First Glider, a few more questions

Hello everyone,

I am still a student, very close to getting my glider license, but
knee surgery has set me back for a month or two. I am in central
Florida. I have been flying solo for about a year now.

So, sitting around immobilized from knee surgery, wishing I could fly,
I decided it would be a good time to sell all of my junk and start
saving for a glider. I'm getting tired of renting and waiting around
for the Blanik. I may have another kid on the way, so I am frantic
sell mode before all of my extra cash is tied up in baby expenses. My
wife is ok with the purchase since I am basically selling off my old
hobbies to buy the glider.

I had originally decided on a 1-26 for a first glider. The price is
right, parts are out there, easy to find, easy to fly, and very easy
to land out in tight places. At the moment I have about $5,000 saved
towards my glider and I see quite a few in this price range. Problem
is, I am 195 pounds in shorts and a T-shirt without chute, and around
215 pounds with chute, handheld radio, water bottle, breakfast, etc.
As far as I can tell a chute would put me over max or very near max
pilot weight in a 1-26 depending on the version. Also, recovering the
1-26 which would likely be required could add a couple of thousand to
the cost... more than once. So a $4500 1-26 could really end up a
$7000 project and mean not flying for most of the season while the
work is done.

My next option is to save another two to three thousand (I am not
finished selling old toys) and hope to find a good deal on a 1-34. No
recovering required, better performance, no weight issue, could tie it
down through the season, but not an easy plane to find, or to find
parts for. This is the plane I really would like to have ... but
availability is extremely limited, parts are expensive, and I don't
see them often.

I am in hot humid rainy florida, so a wood glider is not something I
am willing to consider, this rules out gliders like the Ka6.

I am sure there is an old but great glider I am missing .. a 1-23D or
E? I feel like this is like the 1-26 with slightly better glide
ratio, but same best L/D speed, so performance similar to a 1-26.
This could mean more tows on windy days and more expense in the long
run, and I am not sure about parts availability.

Any advice appreciated. I realize 5K - 8K USD isn't much but I know
something is out there.

Thanks
Tom

Tom,

Don't overlook the Schreder ships, a lot of bang for the buck and
metal to boot. There is an RS-15 for sale in FL for $10K, easily able
to handle your weight and reported to be one of the most comfortable
models in the Schreder series.

BUT, I would suggest you continue to save (or sell) and look for a
ship that requires NO immediate attention. This is the voice of
experience; I didn't wait, I bought a ship that needed a "little"
work, but was cheap. I now have spent more than the cost of many
available, great flying ships, and still am not flying!

I AM having fun re-building the old homebuilt, but that hasn't gotten
me into the air in my own ship. Nor was it the original intent!

I'm sure there will be many other suggestions from the chorus.

Mike

BUT, I would suggest you continue to save (or sell) and look for a
ship that requires NO immediate attention. *This is the voice of
experience; I didn't wait, I bought a ship that needed a "little"
work, but was cheap. *I now have spent more than the cost of many
available, great flying ships, and still am not flying!


Mike, thanks so much for the advice. I understand.. a few years ago I
built a sailboat from scratch (my first sailboat) because I thought I
could not afford a boat. In the end it cost me $3000 and 3 years of
work, and it was never the sailboat I dreamed of. It rotted in the
florida heat pretty quick, so I hauled it to the dump and purchased a
larger fiberglass boat with outboard for $1000 on a trailer, ready to
sail.

This is a mistake I do not care to repeat!

Tom

On Aug 2, 9:12*pm, SoaringXCellence wrote:
Tom,

Don't overlook the Schreder ships, a lot of bang for the buck and
metal to boot. There is an RS-15 for sale in FL for $10K, easily able
to handle your weight and reported to be one of the most comfortable
models in the Schreder series.

BUT, I would suggest you continue to save (or sell) and look for a
ship that requires NO immediate attention. *This is the voice of
experience; I didn't wait, I bought a ship that needed a "little"
work, but was cheap. *I now have spent more than the cost of many
available, great flying ships, and still am not flying!

I AM having fun re-building the old homebuilt, but that hasn't gotten
me into the air in my own ship. Nor was it the original intent!

I'm sure there will be many other suggestions from the chorus.

Mike

Ditto on the RS-15.

I have had one for three years and it is a fine ship. Mine is
modified with an UDO airfoil, but the flight characteristics remain
the same. Very, docile, and FUN! The Schreder ships are a remarkable
value for the performance you get.

Any advice appreciated. *I realize 5K - 8K USD isn't much but I know
something is out there.

Cheap Russias' seem to come up every so often, so do good deals on
ASW-15's (10-12k), Libelle 201's and there's that cheap ($7k no
trailer) Pheobus C on W&W. Too bad you don't want a K6 cause $8.5k for
a nice E (also in W&W) is a great deal...

-Paul

trailer) Pheobus C on W&W. Too bad you don't want a K6 cause $8.5k for
a nice E (also in W&W) is a great deal...


I would love to have a K6, but I'd rather have something I leave tied
down in a wet humid environment for awhile without major fear of
internal damage.

-tom

On Aug 3, 4:50*am, tstock wrote:
trailer) Pheobus C on W&W. Too bad you don't want a K6 cause $8.5k for
a nice E (also in W&W) is a great deal...

I would love to have a K6, but I'd rather have something I leave tied
down in a wet humid environment for awhile without major fear of
internal damage.

-tom

K6 would orobably not take your weight, anyway. Chris N.

Tom -

Its already been mentioned; but don't overlook the Russia. The
factory-original paint isn't great, but I bought one as my first ship
and it was great! Lightweight, super-simple, can handle up to 240lbs
pilot, and performance better than any Schweizer ship. At about 31:1
a Russia is not quite as good as a Schreder ship (which get between
34:1 and 38:1), but you also don't have to worry about flaps or build-
quality (there's nothing wrong with flaps and most of the Schreders -
which are homebuilts - are great! But if you're not used to flaps
then it might be a stumbling-block). The Russia has automatic control
hookups and much fewer parts to assemble/connect than the other ships
you mention, so keeping it in its trailer is not a problem; with 1
other person I could rig my Russia in about 10 minutes. And the
Russia AC-4 ships were built in the mid-90's, whereas most of the
others in your price range are from the 1960's or 1970's.

Now the Russia does have some drawbacks: [1] Its lighter than a
Schreder ship so I won't penetrate into the wind as well (but the
Russia is better than the Schweizers you mentioned). [2] The Russian
paint tends to yellow and fade pretty quickly (several in the US have
already been repainted with high-quality Poly-Urethane paint). [3]
The fiberglass and foam cores on the Russia were built to be
lightweight - so you can't abuse the ship as it will dent fairly
easily (similar to early glass ships like the Libelle or ASW-15; both
of which are great sailplanes but can't really handle more than about
190lbs in the cockpit). [4] The Russian-made tires can sometimes be
hard to find.

Lastly, the Russia's light weight and very responsive controls make
thermalling a lot easier in weak conditions.

Good luck! Take care,

--Noel
P.S. I echo the advice of others - don't let $1000 or $2000 stop you
from getting the right ship. Wait if you have to, but buying a ship
you don't like or don't fly is waaaayyyy worse than waiting!

On Aug 2, 6:49*pm, tstock wrote:
Any advice appreciated. *I realize 5K - 8K USD isn't much but I know
something is out there.

Find a partner with similar finances and aspirations and you have 16k
to spend and a crew. Go with 2 partners and the choice gets even
better.

Andy

"Andy" wrote in message
...

Find a partner with similar finances and aspirations and you have 16k
to spend and a crew. Go with 2 partners and the choice gets even
better.

But make sure you don't want to all fly at the same time. If you can only
fly at the weekend, 1 partner is more than enough. If you fly weekend and
they fly during the week, then 2 or even 3 are OK.

BTW most syndicates I know have a 'my day, your day' arrangement so the
partners are not around to act as crew. The exceptions are the ones of
older chaps who mostly only fly locally - they of course almost never need a
crew. They also tend to keep the glider rigged in a hanger.