In message <7b.14e236ad.28354e38@aol.com>, BCLERX@aol.com writes
> L/D does not degrade at high altitude due to flying at a higher
> speed and
> "floater" sailplanes do as well as "glass slippers" in high
> altitude wave
> conditions.
I think that this needs to be qualified. High TAS and IAS are required
for flying in wave conditions in order to fly efficiently in the sinking
air between wave bars. "floaters" are at a severe disadvantage in this
context, although of course they can climb effectively on a single wave
bar.
Kenneth Whiteley
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