Pilatus B4?

[Terry Pitts]

I have periodically seen Pilatus B4s for sale. Mostly in the mid-teen price range. There was one in Germany a couple years ago for $5,500 w/o a trailer - THAT wasn't going to work!

I have come to enjoy glider aerobatics. I live in Augusta, GA. If someone were to have a Pilatus they wanted to sell, I could be interested in buying one.

I don't want to pay a huge premium to convince someone to part with their "family heirloom, Oshkosh best of show, little old lady only did aeros on Sunday" but I'm sure there are underused/unused gliders out there not too far from Georgia that someone just hasn't gotten around to listing for sale yet.

[[email protected][_1_]]

B4 is a great ship for acro but not X-C. Might also look at the 13/15m Acro Jantar. God for both.

[[email protected]]

Steve Diehl at Miami Gliders was ruminating sale of theirs...

[Dan Daly[_2_]]

On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 1:13:33 AM UTC-4, wrote:
> B4 is a great ship for acro but not X-C. Might also look at the 13/15m Acro Jantar. God for both.

On the PZL Allstar website they say 17m tips for the SZD-59 "coming soon" http://szd.com.pl/en/products/szd-59-1-acro

[Jonathon May]

At 10:59 04 August 2019, Dan Daly wrote:
>On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 1:13:33 AM UTC-4,
wrote:
>> B4 is a great ship for acro but not X-C. Might also look at the
13/15m
>Acro Jantar. God for both.
>
>On the PZL Allstar website they say 17m tips for the SZD-59
"coming soon"
>http://szd.com.pl/en/products/szd-59-1-acro
>

I don't think all B4s are the same spec.
I think some have more stiffening in the boom to allow flick
manoeuvres .
I flew xc in one in the 90's when my ship was damaged, nice to fly.
But not easy to repair if you bend it.

[AS]

On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 7:51:39 AM UTC-4, Terry Pitts wrote:
> I have periodically seen Pilatus B4s for sale. Mostly in the mid-teen price range. There was one in Germany a couple years ago for $5,500 w/o a trailer - THAT wasn't going to work!
>
> I have come to enjoy glider aerobatics. I live in Augusta, GA. If someone were to have a Pilatus they wanted to sell, I could be interested in buying one.
>
> I don't want to pay a huge premium to convince someone to part with their "family heirloom, Oshkosh best of show, little old lady only did aeros on Sunday" but I'm sure there are underused/unused gliders out there not too far from Georgia that someone just hasn't gotten around to listing for sale yet.
>
> A Swift and a Fox are an order of magnitude out of my price range. My club has an ASK-21 I do some aerobatic training in.
>
> I'm looking at a non-aerobatic single seater in the same price range and thought I'd ask about B4s before spending money and then "the perfect Pilatus" shows up on Wings and Wheels! I can best be reached at my Yahoo address of ltcterry2006 and you know the rest.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Terry

Terry - if you are looking for a decent combination between aerobatics and XC-capabilities, I would add the H101 'Salto' to the list. I flew one for a summer and actually did my first 300km triangle in it. Later models were available with wingtips boosting the wingspan to slightly over 15m (don't even ask why!). The V-tail is absolutely no problem in flight.
I also flew a B4 and can tell you that the H101 is the better XC performer!
The only limitation is the size the pilot can be. I am 6-1 and did fit well but much taller folks may have a problem.
Finding one that is for sale may as difficult than finding a B4 ...

Uli
'AS'

[Mike N.]

There was a Salto on W&W about a week or so ago. Not sure if it's still there...

[WB]

Be aware that B4’s have had some corrosion problems in the wings. This is very difficult or impossible to repair. B4s also have foam ribs in the wings that mice love to tunnel through. I have seen B4 wings with buckets of chewed up blue foam falling out of the wing roots. Lastly, having asked a number of B4 owners their opinion of the plane, I can summarize their responses as “Meh”.

[[email protected]]

Speak for yourself. I owned n flew a B4 for 4 years and did about a thousand miles xc in her. They climb fine, run about as good as a 33/1 glider would but limited penetration into wind. It will however land on a postage stamp and are pretty rugged. I outlanded mine numerous times all over NV, and nary a ding.

[[email protected]]

Yes, there are two different models as far as structure and which aerobatics are permitted...

[Papa3[_2_]]

On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 2:02:30 PM UTC-4, WB wrote:
> Lastly, having asked a number of B4 owners their opinion of the plane, I can summarize their responses as “Meh”.

Well, count me as one who would disagree with "meh". In my experience, it's a reasonable glider for progression beyond a 1-26 in a club environment and has some attraction as a multi-purpose glider for both XC and initial Aerobatics training. Having owned two LS gliders (an LS4 and an LS8) and one Schleicher (ASG-29) and having flown about 2 dozen other types, I would put it in the middle third in terms of handling and top third for comfort.. It's in the same category as a 1-34 or a 1-36 but with the added benefit of being certified for aerobatics.

If your objective is to race with the big boys, then you'll outgrow it pretty quickly. But if you want a relatively robust ship that can be tied out for much of the year and used for a mix of activities, it's a good choice.

[WB]

Maybe I am mistaken, but I take the definition of “meh” as “unremarkable”. Not bad, not great. Just so-so. “In the middle third” sounds about like what B4 owners have given me as their opinion on the glider.