as irrelevant as the fact that a modern go-kart could never have won even the inaugural F-1 event. The guys driving the karts are every bit as fanatical about their sport. Performance relative to a different sport is not the issue! But on the topic of performance, it pays to know your history. In the mid-70s, hang-gliders had a glide angle of maybe 3:1. In 30 years the performance in terms of glide-angle has improved 5-fold. Whereas in gliding, the glide angle has not quite managed to double. Old Otto would be astonished and delighted to see a modern hang-glider! I get my main enjoyment in gliding from competition. In that sense, it just doesn't matter what glider I'm flying, as long as it's competitive. A higher performance just means I can land out further from home. Tough choice indeed! >What a tough choice. > > > >I can fly around in a 60:1 glider looking at retro instruments, or I can >fly around looking at the best instruments in an aircraft that wouldn't >have won a gliding competition this side of 1960. That's a really difficult decision. Just ask Tomas Suchanek or Allan Barnes. Cheers Tim -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Gary Sent: Saturday, 1 September 2007 20:53 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.' Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] pause for thought Emilis, I picked up on these same points. I would be interested to have your thoughts here. Once upon a time hang glider varios had no TE compensation, due to the totally different dynamics of HG flight, as opposed to that of sailplanes - even if such sailplanes were 25 years (or more), old. I wonder if this is still the case? John Wharington (as one of several/many people involved in modern soaring instrument design), might care to elucidate on at least the "retro instruments" comment. Gary Stevenson -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Emilis Prelgauskas Sent: Saturday, 1 September 2007 5:23 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Aus-soaring] pause for thought The current (September 2007) Soaring Australia contains the following comments by hang glider pilot John Clark (Ps. 6 - 8) offered (somewhat truncated), without editorial, for thought : There were 6 of us on the first few days of the (sailplane) course. But by the end of the week there were just 2 of us. For some, gliding didn't come easy enough. Their lack of immediate success was a problem. For the young, reared on computer games, with mates back home doing something else, the commitment was too much and the goal too far away. They expected to book, turn up & fly. A difference between gliding clubs & hang gliding is, the average age of sailplanes is 25 years, many much older. I don't think I'd be prepared to fly a 25 year old hang glider. For pilots used to low cost modern varios with LCDs, integrated GPS, loggers, glide computers, sailplane instruments are very retro. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.484 / Virus Database: 269.13.1/982 - Release Date: 31/08/2007 5:21 PM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.484 / Virus Database: 269.13.1/982 - Release Date: 31/08/2007 5:21 PM _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
