Moyes hasn't had a World Champion since Tomas Suchanek in 1995 (Manfred from Icaro had a monopoly for six years and then Oleg came along). Now they have Attila Bertok and the top three places on the podium with Robert Reisinger and Gerolf Heinrichs, the Moyes glider designer. In spite of this lack (and now abundance) Moyes has been very successful in competition with their glider well represented. In fact in many competition the Moyes gliders dominated the top spots. Why is Moyes so successful?

First of all Gerolf has designed a very competitive glider. The differences between the top of the line competition topless gliders is very slight, so as long as you have a glider that is as good as any of the other top gliders then you can let the differences between pilot skills become the deciding factor.

Second, Gerolf is a very good pilot, obviously from his third place finish at the Worlds, as well as a charismatic figure. Having your designer be an elite level pilot sends a huge message. Unfortunately, that message can be that it is the pilot not the glider, as it has often been in the case of Icaro and Aeros. So it takes more than that.

Third, the way you get around the identification of the top pilot/designer as the reason that the glider does well is to have the glider flown by lots and lots of pilots. This was not the case with the Icaro and earlier with the Aeros Combat gliders (although this is much less true now). With fewer pilots flying them, it appeared as though it was more Manfred and Oleg rather than the glider that determined how well they did (but, of course, I would argue that this is always the case).

Fourth, of course, I have illustrated a chicken and egg problem. How do you get many pilots to fly your glider in the first place so that pilots don't automatically assign the success of the glider to the elite pilot?

Fifth, Moyes has a strong family tradition. A strong extended family tradition. A family tradition that reaches out and incorporates many others into the family and gives them that family feeling, that feeling of belonging to a very special family/club.

Who has been to every Worlds - Molly and Bill Moyes (and until this Worlds, Steve Moyes has flown in every Worlds, and won one). Their dedication to the sport was highlighted at the Worlds on the last night to a standing ovation. A very important symbol and one felt by all the pilots there. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that?

Bill and Molly are the patriarch and matriarch of a large and extended family and three of their children run Moyes Delta Gliders while Bill runs Bailey-Moyes Dragonflies. Pilots from around the world have over the years been brought into the company to help build the gliders. Think Brett Hazlett, Kraig Coomber, Jonny Durand, Attila Bertok, Mikki Fiesenbichler, and many others.

Moyes has built loyalty among the most promising new pilots giving them a helping hand and supporting them early. This willingness to bring others into the family is part of the family tradition. There is always room for one more, includign Gerolf and Bobby Bailey, and many many others..

Can you think of one other "company" that was at the Worlds in such force? Rob Kells and Steven Pearson from Wills Wing were there (separately), but how can they compete with the Moyes family (including Vicki - who heads up Moyes marketing)? Rob and Steve provide great support, but they are just being outgunned. Kraig Coomber (the main designer of the Moyes Matrix harness) from Moyes USA was there helping other pilots as well as flying very well.

Airborne had their designer, Scott Barrett. Who was there from Aero and Icaro? Their gliders were there, but I wasn't aware of any other presence.

The attraction of the Moyes family/company/brand is huge. Pilots have the feeling that the Moyes glider is superior, or if not superior, at least as good as any of the other gliders there. They feel that you can't go wrong with the Moyes RS. (Actually Attila flies the older S model as he likes to fly the big mode - S5, and there isn't an RS-5 - for obvious reasons, if you think about it.)

The Moyes family makes you feel part of a big friendly superior family/club even if you aren't the top most pilot around. It is just something that they have learned from being such a family for years and it is natural for them to extend it to others. Marketing by being one big happy family.

If you are not part of that family, you are just missing something. So Moyes attracts many more pilots than other manufacturers (at least at these elite level competitions) and that gives everyone the feeling that the glider is superior as the superior pilots are flying the glider. And that solves the chicken and egg problem.

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