L33

I'm contemplating the purchase of a used Blanik L33 Solo, as an upgrade from
my 1-26E, and seeking advice concerning the type.


Jack

Jack wrote:
I'm contemplating the purchase of a used Blanik L33 Solo, as an upgrade
from my 1-26E, and seeking advice concerning the type.

Excellent handling, IMHO. Control forces are light and well harmonized.
More so than other gliders, do not get slow close to the ground.

Tony V.

Excellent handling, IMHO. Control forces are light and well harmonized.
More so than other gliders, do not get slow close to the ground.

Oh yeah, one more thing - do not get an L33 with a factory paint job.
Get either bare aluminum or one painted by some one else. LET has not
figured out how to paint aluminum, judging by all the painted L33s and
L23s i've seen. Here are some shots of my club's L33 before we
refinished it.

Tony V

http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2165.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2166.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2167.JPG

Tony Verhulst wrote:

http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2165.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2166.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2167.JPG

U G G L E E E !

Thanks for the warning.


Jack

Tony Verhulst wrote:

Excellent handling, IMHO. Control forces are light and well
harmonized. More so than other gliders, do not get slow close to the
ground.


Oh yeah, one more thing - do not get an L33 with a factory paint job.
Get either bare aluminum or one painted by some one else. LET has not
figured out how to paint aluminum, judging by all the painted L33s and
L23s i've seen. Here are some shots of my club's L33 before we
refinished it.

Tony V

http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2165.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2166.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2167.JPG

Wow! Looks they painted it with cheap interior latex. :-p

.... LET has not
figured out how to paint aluminum, judging by all the painted L33s and
L23s i've seen. Here are some shots of my club's L33 before we
refinished it.

Tony V

http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2165.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2166.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tony.verhul...c/DSCN2167.JPG


Wow! Looks they painted it with cheap interior latex. :-p

We have a painted L23 (2, actually, sort of... we need a fuselage) that
look bad too - although not as bad as the L33 pictured above. I don't
understand it. Painting aluminum is hard but the Cessnas and Pipers have
figured it out - not LET, though.

A dedicated crew stripped the L33 down to bare metal over the winter,
buffed it up, and put some red trim on. It now looks great and,
interesingly, it's suddenly become one of the more popular ships to fly.

Tony V.

"Tony Verhulst" wrote in message
...



We have a painted L23 (2, actually, sort of... we need a fuselage) that
look bad too - although not as bad as the L33 pictured above. I don't
understand it. Painting aluminum is hard but the Cessnas and Pipers have
figured it out - not LET, though.


Painting aluminum correctly adds considerable weight. Possibly LET skipped
the etching primer prep coat to save weight.

There's a clear coat aluminum protectant once used by the Airstream Trailer
people that looked good for many years and could be renewed at a reasonable
cost. I wonder if that could be a solution for old aluminum gliders.

Bill Daniels

Jack, I'd like to talk about the getting your E.
Rich

Jack wrote:
I'm contemplating the purchase of a used Blanik L33 Solo, as an upgrade
from my 1-26E, and seeking advice concerning the type.


Jack

Jack,

I have a fair amount of time in my club's L-33, the same one that Tony
Verhulst talks about in his post, and find it a very pleasant ship to
fly. BTW, it's been refinished since the snapshots he posted.

The cockpit is roomy and comfortable, the visibility and ergonomics are
excellent and it's very quiet. It's probably not for a beginner because
of it's stall and spin characteristics. You might want to look up the
Dick Johnson review of it that appeared in Soaring some years ago and is
archived on the SSA web site. Opening the air brakes all the way
increases the stall speed by SEVEN kts.!

Fly safe,

Al
Discus B, PC

I have a 2000 L33. It has a gentle stall with lots of warning. The paint is
still perfect. Lots of fun to fly.
LW