Steven Pearson <<email>> writes:

I can't help but feel that the comments from Vicky, Gerolf and Steve Moyes are somewhat misleading and unfair, especially if they are intended to suggest that Moyes is the only company to innovate in hang gliding design, and that everyone else is merely copying.

As a matter of history, Moyes did not introduce carbon tubing to hang gliding. UP flew and extensively tested an all-carbon Spider in 1979, WW subsequently made a carbon leading edge Raven which we considered putting into production, and most notably UP and its successor companies produced several generations of all-carbon production gliders well before the first Litespeed.

Most major manufacturers introduced carbon cantilevered crossbar systems following the LaMouette Topless. Wills Wing, Acme Glider Company, and Moyes certified their first topless gliders at the same HGMA meeting. To the best of my knowledge, only Wills Wing has proof tested every carbon spar that we have every produced, a practice that, although expensive, is the only practical way to guarantee the integrity of a composite component. Our spars are made with 100 deg C, aerospace quality pre-preg.

Wills Wing introduced the first carbon pre-preg, high-temperature high-pressure closed-mold, competition control bar, which Gerolf, Bill Moyes, Brett Hazlett, and many other Moyes pilots purchased before Moyes developed their own competition bar. This bar also features a very low drag airfoil section which I designed for this application, with wind tunnel tests that have been posted on our website for many years.

It also featured innovative aerodynamic corner fittings unlike anything that had been available previously. Low drag control bars also require adjustments to the downtube and basetube angles which I first made to our competition bars in 1982 long before any other similar configurations existed.

Altogether, there is no basis for suggesting that our experience with carbon composites is less than that of Moyes, or that we copied their components.

As further examples of innovation, Wills Wing fought convention (and economy) for many years as the only major manufacturer to produce 7075 airframes, long before Moyes adopted 7075. The now industry-standard leading edge configuration with a large 62/60mm front leading edge reduced to a 52/50 rear leading edge was developed by Wills Wing.

As far as I know, Wills Wing is the only manufacturer who has operated an in-house sail-loft since 1973. Our sail loft has been under my direction continuously since 1977. I made my first Mylar sail in 1980 and Wills Wing was the first manufacturer to use Polyant PX style Mylar laminates which were subsequently adopted by Moyes. Wills Wing is the only manufacturer who has developed a laminate with a special UV resistant polyester film on the outer layer which is unprotected by internal UV coatings.

Wills Wing was the first company to certify a production model using the fabric shear ribs system that is essential today to the stability and handling of high percentage double surface gliders.

Wills Wing first proved the effectiveness of the internal keel configuration that has since been adopted by every other manufacturer. When Bill Moyes first saw the HP1 he told me, "It will never climb, mate".

Wills Wing certified production gliders using the since widely adopted kingpost hang system when Moyes was using French-connections to reduce pitch and roll pressure.

Wills Wing introduced the cable supported, universal joint, leading-edge bracket outboard sprog system when other manufacturers, including Moyes, had over-the-crossbar systems.

Wills Wing is the only manufacturer who has owned and operated an aerodynamic test vehicle continuously since 1980.

Wills Wing was the first manufacturer to install a CNC sail cutting system. We've subsequently installed a CNC 3-axis machining center to optimize the design and strength of our hardware. Certainly choices like this are more expensive than purchasing cast fittings and other outsourced solutions, but they are examples of our commitment to producing the highest quality products.

Moyes has earned a well-deserved reputation for many years as a leader in international competitions, and as a result many competition pilots in recent years have chosen Moyes gliders. Over the same period, Wills Wing has chosen to allocate our resources across a broader spectrum of products and services for the hang gliding community, from primary training gliders like the Condor through many generations of high performance intermediate gliders like the Sport 167 (which even Gerolf owned) and to support many other essential and beneficial industry programs that go beyond mere product development.

Today, more and more competition pilots are choosing the Wills Wing T2 or T2C for competition, having seen for themselves (and reported to us) that the T2 and T2C compare very favorably in quality and competitive performance with anything else available. Most competition pilots do not choose based on price, but based on what glider they feel will give them the best overall competitive performance.

The ability to save a substantial amount of money on even a fully loaded T2C, when compared to some other brands, is a nice bonus, but is probably not the determining factor for most pilots who purchase this class of glider with the intent to compete at a world class level. For performance minded recreational pilots, where that last fraction of a percent in performance that the more exotic carbon component options offer may not be as important, we see a lot of pilots choosing to save even more by purchasing the lower priced T2 over the T2C. We're excited about the increasing sales of both of these models, and happy to be able to offer a top quality competition class glider at a lower price.