On Thu, 29 Nov 2018 05:58:14 -0800, AS wrote:

IMHO, a winch and a winchable two-seat glider have been the catalyst for
clubs around the world in the past. Much lower initial cost and much
lower operating cost.

Speaking of which, when I was in Szentes (SE Hungary, 40km north of
Szeged, I found a very small glider club operating off a grass strip.
They had a single drum winch on the back of a truck chassis, which I
didn't get a close look at, a beat-up old car for cable retrieval, a
Rubik R-26 Gobe two-seat glider and a Scheibe SF-25 touring motor glider.

That Gobe is the first I've seen, though its in the Martin Simon's
"Sailplanes 1920-2000" set of three books. Its an all-metal shoulder wing
glider with fabric on the wings behind the main spar, fabric-covered
control surfaces and fuselage sides. It is similar in age and performance
to an SGS 2-33 though its ergonomics, especially for the instructor, look
better. The instructor sits between the slightly swept-forward wing
leading edges. He sits a lot higher than the student so he has a good
view of both the only control panel, down over the student's shoulders,
and straight out above the his head.

I was offered a flight but didn't get one because the weather wasn't
cooperating when I could have flown.

But, to avoid going entirely off thread, I imagine their operating costs
as a club would be minimal.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org