I have to disagree with Buzz regarding DLG being the best value. I agree that DLG has made HL more accessible to all pilots due it the ergonomics of launching them. But value, for that lets take a step back and look at it from a distance.
When evaluated analytically, DLG is absolutely the worst value in soaring today. Lets take the recent example of the $1000 Vandal (all up ready to fly) that was snapped up off of RCSE recently. For simplicity assume that the plane weighs 10 oz all up. A simple calculation yields $100/oz. Now lets take a Supra at $2000 (all up: plane plus radio gear) at 65 oz. Same simple calculation yields $31/oz. OK, next up on the list is an SBXC at $2500 (all up, plane plus radio plus vario) at 176 oz. Crank, crank, the calculator tells me $14.25/oz. Getting the drift here? Now lets take Sagitta 900 at $350 (kit plus gear) weighing 40 oz. Push the little beads on the abacus and what comes out: $8.75/oz. Disclaimer- this doesn't assign any value for building, enjoying, etc. Then again, nobody really makes money out of the hobby, we all do it for fun, no? So, what is really more cost effective, soaring gold (DLG), or history (Sagitta)? On a kind of related topic, I've been having a great laugh about all this benchmark garbage. What a bunch of subjective tripe. All I really see is reminiscing about what gets an individual's attention and represents progress to them. I've been in the technology business for 40 years, and if I've learned anything, true paradigms define themselves without any help. By their very nature, the direction that technology goes after the paradigm emerges will change because of the paradigm. As my buddy Bubba would say, "Y'all have a ball getting yer undies twisted with this one". Jim Thomas RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
