Schweizer 1-26 question

[[email protected]]

Back in the early 1960s my Dad attended the Schweizer Soaring School in Elmira, NY earning his glider rating as well as his A and B Badges. We were on our family vacation and I was just a tike but remember the field being busy with gliders coming and going. What made this especially fun was that there was this one fiery friendly candy machine that was more than happy to dispense Chuckles (one of my favorite candies) whether you fed it any money or not. dad was happy flying the gliders wholes I was getting fat and happy on the Chuckles.

Anyway, while grounded I've been spending an inordinate amount of time searching the web for pictures and videos on gliders. I was wondering if there is anyone else out there who thinks that a 1-26 with just the right paint job is an absolutely beautiful looking little sailplane? I keep thinking that maybe I'd like to have one of those things! What do you guys think? Can a guy have fun with a simple sailplane like the 1-26 or do you have to buy glass to really enjoy the sport?

Thank you for your input!

Brian Lott

[John Carlyle]

On Friday, March 29, 2013 1:40:48 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> Back in the early 1960s my Dad attended the Schweizer Soaring School in Elmira, NY earning his glider rating as well as his A and B Badges. We were on our family vacation and I was just a tike but remember the field being busy with gliders coming and going. What made this especially fun was that there was this one fiery friendly candy machine that was more than happy to dispense Chuckles (one of my favorite candies) whether you fed it any money or not. dad was happy flying the gliders wholes I was getting fat and happy on the Chuckles.
>
>
>
> Anyway, while grounded I've been spending an inordinate amount of time searching the web for pictures and videos on gliders. I was wondering if there is anyone else out there who thinks that a 1-26 with just the right paint job is an absolutely beautiful looking little sailplane? I keep thinking that maybe I'd like to have one of those things! What do you guys think? Can a guy have fun with a simple sailplane like the 1-26 or do you have to buy glass to really enjoy the sport?
>
> Thank you for your input!
>
> Brian Lott

Brian,

Click on some of these traces (particularly Ron Schwartz):
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightsOfClub.html?cc=1668&st=olcp&rt=olc&c=US&sc=&sp=2013
and you'll see that a 1-26 can be an absolute blast!

-John, Q3

[Greg Delp]

Thanks for the story.

I fly for a living so I get a few more hours airborne than most. I started soaring in the last few years and have become completely addicted to the sport. The addiction in part comes from the "pure flight" element for me. Getting back to stick and ruder flying and feeling at one nature which provides the challenges of soaring. I think owning and flying a 1-26 would provide endless fun and adventure. I think the limited performance of the 1-26 would make acquiring badges and records much more challenging and meaningful. And yes the various paint jobs brings out the personalities in each 1-26. They are a total blast to fly.

[[email protected]]

On Friday, March 29, 2013 1:40:48 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> Back in the early 1960s my Dad attended the Schweizer Soaring School in Elmira, NY earning his glider rating as well as his A and B Badges. We were on our family vacation and I was just a tike but remember the field being busy with gliders coming and going. What made this especially fun was that there was this one fiery friendly candy machine that was more than happy to dispense Chuckles (one of my favorite candies) whether you fed it any money or not. dad was happy flying the gliders wholes I was getting fat and happy on the Chuckles. Anyway, while grounded I've been spending an inordinate amount of time searching the web for pictures and videos on gliders. I was wondering if there is anyone else out there who thinks that a 1-26 with just the right paint job is an absolutely beautiful looking little sailplane? I keep thinking that maybe I'd like to have one of those things! What do you guys think? Can a guy have fun with a simple sailplane like the 1-26 or do you have to buy glass to really enjoy the sport? Thank you for your input! Brian Lott

1-26's remain a very good way to have a lot of safe, challanging fun on a small budget.
AND- you get to have them in cool colors.
UH

[lynn]

On Friday, March 29, 2013 12:40:48 PM UTC-5, wrote:
> Back in the early 1960s my Dad attended the Schweizer Soaring School in Elmira, NY earning his glider rating as well as his A and B Badges. We were on our family vacation and I was just a tike but remember the field being busy with gliders coming and going. What made this especially fun was that there was this one fiery friendly candy machine that was more than happy to dispense Chuckles (one of my favorite candies) whether you fed it any money or not. dad was happy flying the gliders wholes I was getting fat and happy on the Chuckles.
> Get a 1-26 and fit it with a sport canopy (open cockpit)for more fun flying in the summer
>
>
> Anyway, while grounded I've been spending an inordinate amount of time searching the web for pictures and videos on gliders. I was wondering if there is anyone else out there who thinks that a 1-26 with just the right paint job is an absolutely beautiful looking little sailplane? I keep thinking that maybe I'd like to have one of those things! What do you guys think? Can a guy have fun with a simple sailplane like the 1-26 or do you have to buy glass to really enjoy the sport?
>
>
>
> Thank you for your input!
>
>
>
> Brian Lott

[[email protected]]

These are all great responses so far! Paul Leal and Gus Johnson each posted 500+ KM flights in 1-26s. Ron Scwhartz is knocking off 200+ KM flights with 5 to 6 hour durations like there is nothing to it. All very, very impressive for a sailplane that has supposedly limited performance capabilities.

I fly / soar primarily for fun. Maybe simpler and more affordable is a better way for me to go.

[[email protected]]

Great thing about the sport of soaring is the enjoyment of it is whatever you want it to be. Top dollar high tech fiberglass or aluminum and cloth wings, fly safe and have fun.

[[email protected]]

Great thing about the sport of soaring is the enjoyment of it is whatever you want it to be. Top dollar high tech fiberglass or aluminum and cloth wings, fly safe and have fun.

[BobW]

On 3/29/2013 5:45 PM, wrote:
> Great thing about the sport of soaring is the enjoyment of it is whatever
> you want it to be. Top dollar high tech fiberglass or aluminum and cloth
> wings, fly safe and have fun.
>

"What rstutzmann said."

Way back when, there I wuz soaring a 1-26, learning how to go XC. Made my
first land-out (in a 1-26, of course) in MD...about 2 air miles from the
airport. Made my next 3 (in a different 1-26) in UT. UT land out #1 was ~4 air
miles from the T.O. field; UT #2 was ~1 air mile from the T.O. field; UT #3
was ~48 air miles from my T.O. airport. Musta been learning SOMEthing (other
than how to pick good landing fields, I mean!)...

One of the things I thought I'd learned in UT - which has a fair amount of
tiger country, even for a short-field-lander such as a 1-26 - was I might be
able to learn XC faster - or at least do more of it - with a flatter gliding
1-26. That was because a lot of UT/inter-mountain-Rockies lift tends to
develop along mountain range spines, and reaching it was - on some days, for
me, with my skills then - effectively impossible without taking risks I was
unwilling to take. IOW, longer legs would've definitely assisted nurturing my
nascent XC skills in that part of the world, IF longer legs could be obtained
without giving up the (postage-stamp-sized) field choices available to 1-26s.

And that's how I ended up becoming a fan of large-deflection landing flaps.
Had I been soaring in (say) the midwest, I may have never felt the need for a
flatter gliding 1-26, since sheer distance covered is all in one's head.

My 48-mile landout occurred after 2+ hours atop the same field, after a
tailwind became a headwind, I wouldn't accept the "all or nothing" risk of
stretching for the lift atop the spine of mountains just to my east, and so -
once my crew was reasonably close & because we had several more hours of
driving to do to get to work the next day - I landed after countless "sawtooth
climbs" reaching for the next field ahead in "my" valley. All I wanted to do
was to be able to GET to the next field. That day, every glide after my climbs
put me back in the pattern for the field I landed on. Great fun...but
simultaneously frustrating. My conclusion was a flatter gliding 1-26 would
likely reduce future frustrational situations, for me, in that part of the world.

In any event, if you're having fun, you're having fun!!!

Bob W.

[son_of_flubber]

On Friday, March 29, 2013 8:36:41 PM UTC-4, BobW wrote:
> My conclusion was a flatter gliding 1-26 would
> likely reduce future frustrational situations, for me, in that part of the > world.

That would be a SGS 1-36?

I went through my 1-26 phase of about 25 flights. I look forward to flying one again on a boomer day when there are minimal winds aloft.

It has been a privilege to fly a beautifully restored 1-26e and I thank the dedicated people that keep these gliders in the air. They are wonderfully simple machines and the experience of flying a bit of history is valuable.

On the other hand, the 1-26 quickly sorts out the great pilots who fly badges in them, from the mediocre pilots like me who end up paying for multiple tows to justify a single drive to the airport. Flying a 1-26 when there are strong winds aloft and strong sink is dismal and disheartening.

[[email protected]]

The 1-26 is a simple easy to fly glider. A few pilots have gotten their diamond badges in one. It is a select group as you have to be a "GREAT"pilot to do that. It doesnt take great pilot to get all the badges in a super glass ship. It is my favorite glider having earned the Silver badge in one many years ago. So if you want to fly an easy but challenging glider fly the 1-26.

[flgliderpilot[_2_]]

, while grounded I've been spending an inordinate amount of time searching the web for pictures and videos on gliders. I was wondering if there is anyone else out there who thinks that a 1-26 with just the right paint job is an absolutely beautiful looking little sailplane? I keep thinking that maybe I'd like to have one of those things! What do you guys think? Can a guy have fun with a simple sailplane like the 1-26 or do you have to buy glass to really enjoy the sport?
>


Hi Brian, I purchased a 1-26 as my first glider so I could cut my leash to the airport. We were not allow to use gliport gliders for cross country. I had a great time attempting silver distance in my 1-26E... I ended up selling it only due to financial problems which eventually prevented me from being able to fly it. It was a great glider to fly, easy to set up, easy to transport, and easy to land in very small spaces.

The downside is if it is a blue sky day, with a breeze, forget about it! Any serious wind, unless you are planning a down winder, or working a ridge .... no way.

But, if you chose your conditions carefully it was a lot of fun.

I've been considering buying another just to get me through 200 hours due to the challenge and safety factor (very slow stall speed and metal construction), and then maybe something in glass. I have not decided yet but I have time, I'm still saving.

[Jonathan St. Cloud]

On Monday, November 27, 2017 at 11:06:03 AM UTC-8, flgliderpilot wrote:

> I've been considering buying another just to get me through 200 hours due to the challenge and safety factor (very slow stall speed and metal construction), and then maybe something in glass. I have not decided yet but I have time, I'm still saving.

Don't let not having 200 hours in metal keep you from buy glass. I learned to fly gliders in a G-103, rented a fixed wheel G102 for maybe another ten hours then purchased glass, ASW-24. I thought standard class was a great way to learn and to learn XC. Got my badges in that std class glider, even an unofficial 1000k and most of my first 500 hours in gliders.

[flgliderpilot[_2_]]

A 1-34 is a pretty nice “flatter” 1-26! Fun plane to fly.... terminal velocity air brakes!

[Paul[_2_]]

The 1-26 is good for your mental health. No more obsessing about badges and records. No more heartbreak about a scratch on the fuselage from a landout on a stubbly field. In fact, no more heartbreaks, period. If you are a born competitor, the 1-26 contests are just as intense as any high-rent glass can provide. It's all about flying, and the 1-26 loves to fly. It will outclimb a lot of expensive ships, and if it won't go as fast, so what? What's your hurry? If you need speed, what are you doing in a glider?

[[email protected]]

I guess I'll go against the grain, here. The 1-26 is, indeed, easy to fly, easy to tiedown outside, competitive within the 1-26 class, and safe (though, like most gliders, it will spin), etc. It's less expense and holds its value well. And you won't sweat a few minor scratches and even dents.

It's also easy to land off the airport, which is great because that's what you'll be doing frequently if you start flying cross country in it. You do learn a lot. But it can be a frustrating learning curve. It's also not as quick to rig/derig as more modern glass sailplanes often are so those unscheduled landings can be a little more work.

In a higher-performance glider, miss a thermal and you're slow. In a 1-26, miss a thermal and you're likely on the ground. Yes, the really good 1-26 pilots know how to make the glider do some remarkable things. But the average pilot can get discouraged after repeated landings, off and on the airport..

I flew and competed in a 1-26 for some years after solo and I did learn a lot that transferred over to higher-performance gliders. But unlike some pilots (1-26 maestro Ron Schwartz comes to mind) I was never tempted to fly it again after I made the switch.

There used to be 1-26 classes even at local contests (and there probably still are). But the big one of the year is the 1-26 national contest, which--like the other classes--rotates around the country. So unlike the FAI classes, there aren't a series of regional championships that are potentially closer to home in those years when the national contest is on the other side of the country. That's relevant only if you think you might be interested in competition.

The 1-26 is a nice first step. And for many it's an ideal glider. But like everything else in life, it's not perfect.

Chip Bearden

[[email protected]]

Gee this is almost a trolling question ... but I will take it seriously -- yes, you can have a lot of fun in a 1-26. How much fun you will have depends on your attitude ... and also where you soar.

They are NOT a good sailplane anywhere the winds are strong; you sure don't go upwind well in a 1-26, nor penetrate through sink. This means that some of the "best" soaring areas in the American Southwest are actually pretty scary in a 1-26. They are well suited to areas where the conditions are milder -- they climb well in weak lift.

There's a common 1-26 joke that goes "Flying a 1-26 is great, you meet so many nice new farming friends! " 1-26s do land off-field very well.

Another inexpensive glider to consider is the Ka-6 ... better performance than a 1-26 -- it is wood and fabric and requires more care and better storage.

[[email protected]]

Before this thread dies I do want to mention one of the greatest all-time flights in a 1-26 I know of ... George Hanke flew a 1-26 from Saratoga NY (5B2) across MA and out to Martha's Vineyard! He circled the airport there, came back to the mainland, flew back west to where GBSC flew back in that day (IIRC, not Sterling where they fly today), landed, stayed overnight.

And the next day he took a tow and flew it back to Saratoga!

Adjusting for the realities of Northeast soaring that's mind-boggling, given being able to bring it home (upwind) the next day.

Getting one's diamonds in a 1-26 is doable, but yes ... a feat. A great deal of it is the feat of persistence, planning, and being ready to go when the conditions are right.

The hard one is the distance. There are basically two strategies -- out east it's pretty easy along the Appalachian ridges.

Out west you wait for a post-cold-frontal day with a decent wind ... and do the "vulgar down wind dash." Even 20 kts of wind on your tail changes the whole picture for a 1-26, and with any sort of luck you get some streeting too.

Problem is ... somebody will need to drive > 600 miles RT to get you. (This assumes you are not George Hanke with his luck, too.) And you will probably not succeed on the first try.

Anyone who has done this has good friends or family.

[Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot)]

My biggest issue was the need for an, "iron butt" for long time flights. My best contribution is a fair amount of 1-26 time (couple hundred hours before moving up to a 1-34 and beyond) and doing most of my badges from a single airport in SE NYS. Above silver C, most were done in glass though.

I have flown with Ron S. many times over the years, he is definitely an eastern mentor for 1-26 flying along with others from ACA.......

I think some time in a 1-26 is good before moving up. Partly, you fly a TON of thermals, helps you to look at the ground and sky to find the next lift, if you don't, you will likely land.

While others say training in glass is the way, I still think doing lower performance to learn the basics, then move up is a better way.
You have to learn to find and work lift all the time before stretching your legs, glass makes it easier to go further on most days.

[[email protected]]

I own a Discus B, and call me crazy, but I still like flying 1-26s, and also not to hijack the thread ... a Ka-6. ... and right now I am refabricing and overhauling my Ka-6CR

Part of this goes back to me flying 1-26s in the Elsinore/Hemet valley in the early 70's, when i was a young pilot -- learned a great deal, they are a lot of fun to fly, and the Elsinore/Hemet valley is almost ideal conditions for them.

I think the biggest value of a 1-26 today is that YOU WILL LAND OFF-FIELD. Cross-country soaring is basically impossible until you get comfortable with the idea that you WILL land off-field ... unless you get up into the 18+ m classes of gliders with sustainers, etc.

If you can't land a 1-26 in a field ... nothing else will get you in there! And they are inexpensive, easy to fix.

The truth of the matter is that when I fly the Discus I am more worried about off-field landings, even though it is insured, and I really do know how to fly it. I don't have the sense of "no worries" that I have in a 1-26. The Discus can do so much more, goes so much farther and faster ... and I sure know how to land it. But the kind of thing that worries me with an expensive glass sailplane is the post or piece of junk in a field you don't spot -- that damage in a 1-26 is a no-big-crisis to fix, and the properly-repaired 1-26 is "good as new," equally valuable.

A big ding in a wing or much worse yet a broken fuselage (unfortunately common in glass sailplanes if you catch a wing or ground loop) is a major repair, expensive, and the glider will be substantially depreciated even though the repair is covered by insurance. A broken rear fuselage repair can add a lot of weight ... on two-seaters like the Grob-103 you often see used ones with damage-repair where the weight added is so much that it isn't really a usable two-seater anymore! This kind of thing leaves you nervous when you fly a glass-bird cross-country, and contemplate truly landing out. This is why a lot of glass-drivers fly a rigid landing-site list ... but then that can have its problems where you are gliding low off to that site on your list, and either you don't make it or get there and it's not landable.

Another point is that a 1-26 can be landed on a two-lane road, and usually you cannot get away with that in a 15 m glider. Usually this is only relevant out in the desert, where there are lots of 2-lane roads with zero traffic, and not much else to land on.

Having said all this, I like a Ka-6 more than a 1-26 ... and that's why I own one ... but the comparison is mixed. Ka-6s are cheap and a lot of fun to fly; out-perform a 1-26 and have a lot of class ... and are easy to repair if need be. But they are wood and fabric, take more storage care than a 1-26.

[flgliderpilot[_2_]]

On Friday, March 29, 2013 at 4:55:59 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> These are all great responses so far! Paul Leal and Gus Johnson each posted 500+ KM flights in 1-26s. Ron Scwhartz is knocking off 200+ KM flights with 5 to 6 hour durations like there is nothing to it. All very, very impressive for a sailplane that has supposedly limited performance capabilities.
>
> I fly / soar primarily for fun. Maybe simpler and more affordable is a better way for me to go.

Yeah you see some great distances in 1-26's, but they are nearly always out west along a ridge.. with constant good lift. You'll never see these 500KM flights over here in Florida for example, going thermal to thermal at 2500' AGL.

I remember when I got my 1-26. I had been flying a 1-34 until I purchased my own 1-26. When I got off tow, I took a thermal and thought hey this is great! Then I dropped the nose and headed for the next thermal and once I got the speed up I was basically looking at the ground... and I thought "OH WOW I JUST SCREWED UP BUYING THIS GLIDER!". I felt like I was just falling out of the sky. Once I got a better sense of cruising speed for my 1-26 things were better, and enjoyed flying it, but it was very easy to end up on the ground. Anyway I accomplished my primary goal which was start cross country, land off field, and get over the fear of landing out. That was really the entire reason I started with a 1-26. I admit I do still love the looks of the 1-26 especially with a round tail.

[Mike Schumann[_2_]]

Jim Hard flew many amazing down wind dashes in his 1-26 in MN. In one flight he made it from Stanton MN to Gary IN.

[Tony[_5_]]

Jim had 10 diamond distance flights in his 1-26. One flight exceeded 400 miles. Two ended in Indiana. All originated from the upper Midwest, most from Minneapolis MN area. There was one that started in North Dakota basically at the Canadian border and ended near Minneapolis. Following Cold Fronts in the spring.

There have been many (but not recently)Diamond Distance 1-26 flights flown northbound from Texas/NM, presumably along the dry line. I guess that is an atmospheric ridge...

The 1-26 Association website lists all known Diamond Distance and 400+ mile flights in the achievements section. www.126association.org

[[email protected]]

On Saturday, December 23, 2017 at 9:48:44 PM UTC-5, flgliderpilot wrote:
> Yeah you see some great distances in 1-26's, but they are nearly always out west along a ridge.. with constant good lift. You'll never see these 500KM flights over here in Florida for example, going thermal to thermal at 2500' AGL.

There aren't any ridges out west that are comparable to running the Appalachians.

[[email protected]]

Speaking of flying 1-26 diamond distance flights out west, Doug Levy and three other guys ROUTINELY fly diamond distance flights from SO CA up along the Sierras over owens valley and into NV. Each year those guys put in two or three flights exceeding 300 miles and a few in the 400 mile range. Its done, its done regularly, and by multiple pilots who know what they are doing out west.