Ultimate 20/19/18 footers killing off the F18 and or F16 classes ?

I seem to remember that we saw the M20 (faster and 120 kg), CFR20 (faster and about 120 kg as well), Taipan 5.7 (faster and 135 kg), F18HT (faster in some conditions and 130 kg), Ventilo 20 (faster and 150 kg), 20HT (still in prototype stages), M18 (faster and 80 kg), 18 sq.mtr. (faster and 80 kg), eagle 20 carbon (faster and 120 kg) and probable one or two more.

None of these design were able to compete in any meaningful way and none show any current potential to do so in the future.

Seriously, we've seen many tries and all failed.

Neither the F18 class or F16 class is losing any sleep over it. People think that designing the ultimate lightweight 20 footer and establishing it as a popular class is something else then extremely challenging. Remember that even Marstrom had to raise the minimum weight of the M20 from 108 kg to 120 kg because of breakages.

The only two new classes to have emerged in the last 10 years and show GLOBAL growth (meaning beyond the "prototype + some locally sold") stages are the spitfire and the F16 class (almost one and the same class). Both I-17 and FX-one have a small and very localized fleets in respectively US Great lake states and Northern Europe but nothing outside of it. Before this decade we saw the F18 class and F20 classes established in the early 90's. All other classes are before that time and only the H16, tornado and A-cat seem to be surviving after the introduction of the F18/F20 classes.

Of course in these 15 years many more new classes were formed and promoted but none of them make it to global growth. This is how difficult it is to make a new design and class a succes.

And the established classes know this, that is why none are worrying about any "ultimate" this or that.

Wouter