First – a correction and apology! A reader who identified himself as the pilot alluded to in the Older Gliders on Steroids article tells me that I was misinformed about his improved glider’s handicap. It seems he proposed a severely reduced handicap to the contest management, and they accepted one somewhat less severe, but both erring on the side of fairness to the other competitors. Both acted honorably, and I apologise for any suggestion that an ethical issue may have been involved. But the issue remains: will pilots of performance-enhanced gliders have to negotiate on an individual basis with contest organizers? Are contest managers or competition directors authorized to negotiate handicaps? Is it possible to specify a one-size-fits-all handicap correction for all modified gliders, even though the degree of enhancement may vary from one design to another? It boggles the mind.So here’s the latest:John Roake, Editor of New Zealand’s Gliding Kiwi, answers a question we’ve all been asking about the remarkable performance increase achieved by adding deturbulator tape to a Standard Cirrus, reported in his last issue: How did Dr. Sinha do it? “Gliding Kiwi's next issue will mainly be devoted to Dr. Sinha's research and the story behind the development of the deturbulator, with photos of the tape and oil flow tests on both upper and lower wing surfaces.The most interesting news from the developers is that the tape is just as effective on the latest airfoils as it is on thirty year old sailplanes. Imagine the performance of a Discus 2c if the tape increases the L//D by 30 per cent!You can get a subscription to Gliding Kiwi for $US45 p.a. by providing Credit Card details to glidingkiwi@johnroake.com.”
In his comment reader Bill Daniels makes a good point:“Modifying older gliders for higher performance is entirely positive for everyone except the manufacturers who want to sell new gliders and possibly rules committees who don't want things to change. I say, if Sinha's deturbulator tape works, go for it.I can assure you that if the deturbulator modification works, it will find a home on my Nimbus 2C's wings.Glider performance is about obtaining the highest performance possible and not satisfying class rules. The Sports Class rules comittee will just have to find a way to cope.”Reader Ray Lovingood responded:“I found your article about the deturbulator tape interesting and I agree with you: If the older "club class" has been significantly tweaked, then let it compete in the class it was originally designed for.I do find it an interesting read on the subject of the tweaked Standard Cirrus. I would like to know how the magic tape would work on the wings of my LS1-d! If this type of tape were applied to my wings, I would want to see improvement in my cross country speeds and distances. If I were to fly a competition, I guess I would have to fly in Standard Class, based on my own comment. However, due to my lack of skills, I could fly in the Sports Class without being a "threat" to any of the more accomplished pilots.Thanks for keeping us informed about some of the research into this subject.”
