DG 505

We are considering the purchase of a DG 505 as our
top end cross country and aerobatic training glider.
Our budget and delivery requirements, preclude consideration
of either a DG 1000 or a Duo Discus at this time.
Any feedback concerning glider handling on the ground
and in the air would be appreciated. How well does
the 505 handle weak weather conditions? How effective
are the dive brakes, wheel brake etc? ( Off field landing
capabilities.)
Our Club fleet composition right now: 3 Blaniks, Puchacz,
Twin Astir, Hornet, Junior, LS 4, Jantar and Std. Astir.
Will the DG 505 require any unusual transition training?
Thanks in advance. JB

Our club operates a 500M with 22m wings. Apart from the complexity added by
the engine, the glider handles quite easily on the ground and in the air
(although I find the forces on the rudder a bit funny - not very linear, but
that might be due to the steerable nose wheel). I recall rigging it being
not good for people having back problems...

Hydraulic disk brake could operate better, I think the breaking force is
relatively poor (but then, you are breaking 750 kg...) Airbrakes are ok.
Maneuvrability is quite good which helps in poor weather conditions.



--
Bert Willing

ASW20 "TW"


"John Brenann" a écrit dans le
message de news: ...
We are considering the purchase of a DG 505 as our
top end cross country and aerobatic training glider.
Our budget and delivery requirements, preclude consideration
of either a DG 1000 or a Duo Discus at this time.
Any feedback concerning glider handling on the ground
and in the air would be appreciated. How well does
the 505 handle weak weather conditions? How effective
are the dive brakes, wheel brake etc? ( Off field landing
capabilities.)
Our Club fleet composition right now: 3 Blaniks, Puchacz,
Twin Astir, Hornet, Junior, LS 4, Jantar and Std. Astir.
Will the DG 505 require any unusual transition training?
Thanks in advance. JB

John Brenann wrote:

We are considering the purchase of a DG 505 as our
top end cross country and aerobatic training glider.

Which DG 505? There are myriades of variants...

Our budget and delivery requirements, preclude consideration
of either a DG 1000 or a Duo Discus at this time.

The Duo Discus is not certificated for aerobatics. And, I *hate* its
cockpit. But this wasn't your question.

Any feedback concerning glider handling on the ground
and in the air would be appreciated. How well does

Air-handlingwise, it's a dog. Heavy as hell. No feeling. A truck. But
then, I'm probably a bit unfair comparing it with the LS7.

Seriously, we have a 22m M. Performance is quite good. The airfoil of
the earlier models is very susceptible to bugs and rain, but they
corrected this on later models. Control forces are very heavy, again,
worse in earlier models and better in later models. Frankly, I hate the
ship, but I fly it when I have a passenger because it's a well
performing two seater.

Stefan

On 13 Jun 2005 11:58:06 GMT, John Brenann
wrote:

We are considering the purchase of a DG 505 as our
top end cross country and aerobatic training glider.
Our budget and delivery requirements, preclude consideration
of either a DG 1000 or a Duo Discus at this time.
Any feedback concerning glider handling on the ground
and in the air would be appreciated. How well does
the 505 handle weak weather conditions? How effective
are the dive brakes, wheel brake etc? ( Off field landing
capabilities.)
Our Club fleet composition right now: 3 Blaniks, Puchacz,
Twin Astir, Hornet, Junior, LS 4, Jantar and Std. Astir.
Will the DG 505 require any unusual transition training?
Thanks in advance. JB

My club has the first DG-505 orion (20 meters, winglets, fixed
airfoil).

Well.. good news first:
The 505 is very easy to fly (even for student pilots), airbrakes and
wheel brakes are very strong. Off-field landings for inexperienced
pilots in my opinion a lot easier than in a Duo because with full
flaps the 505 doesn't tend to flare if you are 5 kts too fast.
Climbs extremely well in weak conditions. Ground handling is as good
(or bad) as any other double seater. Cockpit noise is very low.
Forward seat very comfortable.

Bad things:
Control forces of ailerons and rudder are significant (but tolerable).
Rudder similar to Twin Astir, aileron forces higher. Elevator trim
leads to relatively high elevator forces, too.
Comfort in the rear seat is a question of taste - I hate it.
Performance is *significantly* inferior to Duo or DG-1000 - comparable
to a DG-300 or LS-4. Airfoil is *extremely* sensitive to rain or bugs.

My conclusion:
If you can afford it, get a Duo or DG-1000. They offer definitely more
performance. If you can't, the 505 is not a bad glider at all.

Well...
As long as you don't have to assemble it daily - assembly the 505 is
hard work because of heavy wings (although they fit together well).



Bye
Andreas

Combining requirements for cross country and aerobatics in the same ship is
a tough challenge.

Your Puchacz is aerobatic, so why not just do acro in that ship and leave
the other to XC? In that case, I'd go for the Duo, they are really
wonderful XC. The expense certainly is an issue. If it wasn't for the
lousy euro exchange rate, I'd have one, right now. Even the used ones are
outrageous.

My personal choice for a mixed mission ship is the ASK-21. It does
aerobatics reasonably well, climbs well, and runs decently. It's easy to
fly, easy to care for, robust, and reasonably priced. Hard to beat all
around, even with ships that cost considerably more. I enjoy mine
considerably.

Regards,



Mark Lenox


"John Brenann" wrote in message
...
We are considering the purchase of a DG 505 as our
top end cross country and aerobatic training glider.
Our budget and delivery requirements, preclude consideration
of either a DG 1000 or a Duo Discus at this time.
Any feedback concerning glider handling on the ground
and in the air would be appreciated. How well does
the 505 handle weak weather conditions? How effective
are the dive brakes, wheel brake etc? ( Off field landing
capabilities.)
Our Club fleet composition right now: 3 Blaniks, Puchacz,
Twin Astir, Hornet, Junior, LS 4, Jantar and Std. Astir.
Will the DG 505 require any unusual transition training?
Thanks in advance. JB