In article .com,
"rich" wrote:

Hi all,
Looking for feedback on handling and performance,any special
maintenance issues.
Thanks all,
Rich



The -123s from the D model up were Schweizer's best efforts, IMHO. I
have a lot of great memories of flying a 1-23D (N91865). It is the one
that Schreder flew into the hailstorm when it was brand new. I had my
first outlanding in a 1-23 H15. What a great ship (for a Schweizer).
Both the D model and the H15 that I flew had very heavy ailerons (they
have big lead weights on the linkages to prevent flutter). Otherwise,
they flew alot like a bigger, better performing 1-26 (maybe not as much
rudder authority). I'd say they were stable and easy to fly.

Light wing loading makes the long wing 1-23 a great weak weather
ship.The wings on the 1-23 are like 2-33 wings without the struts. Lots
and lots of surface area. All of it oilcanning like crazy in thermals.
One thing to watch out for is fatique cracks in the skin where there is
a lot of flexing going on. Our old D model had to have a horizontal stab
skin replaced.

L/D is around 30:1. Maybe a bit better in an H15 with the extended tips.

All the 1-23 models will spin if you want them to or get slow and
uncoordinated. The old short wing models had a bit of a reputation for
inadvertent spins. We had a fatality with one in North Carolina a long
time ago. I got a cut on my head in our D model when I hit the canopy
doing an "over the top" spin entry and didn't have the straps cinched
down tight enough. We also had a club member inadvertently spin the D on
the downwind leg for landing. It took him a bit longer than was good to
initiate recovery and he got a full turn and a bit more before he got it
sorted out. I don't think he ever flew gliders again after that.
However, I don't think the long wing 1-23's are any worse for spinning
than other gliders, say a K8 or Ka-6.

The big drawback to the 1-23's is assembly/disassembly.
Assembly/disassembly is a 3 person job. The wings are held together
similarly to a 1-26, with bolts. However, on the 1-23, there is a
"puller" tool that is needed to get the wing bolts out. Don't lose that
tool!

A 1-23H15 is a great ship if you can keep it assembled and don't plan on
traveling with it too much.

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