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#1
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
We are acquiring an Open Cirrus for 2 of our club pilots.
As none of us have flown this particular type before I was hoping someone here had. Anyone with experience on Open Cirrus please e-mail me with advice. thanks in advance. Phil |
#2
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
Phil Climb in and fly -- nice docile flying characteristics. Owned one for many years. We are acquiring an Open Cirrus for 2 of our club pilots. As none of us have flown this particular type before I was hoping someone here had. Anyone with experience on Open Cirrus please e-mail me with advice. thanks in advance. Phil |
#3
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
Phil Collin wrote: We are acquiring an Open Cirrus for 2 of our club pilots. As none of us have flown this particular type before I was hoping someone here had. Anyone with experience on Open Cirrus please e-mail me with advice. thanks in advance. Phil For the money, one of the best ships out there for a club for transitioning pilots to glass. CG hook allows ground launch, but requires slightly more work on tow. In order to offer advice, I need to know more about your flying experience. Of course, one should get a check out in a 2 seat glass ship with an instructor famliair with the Cirrus. Have you been to the cirrus site?: http://classicsailplane.org/Cirrus/ I have flown/owned S/N 80 for 20 yrs - Feel free to call or email with questions Mike Malis 661.284.6967 |
#4
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
This is based on 3 years owning my own Open Cirrus, including as much XC
as I could manage. Flight notes: 1. On launch, watch out for the seat back hammock, which can move you back in your seat. Adjust rudder pedals to allow for this, and then move them forward in flight. 2. Tape up the tailchute cone with wing tape for the first few flights - accidental deployment would be a bad idea. 3. Practice the tailchute regularly - it only requires an extra 5kt airspeed for deployment and make crosswind landings easy. 4. Airbrakes are less powerful than modern glass - I'd say around K6Cr equivalent - so approach speed control is important. Do NOT add an extra 10 kts for safety, as you could float the length of the field. Nil wind landing speed is around 47kt (52 with tailchute), plus 1/2 wind speed. 5kt more is safe on a runway but not in a field, but you should be practising for fields - this is definitely an XC glider. 5. Stall characteristics are benign, with plenty of aerodynamic warning. HOWEVER, wet wings can raise the stall speed by 10 kts or so. If you hear the rumble (at height), check out the stall speed (mushing stall will tell you if it's risen). 6. This is a 1967 polar, so flying fast increases the sink rate by a large factor. I'd say that the normal working speed range in the UK is 45-60kt (maybe 45-70 in strong conditions). Don't rush, and you'll get there - I work on 12 km per 1,000 ft @ 50kt, and regularly achieve that. 7. Spin is benign, with plenty of warning on entry. However, on recovery the rudder forces change and what feels like full opposite rudder may not be. Push harder. The Cirrus (or mine anyway) requires ALL the opposite rudder to stop the spin, at which point it comes out immediately. This is worth practising. 8. Undercarriage lever works differently from most other gliders - worth practising on the ground if possible but not really a problem. 9. Trim works differently, so worth practising on the ground first as you can't see it. If the knob unscrews in flight (e.g. you move against it) then the springs produce unexpected stick forces - don't panic, just reach for the trim and readjust. 10. Trim knob is next to tailchute knob, and both need to be worked by feel not sight. Practice to make sure you have the right one. Practice unscrewing the trim tension before moving it - the tailchute knob shouldn't unscrew, which is an additional way of ensuring you have the right control. Rigging notes: 1. Wings are heavy (the German LBA failed to break them at 15G), so make some trestles to take the weight. 2. Line up the spars inside the fuselage with the weight on trestles - once everything is lined up, the "grunging" bar will slide them into place. If it won't, you're not lined up. There's no point 2 or 3 people puffing and swearing while you do this, thus the trestles. 3. Make your friends watch you fit the tailplane - no-one believes it's that easy! 4. Always tape up the wing/fuselage join, as otherwise turbulent airflow hits the tailplane and makes flying unpleasant. Overall, a nice glider, easy to fly - have fun! |
#5
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
Chris Reed wrote:
8. Undercarriage lever works differently from most other gliders - worth practising on the ground if possible but not really a problem. On this side of the pond we tend to discourage practice use of the gear handle whilst on the ground. Legend has it that Gren Seibels once, while seated in his Libelle and perfectly in the frame of the TV-camera, suddenly and loudly disappeared from view whilst demonstrating the glider's controls to a comely TV-news-lady. See ya, Dave |
#6
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
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#7
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
I did once see an open cirrus undershoot using the
tail parachute. The pilot was using the tail parachute for the first time. He found the tail chute opened fine, but would not jettison. I'm told the tail chute release mechanism is prone to jam if the approach speed is high. |
#8
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
Andrew Wood wrote:
I did once see an open cirrus undershoot using the tail parachute. The pilot was using the tail parachute for the first time. He found the tail chute opened fine, but would not jettison. I'm told the tail chute release mechanism is prone to jam if the approach speed is high. I think this is unlikely, but poor packing can cause problems. The heavy metal fittings must be inside the tailcone, not the fuselage - you can check this once assembled by pushing the rudder to the right and looking in the gap. If the fitting is hard against the slot in the tailcone the chute can fail to deploy properly; I found this out the hard way, but no damage done. It's probably worth trying out packing and deployment on the ground a few times. If the tailcone falls away cleanly, the same packing method should work in flight. |
#9
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
Andrew Wood wrote:
I did once see an open cirrus undershoot using the tail parachute. The pilot was using the tail parachute for the first time. He found the tail chute opened fine, but would not jettison. I'm told the tail chute release mechanism is prone to jam if the approach speed is high. PS, I'm not saying the undershoot is unlikely - I suspect the pilot may have been trying to jettison using the trim, or the tailchute was attached such that the release jammed. First time with the tailchute is interesting: (a) this is not too bad, (b) ohmygod the sink rate is alarming, (c) no, it's OK, I'll make the runway. (c) might not happen if you've not, on a first attempt, aimed rather further into the runway than normal! I recommend a continuous curve from downwind to final, rather than formal legs. |
#10
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Open Cirrus Pilots Notes
There is very little clearance between the through spars and the top of the fuselage. When rigging be careful not to let the tip down once the wing is stabbed. Great flying ship. I enjoyed mine very much. Craig- |
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