Originally Posted by
chevvron
And why do you need high performance glass ships for Air Cadet gliding? Sedburghs and Mk3s had adequate performance but had to be replaced due to their age; if someone produced a glider of similar performance nowadays it would be perfect for the task.
Compared to most single-seat glass gliders the Vikings are not high performance with a best L/D of about 30:1 compared to about 40:1 for lots of 15m unflapped gliders. Additionally the single-seaters mostly perform slightly better at higher speeds which helps when trying to fly upwind, and are more slippery e.g. pick up speed more readily if the nose is lowered.