[julia6roberts]

On Thursday, McCall’s dream, the 59-foot Glider SS18 from U.K.-based Glider Yachts, was presented to the world at the London On-Water show. With its sci-fi profile, the SS18’s 17-foot-wide cockpit can carry four passengers and a “pilot,” who flies the boat. McCall, an engineer and former yacht captain, says the company used aerospace technology in the design and build processes. The boat’s geometry, specifically how its 60-foot aluminum hulls interact with air and water, is key to its soft ride. “The hull form, propulsion, and our Stability Control System actually tune to the sea conditions, which allows the boat to glide over the waves,” says McCall. Its trim is controlled by moving the fuel fore and aft, or taking on water, which serve as ballast to match sea conditions. That’s better than using conventional trim tabs that would add drag to the hull. here

[jojobeans]

The beautiful thing about yachting is that dreams often do come true. Seven years ago, Captain Rob McCall had the idea of creating a yacht that nobody had ever seen before. It would ride over the water, perched six feet above long, narrow wave-piercing hulls that would glide over heavy seas. It would need much smaller engines because of far less wetted surface. McCall envisioned a fast cruiser with a luxury cockpit, able to run in big seas from Miami to the Bahamas or Saint-Tropez to Monaco, with a silky-smooth ride. here

[SkyN]

The SS18 will have a top end of 50 knots. The cockpit is more race boat than cruiser, with leather Corbeau bucket race seats, a powerful JL Audio sound system, and, yes, a Champagne cooler. The helm features a drag-racer steering wheel, racing throttles for the four 300 hp supercharged Yamaha engines, and high-tech, touchscreen Garmin helm consoles. Its Hyper Sports version will have triple the horsepower and should reach a top end of 96 knots. McCall says only three Gliders will be built this year. The SS18 will sell for about $1.3 million. After its London show debut, it will be at the Cannes and Monaco yacht shows in September.

[checkmark91]

[aaaxxx]

Then there are the early glass fibre gliders. There are loads flying and in good condition. For one of these you could end up paying between £8,000 and £13,000. more

[Kalidratorma]

It’s a bit like boats! Gliders can be surprisingly cheap, especially if it’s an older classic glider. Possibly about the same as a 1970’s 20ft sailing boat. And at the other extreme you are looking at the same sort of money as a very nice modern 40ft yacht!

[artdegree12]

Beyond that will be the next generation of gliders. These are pretty much the designs that are produced today. Perhaps with some relatively small improvements. There is a big range here. Some will be equipped with engines to self-launch others might have a smaller ’get you home’ auxiliary engine. here

[TomM]

Gliders like the club’s Ka6 are popular and are lovely to fly with respectable performance. In their heyday they were state of the art and breaking records. Around £5000 will get a nice one and when you move on you’ll get your money back.

[johnyh]

The Ka6 was upgraded over the years, and different models with new changes were released. The Ka6-CR’s broke the record of longest distance flown by a sailplane in 1963. The two Ka6- CR passed by Otto Schäuble and Karl Betzler broke and traveled from Stuttgart, Germany to Saint Nazare on the French Atlantic coast, a total of 876km.

[franzl]

The fuselage was designed primarily for cockpit safety. The position of the seatbelt and the anchor point protects the pilot if an accident occurs. Its maximum speed is 180 km/h, although this glider can reach 280km/h, it is not advisable to get that speed. [links]

[Sultan]

Any trained glider pilot can fly a glider. Soon after you conclude your lessons a flight proficiency test, you can pass a sailplane. Most people start from an early age to start flying; weight might be a problem as modern gliders permit a pilot weight of 120kg or less. more

[ueleniacostae]

With a cockpit hovering high above two massive water skis, the SS18 from London's Glider Yachts looks more like an amphibious UFO than any yacht or boat we might compare it to. But it's designed for much more than just unique looks, offering a high-performance ride with enough stability, speed and comfort to sit back, sip champagne and chat with your closest friends while island-hopping at 55 knots (102 km/h).

[dogparts]

"We wanted something elegant and beautiful that would be timeless, so we looked at the world's most beautiful classic cars, like the Ferrari GTO, the E-Type," McCall says of the initial styling process. "From that, we determined what were, to the human eye, the most beautiful shapes and forms that were timeless." [links]

[dwdollar]

"Glider has no subsurface appendages," says McCall. "She has a Zero Drag Steering System. Like on fighter jets, and the Russian ones in particular, we vector-thrust for steerage and for reversing, therefore there are no rudders, fins or skegs." more

[lumos]

The beautiful thing about yachting is that dreams often do come true. Seven years ago, Captain Rob McCall had the idea of creating a yacht that nobody had ever seen before. It would ride over the water, perched six feet above long, narrow wave-piercing hulls that would glide over heavy seas. It would need much smaller engines because of far less wetted surface. McCall envisioned a fast cruiser with a luxury cockpit, able to run in big seas from Miami to the Bahamas or Saint-Tropez to Monaco, with a silky-smooth ride. more

[PureIt]

On Thursday, McCall’s dream, the 59-foot Glider SS18 from U.K.-based Glider Yachts, was presented to the world at the London On-Water show. With its sci-fi profile, the SS18’s 17-foot-wide cockpit can carry four passengers and a “pilot,” who flies the boat. McCall, an engineer and former yacht captain, says the company used aerospace technology in the design and build processes. The boat’s geometry, specifically how its 60-foot aluminum hulls interact with air and water, is key to its soft ride. “The hull form, propulsion, and our Stability Control System actually tune to the sea conditions, which allows the boat to glide over the waves,” says McCall. Its trim is controlled by moving the fuel fore and aft, or taking on water, which serve as ballast to match sea conditions. That’s better than using conventional trim tabs that would add drag to the hull. here

[gossipymen]

The SS18 will have a top end of 50 knots. The cockpit is more race boat than cruiser, with leather Corbeau bucket race seats, a powerful JL Audio sound system, and, yes, a Champagne cooler. The helm features a drag-racer steering wheel, racing throttles for the four 300 hp supercharged Yamaha engines, and high-tech, touchscreen Garmin helm consoles. Its Hyper Sports version will have triple the horsepower and should reach a top end of 96 knots. McCall says only three Gliders will be built this year. The SS18 will sell for about $1.3 million. After its London show debut, it will be at the Cannes and Monaco yacht shows in September. here

[greigmare64]

[links]