Bill,

I hope you don't mind if I throw in a third choice:
The LET Solo L-33.

It's all metal which permits you to tie it down fully
assembled rather than pulling it out of the trailer
each day and assembling it.

When it comes to assembly-disassembly, it may have
a disadvantage. The wings are not heavy, and the person
on the tip isn't struggling. However, the spars are
shorter than the typical 15m fiberglass glider and
the short spars make it a bit more of a hassle to hold
the 'heavy' end of the wing. It really helps to have
someone on the trailing edge at the butt rib to help
rotate the wing from vertical to horizontal and assist
in moving the wing in/out of the fuselage. Either
that, or have gorilla-length arms.

It is a nice flying gliders that many in our club enjoy.
My early years in gliders was limited to Schweizers
and Blaniks and I was not impressed with their lack
of cockpit sealing: they tended to be noisy. Not
so our club's Solo. It's canopy and cockpit make a
nice, quiet environment to sit in. It is quieter in
the cockpit than my LS1-d.

As with the PW-5 and Russia you mentioned, it too has
a fixed landing gear.

Our club's has a CG hook and a nose (actually, more
of a 'chin') hook.

Leaving it assembled might entice you to fly it more
often than if it were in the trailer needed rigging/derigging
for each flight.

Just something to consider.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA



At 13:00 01 December 2004, Bill Alexander wrote:
I am returning to gliding shortly and am considering
buying either a PW5 or a Russia. Being of advanced
years i am looking for ease of assembly. Any pros or
cons please.

Bill Alexander