EIt’s a kind of race of snails. Waiting five months for interior doors is just the way it is. The fresh groupset for the bike takes a year, so let’s install another one. We are postponing the summer vacation with the new VW California to 2023, so there is more time for anticipation. However, this can be increased immeasurably if a new glider is ordered. We suspect a record here, but are open to submissions to the editorial address if anyone has had even more far-reaching experiences. It will probably take four years before a glider ordered today can be received.
The manufacturers, who mostly work as manufacturers, are feeling an upswing in two senses of the word that nobody expected. Anyone who sees their money in the bank account melting away from penalty interest invests in real estate, vintage cars or such an airplane. “A fun, stable investment,” is what Schleicher, based in the Rhön, calls it, and with its high-performance aircraft it is one of the world’s best in terms of technology. More and more customers came from the clubs who wanted to afford their own aircraft. The halls at the gliding airfields, which are often operated as a hobby, are usually full, but such a glider can be disassembled in a few simple steps and stowed in a trailer. Before playing with the updraft, however, there is a test of patience.
Schleicher builds around 60 aircraft a year. More is not possible, even if the demand is there.
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Image: Schleicher
Schleicher builds around 60 aircraft a year, more is not possible, and there is also a lack of skilled workers. Demand exceeds supply. Especially since the wishes of the customers are bundled in one category: self-launchers with a wingspan of 18 meters. They promise good value for money, show excellent flight characteristics and can take off without a crew. A small engine unfolds its sailing effect either as a homecoming aid or even as a real starter. The aggregate and propeller fold out of the fuselage if necessary and disappear there again after the buoyancy work is done. Today, these are mostly Wankel engines with outputs of around 50 hp. Increasingly, however, smaller and more maintenance-friendly, but still expensive electric drives are being installed, their batteries weighing around 70 kilograms are located in the wings.
230,000 to 260,000 euros are being asked for a new aircraft, seven or eight year old used ones now fetch the purchase price of back then. A small consolation for the impatient: The competition works a bit even in these extraordinary times. In South Africa, for example, Jonker manufactures sailplanes. And promises a kind of express delivery after two years.