And now on to the 1-26

[Jim Buckridge]

Hey all,

Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.

I'm nervous about flying a new ship. Is it like driving someone
else's car for the first time?

Any stories (serious and/or anectodal) on transitioning to a one
seater appreciated :-)

Jim

[Scott Correa]

Grab a chute and sit in one for a while.
Figure out where the hard spots
that poke your body are ahead of time
and do something about them before you fly.
Make sure you fit well and can reach everything.
Bring a towell to wipe the silly ass smile off your face.

Scott.

"Jim Buckridge" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey all,
>
> Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
> I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.
>
> I'm nervous about flying a new ship. Is it like driving someone
> else's car for the first time?
>
> Any stories (serious and/or anectodal) on transitioning to a one
> seater appreciated :-)
>
> Jim

[Scott]

I transitioned from an L-13. Before slipping into the new cockpit, my
instructor had me fly a Grob 103 twin to get the feel of a touchy sailplane.
Compared to the L-13, the 1-26 is a lot more agile and sensitive to stick
movement. Even after 20 hours in it this summer, I still put my wrist on my
leg and only wrap three fingers around it for tow up. It is a lovely plane
to fly, though it wont get you anywhere very fast.

I definitely reccomend being good at spin recovery practice before hopping
in, though. It has a real tendency to spin off when fully banked in a strong
thermal.

that's my two coppers.
"Jim Buckridge" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey all,
>
> Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
> I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.
>
> I'm nervous about flying a new ship. Is it like driving someone
> else's car for the first time?
>
> Any stories (serious and/or anectodal) on transitioning to a one
> seater appreciated :-)
>
> Jim




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[Bob Kuykendall]

Earlier, (Jim Buckridge) wrote:

> ...I'm nervous about flying a new ship.
> Is it like driving someone else's car
> for the first time?

Yup. Except it's just a bit harder to put the baseball cards in the
spokes. :)

> Any stories (serious and/or anectodal)
> on transitioning to a one seater
> appreciated :-)

The 1-26 is an honest, straightforward little ship with a sturdy
structure. You'll like it, and you probably won't come to any harm
unless you really mess up.

The one thing they didn't warn me about the 1-26 was that the airport
disappears under the wing on downwind. You just have to use your
imagination a little.

Thanks, and best regards to all

Bob K.
http://www.hpaircraft.com

[DGRTEK]

You sound like a guy in my club! The replies have hit all the words of wisdom
on your first transition flight.

If you pay attention on your initial tow roll out and keep your elbow on your
thigh you won't find yourself bouncing up and down like a ball. Just don't get
high on the towplane or slam yourself into the ground!

Take a 3-5K tow and get the feel for how it handles... Take some straight
ahead stalls. Practice slow flying you can get her Really Slow. Pay attention
to how it will drop a wing in a stall.

The view of the Horizon will be different than your used to. You really have
to point the nose down to get her up to pattern speed 55mph.

Before you hit pattern, play with the air brakes...they work. Landing is not a
problem, just remember you're sitting closer to the ground than in the 2-33 so
the flair is a bit different.

The 1-26 is a well balanced fun ship to fly, enjoy it!

After a few flights you'll be hitting the classifieds looking for a ship to
partner into.

Douglas

[BTIZ]

on top of everyone else's comments.. have whom ever signs you off in it..
yes.. some/most insurance companies will require you to get signed off..
cockpit check..

have someone hold the tail to the "landing attitude",, and to the tail on
the ground attitude.. and back to the landing attitude.. look far down the
"runway" as if landing and study the sight picture..

remember what the POH says.. short final.. round out about 45mph and 1/3
spoiler.. hold the attitude and let it land..

which model 1-26, the A,B, C model the spoiler is on a cable, figure out how
far to pull for 1/3 deployment. The D, E model, has a regular lever handle,
find a mark on the canopy rail that equates to 1/3 and see what you get.

ohh.. no one has told you.. but if you rapidly close the spoilers on round
out.. you'll jump up into the air about 10feet and have to start the landing
round out all over again.. just stabilize.. and work it down from there.

ohh... one more thing... 1-26s are FUN !!! we let our solo students go in
the 1-26 to free up the 2-33 for dual. It has the same glide L/d as the 2-33

BT

"Jim Buckridge" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey all,
>
> Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
> I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.
>
> I'm nervous about flying a new ship. Is it like driving someone
> else's car for the first time?
>
> Any stories (serious and/or anectodal) on transitioning to a one
> seater appreciated :-)
>
> Jim

[Borislav Deianov]

Jim Buckridge > wrote:
>
> Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
> I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.

A few things I wish somebody had told me before my first flight in my
club's 1-26:

- You can trim it for any speed less than stall speed. Basically, it
almost stalls with the trim all the way forward. This makes the trim
useless. The good thing is that you don't really need it, the stick
forces are so light. The bad thing is...

- You need a lot of forward stick pressure during the tow. You can't
trim it out because of the above. Not really a big deal but it gets a
bit tiring on a long tow. The trick with keeping your elbow on your
leg helps. And you have to pay attention, otherwise it's very easy to
balloon if you get distracted.

- The rollout is *noisy*. I got a bit freaked out at first (my other
experience at the time being mostly in Blaniks). It gets even noisier
if/when you put the skid down. It's just the way it is.

- The rollout is *short*. Even shorter after you put it on the
skid. Keep that in mind if you need to exit the runway in a specific
spot.

I've flown only one 1-26, no idea if any of the above will apply to
yours. Have fun with it. Not much performance but a blast to fly.

> I'm nervous about flying a new ship. Is it like driving someone
> else's car for the first time?

Yeah, except you can't just go slowly until you get used to it :-)

Boris

[David R.]

Jim, I soloed in a Grob-103 and then a 1-26 was my first single seater.
I'll always remember my instructors last words of advice before my first
flight: "In the pattern, if it looks good: YOU ARE TOO LOW"

Other than that, it pretty much flew like a glider.

dave r.


"Jim Buckridge" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey all,
>
> Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
> I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.
>
> I'm nervous about flying a new ship. Is it like driving someone
> else's car for the first time?
>
> Any stories (serious and/or anectodal) on transitioning to a one
> seater appreciated :-)
>
> Jim

[c1rrus]

First time in a single seater is going to be exciting, even if it is
uneventful.

Best advice I got when I strapped my Cirrus on for the first time was -
remember all the good advice, but don't forget to fly the plane first.

You should be able to handle whatever happens fairly comfortably. I only
started feeling at home somewhere after 15-20 flights.

Bruce

[Martin Gregorie]

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:26:24 +0200, c1rrus >
wrote:

>First time in a single seater is going to be exciting, even if it is
>uneventful.
>
Sometimes it can be more public that you're really like. My first
single seat flight, in an Junior, was winched from in front of the
grid during a Gransden Regionals. Fortunately I didn't do anything too
stupid....


--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :

[Michael]

(Jim Buckridge) wrote
> Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
> I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.
>
> I'm nervous about flying a new ship. Is it like driving someone
> else's car for the first time?
>
> Any stories (serious and/or anectodal) on transitioning to a one
> seater appreciated :-)

The 1-26 is probably the most docile aircraft on earth. It's
certainly the most docile thing I've ever flown.

It's very light on the controls - trim is really optional. It flies
off the ground at an ungodly low speed. For your first flight, don't
be in any hurry to take off. Ease the stick back VERY gently, and as
soon as you become airborne, start easing it forward again. It takes
about 5 seconds to get used to it on tow. That's it. Once you've
figured out how much forward pressure it takes to stay in position on
tow, you've done the hardest part.

It glides about like a 2-33, which is to say not quite as well as a
pair of pliers. Stay close to home until you really know what she
will do. It won't be much. Once I nearly had to outland at an
airport 3 miles away because I didn't pay attention and got just a
little low. On the other hand, a 1-26 will thermal on a fart. Some
guy was burning leaves in his back yard, and that was enough lift for
me to climb high enough to make it home.

Take a tow to 3000, do a couple of stalls with spoilers. Feel her
out, see how slow you can go without stalling. Feels just about the
same on landing as well. Landing speed is so slow, and the fuselage
so rugged, you can pretty much do anything you want. Any landing you
do will be fine.

There's an old saw about how the amount of debate about a flight
maneuver is inversely proportional to the actual difficulty of the
maneuver, and that for the easiest maneuver debate approaches
infinity. It's much the same for planes.

The 1-26 is so easy to fly that there are lots of different opinions
about how it should be flown. I'm sure a CFIG will give you a cockpit
checkout on it, and will give you advice about how to fly it. Might
as well do whatever he tells you - there's really no way it's going to
be wrong. This ship will truly forgive just about anything. It's
purpose in life is to let a low time pilot get into a single seater.

Have fun.

Michael

[Lennie the Lurker]

(Jim Buckridge) wrote in message >...
> Hey all,
>
> Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
> I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.
>
> I'm nervous about flying a new ship. Is it like driving someone
> else's car for the first time?
>
> Any stories (serious and/or anectodal) on transitioning to a one
> seater appreciated :-)
>
Just ask anyone here. If I flew it, a chimpanzee with downs syndrome
could.

Big deal, no sweat, if the rudder cables start singing above a high C,
let off on the pressure, it isn't going to scoot out from under you.

[Jim Buckridge]

wrote:
>
> Just got my rating last month. Next time I'm at the field I think
> I'll be getting into a 1-26 for the first time.
>

Thanks everyone! I'll give an update after my first flight but I'm
not sure when that will be. It's a tad cold up here in NJ.

[Mark James Boyd]

>> Any stories (serious and/or anectodal) on transitioning to a one
>> seater appreciated :-)

Unfortunately, checklists are not prioritized, and often
get so long that the really important things get muddled
over.

1. Make sure the airbrakes are locked

2. Have it trimmed for takeoff at your C.G.
(and too much nose down is better than too much nose up)

3. Lift off at sufficient flying airspeed (don't be too quick
to leave mother earth).

4. ETC, other stuff...

In any new aircraft type glider I fly, I look up the
accident records first. The most common accident causes
tell me how to prioritize my checklist, rather than just
having 22 equally important checklist items
(air vent closed? C'mon). Then I go and cut down the
checklist, eliminating some "niceties" that aren't on
the POH checklist but somebody threw in anyway...