On Sun, 19 Nov 2017 08:03:10 -0800, flgliderpilot wrote:

My budget is 10K or less, and I am still saving, so in the meantime I'm
wondering about inexpensive older fiberglass options such as the
Libelle, etc.

I fly an early Standard Libelle and love it to bits. The only damage
comment I'd make is that its doesn't have a T-tail, so there's a risk
dinging the tailplane if you land on a field which is growing stuff that
is more than 12-18 inches (30-40cm) tall. Against that, support from
Glasfaser, who hold the type certificate, is excellent for both
accessories and spares.

Most of what I've learned in the last 11 years of flying mine is he

http://www.gregorie.org/gliding/libelle/h201_notes.html

and photos, etc. of min and what I've done to the panel etc is he

http://www.gregorie.org/gliding/libelle/index.html


Are fiberglass gliders more expensive to maintain and repair?

I don't believe so.

Easily damaged on rough landouts?

See above.

Its also worth noting that Libelles are currently going up in price in
Europe and the UK: its rather nice to have an older glider that's not
depreciating!

Final comment: Std Libelles suit tall pilots just fine but aren't so good
for broad shoulders or the bigger girth pilot, but go look and sit in one
to see for yourself. Just bear in mind that you're likely to be sitting
in it for 5 hours at a stretch when you get into XC flying.

If you're in those categories and an H.205 Club Libelle comes up for
sale, go and look at it because it has:

- a much more capacious cockpit,

- hinged canopy,

- T-tail,

- more powerful airbrakes

- higher-mounted wing (shoulder- rather than mid-) than
a H.201 Standard Libelle.

It will probably quite a bit cheaper too. They don't seem to be much
behind the H.201 on performance despite the fixed undercarriage, probably
because the wing is very nicely faired to the fuselage.



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martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
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