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From: rmiller@ccvaxa.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.aviation
Subject: Re: Re: Wing-loading - (nf)
Message-ID: <2477@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 19-Jul-83 22:55:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.2477
Posted: Tue Jul 19 22:55:00 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Jul-83 02:41:26 EDT
Lines: 23

#R:teltone:-16700:ccvaxa:5100009:000:1066
ccvaxa!rmiller    Jul 18 22:15:00 1983

i knew i should not have gone off to the world championships without
leaving someone to watch for speculation!

most standard and 15 meter racing sailplanes now fly at between 7.5 and
10 pounds per square foot wingloading. if you want anything more
specific, i can go directly to the flight test results.
open class ships are now up in the 11-12 pounds per square foot range (they
are also running with 24.5 METER spans now too!).
all contest ships now fly with water ballast to allow heavier wing
loadings (9-10 range) during the strong parts of the day and then dump
it if weather gets weak. the reason is that the glide ratio (L/D) does
NOT change due to weight (but the speed for a given ratio is higher).

glide ratios for standard class (15 meter span max, NO flaps) are in the
39-41 range, 15 meter racing class (15 meter span max) gets 42-45, and
the open class (no restrictions) reaches 60:1. all of these ratios are
obtained at between 55 and 70 knots depending on the sailplane type. the
big ships can still hit 30:1 at 130 knots!

uiucdcs!ccvaxa!rmiller