So, I just finished reading the June 2024 issue of Soaring magazine. There's a very interesting article on page 44 by Michael Friend about a new concept electric motorglider introduced at AERO 2024 in Germany that incorporates a propellor around the tailboom, driven by an electric motor--the Blanik Urfin Juice. The article notes it was inspired by the 1939 Chemnitz C10, but it reminds me of the HB23 as well, but less clunky as the electric motor makes for a much cleaner installation. Fodder, perhaps, for chewing on in the Aircraft Design / Aerodynamics / New Technology forum. (Some pictures on Dan Johnson's site for the curious.)
However, the part that really piqued my curiosity was this:
"The display at AERO is designed to gather feedback from potential customers on such things as cockpit size and configuration. This first aircraft has a side stick controller, a neat solution for such a small and light airplane. On the subject of cockpit size, the prototype is not quite big enough for my 1.95 meter (6 foot 4 inch) body length. This is a real sore spot for me, as I did a "sit test" at AERO of six current production gliders from a variety of manufacturers, and I did not fit in five of them. Some manufacturers are really missing out on a bigger market by designing small cockpits, as research has shown that the taller portion of the population tends to make more money than those who are not so tall. A very few glider manufacturers offer both a small "racing" cockpit and a larger "standard" cockpit for those who are taller. Smart!"
Ignoring the size-ism about taller folks being richer (I'm the exception that proves the rule), being a few inches taller than Mr. Friend I'm very curious which gliders he fit-tested. I'm also curious which manufacturers offer "racing" and "standard" cockpit sizes--I've never heard of that before. Unfortunately, the article doesn't name the five ships he didn't fit in (or the one he did fit in), nor does it name which manufacturers offer different cockpit sizes. I can't find any contact info for Mr. Friend in the SSA magazine, and I'm not sure they'd be keen on naming and shaming anyway for advertising reasons. So, I thought I'd ask the international crowd here on HBA: any idea which manufacturers offer different cockpit sizes, and/or which sailplane was accomodating to a "sit test" by a tall pilot?
However, the part that really piqued my curiosity was this:
"The display at AERO is designed to gather feedback from potential customers on such things as cockpit size and configuration. This first aircraft has a side stick controller, a neat solution for such a small and light airplane. On the subject of cockpit size, the prototype is not quite big enough for my 1.95 meter (6 foot 4 inch) body length. This is a real sore spot for me, as I did a "sit test" at AERO of six current production gliders from a variety of manufacturers, and I did not fit in five of them. Some manufacturers are really missing out on a bigger market by designing small cockpits, as research has shown that the taller portion of the population tends to make more money than those who are not so tall. A very few glider manufacturers offer both a small "racing" cockpit and a larger "standard" cockpit for those who are taller. Smart!"
Ignoring the size-ism about taller folks being richer (I'm the exception that proves the rule), being a few inches taller than Mr. Friend I'm very curious which gliders he fit-tested. I'm also curious which manufacturers offer "racing" and "standard" cockpit sizes--I've never heard of that before. Unfortunately, the article doesn't name the five ships he didn't fit in (or the one he did fit in), nor does it name which manufacturers offer different cockpit sizes. I can't find any contact info for Mr. Friend in the SSA magazine, and I'm not sure they'd be keen on naming and shaming anyway for advertising reasons. So, I thought I'd ask the international crowd here on HBA: any idea which manufacturers offer different cockpit sizes, and/or which sailplane was accomodating to a "sit test" by a tall pilot?
