How hard is a Diamant to assemble?
I've endured l-o-o-o-n-g rigging sessions with both a family HBV
(Libelle 301 wings) and a friend's 16.5 meter Diamant. In both cases
the problem was operator error. The HBV is almost as easy as a 301
except you can't see what's happening inside the fuselage. And if you
rig the wrong wing (R, I believe) first in defiance of the owner's
manual, the flap drive will jam and prevent your getting the other
wing on. The long-wingers are much heavier but no more complex. IIRC,
a few people had problems with the socket in the L wing into which a
pin from the right wing spar is inserted. The socket is a floating,
slightly tapered bushing and I think it can rotate 180 degrees, making
it impossible to plug the spar pin into the small end of the bushing.
This is probably more than you want to know about either type.
Basically the long wingers are MUCH heavier and you've gotta have good
wingstands or very strong assistants. But both types assemble fairly
easily if you know what you're doing. The horror stories began, I
think, because many of the early owners didn't know much about rigging
these fairly early fiberglass gliders.
Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA
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