Open Cirrus Pilots Notes

[phil collin]

We are acquiring an Open Cirrus for 2 of our club pilots.
As none of us have flown this particular type before I was hoping
someone here had.
Anyone with experience on Open Cirrus please e-mail me with advice.
thanks in advance.

Phil

[Charles Yeates]

Phil

Climb in and fly -- nice docile flying characteristics. Owned one for
many years.


> We are acquiring an Open Cirrus for 2 of our club pilots.
> As none of us have flown this particular type before I was hoping
> someone here had.
> Anyone with experience on Open Cirrus please e-mail me with advice.
> thanks in advance.
>
> Phil

[[email protected]]

Phil Collin wrote:
> We are acquiring an Open Cirrus for 2 of our club pilots.
> As none of us have flown this particular type before I was hoping
> someone here had.
> Anyone with experience on Open Cirrus please e-mail me with advice.
> thanks in advance.
>
> Phil

For the money, one of the best ships out there for a club for
transitioning pilots to glass. CG hook allows ground launch, but
requires slightly more work on tow. In order to offer advice, I need to
know more about your flying experience. Of course, one should get a
check out in a 2 seat glass ship with an instructor famliair with the
Cirrus.

Have you been to the cirrus site?:

http://classicsailplane.org/Cirrus/

I have flown/owned S/N 80 for 20 yrs - Feel free to call or email
with questions

Mike Malis


661.284.6967

[Chris Reed[_1_]]

This is based on 3 years owning my own Open Cirrus, including as much XC
as I could manage.

Flight notes:

1. On launch, watch out for the seat back hammock, which can move you
back in your seat. Adjust rudder pedals to allow for this, and then move
them forward in flight.

2. Tape up the tailchute cone with wing tape for the first few flights -
accidental deployment would be a bad idea.

3. Practice the tailchute regularly - it only requires an extra 5kt
airspeed for deployment and make crosswind landings easy.

4. Airbrakes are less powerful than modern glass - I'd say around K6Cr
equivalent - so approach speed control is important. Do NOT add an extra
10 kts for safety, as you could float the length of the field. Nil wind
landing speed is around 47kt (52 with tailchute), plus 1/2 wind speed.
5kt more is safe on a runway but not in a field, but you should be
practising for fields - this is definitely an XC glider.

5. Stall characteristics are benign, with plenty of aerodynamic warning.
HOWEVER, wet wings can raise the stall speed by 10 kts or so. If you
hear the rumble (at height), check out the stall speed (mushing stall
will tell you if it's risen).

6. This is a 1967 polar, so flying fast increases the sink rate by a
large factor. I'd say that the normal working speed range in the UK is
45-60kt (maybe 45-70 in strong conditions). Don't rush, and you'll get
there - I work on 12 km per 1,000 ft @ 50kt, and regularly achieve that.

7. Spin is benign, with plenty of warning on entry. However, on recovery
the rudder forces change and what feels like full opposite rudder may
not be. Push harder. The Cirrus (or mine anyway) requires ALL the
opposite rudder to stop the spin, at which point it comes out
immediately. This is worth practising.

8. Undercarriage lever works differently from most other gliders - worth
practising on the ground if possible but not really a problem.

9. Trim works differently, so worth practising on the ground first as
you can't see it. If the knob unscrews in flight (e.g. you move against
it) then the springs produce unexpected stick forces - don't panic, just
reach for the trim and readjust.

10. Trim knob is next to tailchute knob, and both need to be worked by
feel not sight. Practice to make sure you have the right one. Practice
unscrewing the trim tension before moving it - the tailchute knob
shouldn't unscrew, which is an additional way of ensuring you have the
right control.

Rigging notes:

1. Wings are heavy (the German LBA failed to break them at 15G), so make
some trestles to take the weight.

2. Line up the spars inside the fuselage with the weight on trestles -
once everything is lined up, the "grunging" bar will slide them into
place. If it won't, you're not lined up. There's no point 2 or 3 people
puffing and swearing while you do this, thus the trestles.

3. Make your friends watch you fit the tailplane - no-one believes it's
that easy!

4. Always tape up the wing/fuselage join, as otherwise turbulent airflow
hits the tailplane and makes flying unpleasant.

Overall, a nice glider, easy to fly - have fun!

[Burt Compton - Marfa]

Email me at and I'll send you my Open Cirrus Pilot
Briefing notes, which includes a complete discussion on how to use the
tailchute.

Burt Compton Open Cirrus # 33 & Std. Cirrus # 187
Marfa Gliders, west Texas USA
www.flygliders.com

[Andrew Wood]

I did once see an open cirrus undershoot using the
tail parachute. The pilot was using the tail parachute
for the first time. He found the tail chute opened
fine, but would not jettison. I'm told the tail chute
release mechanism is prone to jam if the approach speed
is high.

[Chris Reed[_1_]]

Andrew Wood wrote:
> I did once see an open cirrus undershoot using the
> tail parachute. The pilot was using the tail parachute
> for the first time. He found the tail chute opened
> fine, but would not jettison. I'm told the tail chute
> release mechanism is prone to jam if the approach speed
> is high.
>
>
>
I think this is unlikely, but poor packing can cause problems. The heavy
metal fittings must be inside the tailcone, not the fuselage - you can
check this once assembled by pushing the rudder to the right and looking
in the gap. If the fitting is hard against the slot in the tailcone the
chute can fail to deploy properly; I found this out the hard way, but no
damage done. It's probably worth trying out packing and deployment on
the ground a few times. If the tailcone falls away cleanly, the same
packing method should work in flight.

[Chris Reed[_1_]]

Andrew Wood wrote:
> I did once see an open cirrus undershoot using the
> tail parachute. The pilot was using the tail parachute
> for the first time. He found the tail chute opened
> fine, but would not jettison. I'm told the tail chute
> release mechanism is prone to jam if the approach speed
> is high.
>
>
>
PS, I'm not saying the undershoot is unlikely - I suspect the pilot may
have been trying to jettison using the trim, or the tailchute was
attached such that the release jammed.

First time with the tailchute is interesting: (a) this is not too bad,
(b) ohmygod the sink rate is alarming, (c) no, it's OK, I'll make the
runway. (c) might not happen if you've not, on a first attempt, aimed
rather further into the runway than normal! I recommend a continuous
curve from downwind to final, rather than formal legs.

[[email protected]]

Chris Reed wrote:
> 8. Undercarriage lever works differently from most other gliders - worth
> practising on the ground if possible but not really a problem.

On this side of the pond we tend to discourage practice use of the
gear handle whilst on the ground. Legend has it that Gren Seibels
once, while seated in his Libelle and perfectly in the frame of the
TV-camera, suddenly and loudly disappeared from view whilst
demonstrating the glider's controls to a comely TV-news-lady.

See ya, Dave

[[email protected]]

There is very little clearance between the through spars and the top
of the fuselage. When
rigging be careful not to let the tip down once the wing is stabbed.
Great flying ship. I
enjoyed mine very much.

Craig-