Brian,

From what I've heard, you are correct about the factory not wanting to
support the older ships.

Two of my friends just returned from the World Gliding Championships in
Hungary. When they were there, I sent them an email requesting they ask
how other people in the world are are dealing with this.

The first report back is that the factory does not want to support this.
From a buisness stand point there is no money in it for them. LET has
soft selled the issue by appearing to help. They can determine the state
of the glider if you provide them data. However, it is impossible to
provide this data so they get off the hook.

The other report I received was a L13 being grounded by the factory
because the owner responded to LET stating they don't have all the info.
No History=No Fly

Your other comment about banding together is correct. If the world
community does not unite the consequences will be bad. I'm not holding
my breath for the factory to do something because there is no incentive
for them.

Moving forward, there was talk about funding an R&D project for
inspection. My gut feel this is not feasible. Given the gliders are worth
$10-$15K, by the time you pay for the R&D, the inspection, AND the repair
cost you will exceed the glider value. This is not a cost effective
approach.

I'm lost to what the path forward should be...............

Andrew Corrigan




At 01:18 30 August 2010, froggy wrote:
How are the the lower spar cap wing attach areas different on the
other newer Blanik models? If they are the same or similar, then we
should comment to the FAA and try to include these ships too. I know
it may seem counter productive, but we may get faster results from the
MFG if suddenly the ships that they have yet to sell are included in
this mess. I suspect that LET (MFG) is not to interested in supporting
our older ships.
Another thought: there is a wing strap mod in Austrailia or OZ
called the Llewelyn Mod. ships that have this mod are designated
L-13A1.. Does the Ad include L-13A1 ships? Check it out and comment.
These are just a random ideas I have, I have been brain storming all
weekend. we should all just throw out ideas, good or bad on this
site.
If we dont all get together as a group.. we may end up with some big
shiney lawn ornaments.
Brian Doyle MIDNAV aircraft services North Adams ma 413-896-6386