So I believe there has been hot debate on the forums about the new EN D class of wings. I don't know if the opinions expressed there are representative of the greater flying population on account of the fact that all the super final (mostly English speaking) pilots that I have quizzed here don't contribute much and many are skeptical or cynical or just plain scathing of the views expressed.
So, I think a handful of people are reading this blog and I am going to run all the questions that come up here by you all and see what you're thinking and then we can see if that differs from the opinion of the 'elite' comp pilots present in Valle. If you want to participate just respond to the poll on the left of the blog page.
Although I am seriously impressed by the new EN D gliders I believe world cup class pilots should be allowed to use open class wings in competition. World cup is the pinnacle of comp flying and there should be no limits (political considerations aside). Call me a gung-ho macho lunatic, but that's how I feel. I am happy to attend other comps on a serial wing.
Are the new EN D gliders good for the sport in general? I really don't know and I think it's too soon to say, but I think this is a complex issue that affects a broad audience of varying ability and risk profiles. Yes there have been reserve deployments here, but not every XC pilot will fly these new wings at the same limit in rough conditions. To that end my opinion is that the new kit is vastly more stable than legacy gliders and nothing has changed for accelerated flight.... Almost Every glider I have ever owned has blown out at full speed. The only exception has been my R11...
4 comments:
I think the only people that should fly the new generation of EN-D wings are top national racing pilots and at that level its irrelevant whether they fly the EN-Ds or the no holds barred 2-liners. The reserve deployments and blow-outs make me think that this comp and these gliders are no "safer" than the worlds were. So why ban the R11 type wings? Nothing appears to have been achieved.
My ipression is that these rules are good for the manufactorers. Just small increases in speed will make people update/buy new gliders. Also, more manufactorers are able to sell gliders now. It's never been my impression that dhv restrictions have improved safety. I remember in the Europeans in Morzine. About 14 hospitalized during 4 comp days. It was about 50/50 comp/dhv gliders. And there was far less dhv gliders. If there is an improved safety, pilots will just take more chances. My own experience have been that safety have been constant, irrelevant of the glider I fly. One adjusts after the gliders ease of flying. I also thought if was understood that it was the stress and the nature of the tasks that put pilots at higher risk. That have not changed, so not sure why accident rates should change.
I think it is a very complicated issue.I am for open class gliders but,I don't think that everyone is allowed to fly them without a proper preparation.Not anyone can drive an F1 car ,just the best ones with a strong follow up months and years before the race...
In a PWC competition ,every one who wishes to compete and has ±3000 EU can purchase an open class glider.I respect every pilot way to choose,but anyone who's reading this will pick out from the PWC list ± 30 % who can handle them.The rules were made for trying to save the sport but in vain...It seems that EN-D gliders or open class are the same when getting a blowout at full bar.
Open class gliders are the future for our sport if only manufacturers can get then to recover much better from such collapses.
what do you call the quality that leads a pilot to fly a glider that results in a deployment and injury? it's either courage or hubris, and no rule making will change the fact that pilots take risks. I personally hate rules in competition,. and rules that benefit manufacturers, at the expense of pilots are criminal, indicating the organization responsible is not worthy of the support of the pilots it claims to represent. Now that the open class 2 liners are illegal for PWC, the pilots need to make a hard choice, to boyccott the PWC, or eat the cost of all those 2 line gliders bought in 2010, 2011. It's sad the PWC has put pilots in this position, as if we have all the money in the world to deal with the shifting rules.
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