Glider competition classes

Seven glider classes are currently recognised by the FAI and are eligible for European and World Championships: • Open Class, places no restrictions except a limit of 850 kg to the maximum all-up mass, may be one- or two-seater e.g. JS-1C, Lange Antares 23E, Quintus, ASW 22, ASH 30, LAK-20. • Standard Class, restricted to a maximum wing-span of 15 metres and fixed wing sections (flaps or other lift-enhancing devices not allowed), maximum all-up mass 525 kg, e.g. ASW 28, LS8, Discus-2, LAK-19. • 15 metre Class, as Standard Class with lift-enhancing devices allowed, maximum all-up mass 525 kg, e.g. ASG 29, LS6, Ventus-3, Diana 2. • 18 metre Class, as the 15 metre Class with wing-spans up to 18 metres, maximum all-up mass 600 kg. Introduced in 2001. E.g. AS 33, LS10, DG-808, Ventus-3, LAK-17. • 20 metre Two-Seater Class, restricted to a maximum wing-span of 20 metres, maximum all-up mass 750 kg. Introduced in 2014. E.g. Duo Discus, DG-1000, Arcus, ASG 32 • Club Class, allows a wide range of older small gliders within a specified range of performances, e.g. Libelle, Standard Cirrus, LS1, with the scores being adjusted by handicapping. Disposable (i.e. water) ballast may be installed but must not be used in this class. • 13.5 metre, with maximum wing-span of 13.5 metres. Gliding World Records are classified by the FAI under sub-classes that do not have a one-to-one correspondence with the above competition classes: • DO - Open Class, accepts sporting performances achieved with any glider type. Sporting performances by Open, 18 metre and Two Seaters are eligible only for this sub-class. • D15 - 15 metre Class, accepts sporting performances achieved with gliders whose wing-span is smaller than or equal to 15 metres. • DW - World Class, for sporting performances by World Class gliders only, though this category may be amended given the abolition of the class for competition. • DU - Ultralight Class, for sporting performances by gliders having maximum mass below 220 kg, e.g. the SparrowHawk, Apis WR, Silent 2 Targa. A subdivision of the ultralight class, known as the microlift gliders have a wingloading not exceeding 18 kg/m2. Types include the Carbon Dragon, AL12 Alatus and the Lighthawk. Microlift gliders do not have separate world records. ==Non-FAI Classes==

Glider classes not recognised by the FAI have been used in some regional and national competitions. The most significant of these are: • Sports Class, a handicapped class similar in concept to the Club Class but allowing a wider range of gliders, usually both flapped and unflapped and with spans not limited to 15 metres. This class is often used in competitions where the number of entries is too small to warrant subdivision of the participants into separate classes. • 1-26 Class, a monotype class very popular in the United States, based on the Schweizer SGS 1-26 glider and managed by the 1-26 Association, a division of the Soaring Society of America. ==History==

Open Class The Open Class is the oldest competition class, although it only came into formal existence with the creation of the two-seater class in the early 1950s. This unrestricted class has been a favourite testing ground for technological innovation. Many research prototypes fall under this class definition, e.g. the Akaflieg Darmstadt D-30 of 1938, which had variable-dihedral wings and spars built of light alloys, the extremely large-span SB-10 of 1972, the telescoping-wing Akaflieg Stuttgart FS-29 of 1975 and the solar-powered Icare. In contests, the Open Class usually delivers the top performances, with daily tasks as far as 1000 km being possible in favourable weather. To be successful, however, an Open Class glider must blend high performance with practicality. "Extreme" designs tend to be failures, of which the Austria of 1931, the Sigma of 1971 and the BJ series are but the most conspicuous examples. Arguably the only 'extreme' glider that ever won a World Championships was the Nimbus I. Until the 1960s, a fair number of gliders were able to do well in open competition, with smaller-span types occasionally beating larger but more cumbersome types. The composite revolution caused a shake-down, further aggravated when the ASW 22 and Nimbus-3 were introduced in 1981, after which the Open Class for a while became the exclusive preserve of only two manufacturers. The World Gliding Championships of 2012 brought into competition new designs, some of significantly lower wingspan, which flew successfully against "traditional" (wingspan 28 m+) machines of this class. Following a couple of decades of small, incremental performance gains, the appearance in 2000 of the eta brought a sudden jump in performance and a further price escalation. This very expensive aircraft has up to now not had outstanding success in competition, but it for a while seemed to impact the cost of remaining competitive in the class. The 'eta biter' and its successor, the Concordia single-seater, as well as Walter Binder's EB28/EB29 until 2012 were being presented as challengers to eta, but the appearance and performance ==Notes==