The VG system is definitely valuable for some things. When I wrote that it is ridiculous, I was trying to get across the point that when the VG was created was the time when we should have taken a second look at the competition rules requiring weight-shift only, which I must admit has resulted in some really good engineering by our designers, but if you will kick back and relax and try to imagine where we might be today if instead of a VG we had continued working on some means of amplifying roll control.
I know that the latest offerings do handle decently, if you're only comparing them to Hg flex wings that came before. But when compared to aircraft that have aerodynamic control surfaces they don't rate well at all.
A couple years ago I was kindly allowed to demo a 136 T-2c for a 3 day weekend, and flew it several times in various conditions. While it had a lot more glide angle than my king-posted 136 flapped Sensor, the handling was about the same, yielding a comparable stick forces to roll rate ratio. I said the VG is ridiculous because the roll rate to stick force ratio has improved so little in --what--37 years or so? It boggles my mind that we place so little value on control of these things.
I'm having a bit of trouble trying to make clear just what it is I'm wanting to say. I'm gradually realizing that the majority of Hg pilots are satisfied with the choices available to them. So I start these topics to get a feel for how many other pilots see things in the different light that I see in. And to reassure them that they aren't alone, and thereby encourage them to speak up. I can assure you that it ain't easy to be the odd man out, to voice a minority opinion.
My "complaint" ( I don't like seeing myself as a complainer, but if the shoe fits...) is that we have so little choice. Sure there's quite a few different gliders, but the trouble is that they really aren't very different from one another.
They are all positive G only aircraft. To my knowledge there are no Part 103 gliders available for purchase that can be flipped inverted by a rogue wind and simply maneuvered back to normal flight, still in an airworthy condition.
And I see no good reason for that. All I can do is hope that we get another choice of glider configuration, one that doesn't throw the pilot around the trailing edge and up on top of the wing if he gets tumbled, whether by turbulence or a botched loop. A glider with a comfortable seat built in, no $4K harnesses required.
When hang gliding first got started I thought it was the cat's pajamas, the best thing since sliced bread. ( I've often wondered what the best thing was before sliced bread ). I was enamored of the aft-swept flying wing, and made a lot of models, culminating in the Sling Wing. That toy enabled getting a glider up high enough that it's characteristics over time could be observed and analyzed. This allowed me to explore the effects of sweep angle and other parameters.
I thought that the pure flying wing was the best design for Hg for many years. But eventually I started questioning that concept, although for low performance novice type gliders it may still be the way to go, I feel that for high performance flying in big air it may just be at a limit.
When anyone thinks "hang glider" they get a mental picture of the swept back flying wing. I'm trying to dislodge this from peoples minds, because it's my personal belief that a straight winged glider can maybe get the job done for less $ and weight.
Yes, it will need a tail or canard, but that's Ok, because a glider with more over-all length will be more tumble resistant. And some of the previous posts were about twist distribution, and for aft-swept wings that is important, at least it's more important than I think it is for straight wings. The problem with swept wings is the coupling of twist with pitch stability. This can be a limiting factor, for example look at what it takes to maintain the twist in the right direction when the AoA goes negative. Sprogs and washout struts require a really beefy airframe, built stronger and heavier than it really needs to be, and the reasons I feel this way about that are the videos of structural failure when negative G loads are applied to it.
Sure, they hold up Ok on the test truck, but what about Wolfie? He didn't violently tuck to inverted, he was simply rolled over, and the glider snapped in two like a matchstick. Perhaps the vehicle testing isn't representative of what real world negative G encounters are.
A straight wing divorces twist from pitch. It need not be built to have the torsional rigidity that the swept wing must have to survive. If it doesn't need to be as strong, it can be lighter. The weight savings from disposing of the sprogs and the VG can be spent on controls and a stabilizing surface, whether it's in the front or rear or both.
A glider that contains the pilot enough to maintain airworthiness even when inverted will have more versatility. As it stands, only a few highly experienced and skilled pilots can safely perform aerobatics. While most flyers don't care for aero, a glider that can perform aero safely will also be safer in big air turbulence, which any XC pilot would appreciate.
We started with a basic concept: An aft swept wing with the pilot suspended several feet below it. It was simple and cheap. Positive G only made it even simpler, theoretically a dumbed down system makes it easier to stay out of trouble, you only have the built-in "up elevator" so your opportunity to do something beyond your ability is limited. I get that.
But there's a few of us that would like to have something that would make ridge soaring fun again. The stuff we have now is adequate for those that only want to thermal and go XC, but on those blasting pre-frontal days all overcast it sure would be a blast ripping up and down the slopes, pulling up into nice round loops, barrel rolling and even four point axial rolls. You think buzzing the launch ramp is fun now, wait 'til you do it inverted.
All the while secured safely in your seat, a seat that converts from a casual posture for slow flight and extends for a really flat reclined posture for penetration.
And light stick forces, now there's a welcome idea.
I know that I tend to ramble, thanks for hangin' in there. Steve, dreaming of snap rolling and tail sliding with impunity. And vowing to never give in and just go dangle diving.