are wooden gliders worthwhile building ?

On Feb 5, 8:09*am, Stealth Pilot
wrote:
On Mon, 4 Feb 2008 08:39:51 -0800 (PST), wrote:

http://web.media.mit.edu/~tim/pix/oshkosh03_3/0896.jpg

/Adam

Well thats cool. *I never saw that photo and that's my glider! *Cam
Martin brought me to Oshkosh to display and talk about the Woodstock.

To the original poster, the Woodstock is a very fine ship. *Of all the
wood homebuilts it might not be the best performing in terms of L/D
but it is very well designed. *I think that a lot that was learned
from the Cherokees, BGs, Terns, Dusters, that came before was applied
to the Woodstock. When Bob Wander wanted to build a wood glider he
chose the Woodstock after a lengthy study. *The credientials of the
designers are impeccable. The performance may not be impressive on
paper but in the sky it never ceases to amaze me and anyone else
flying nearby. *L/D isn't everything. *Yes, it's very lightweight but
it has a fast wing and is very rugged. *It will do much more than
simply float around the airport.

Matt Michael
Ames Iowa

matt
do you still fly your woodstock?
how robust has it proven to be over the years?
have you had anything that has broken or needed repairing?

I'm building a Druine Turbulent at present but it could very well be
the next aircraft I build.

yours is a georgeous aeroplane. far better I think than a classic
wooden boat.
Stealth Pilot- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, it has a boatlike effect. I call it my sky kayak. I have not
flown it very often the last few years due to other commitments
instructing and power flying. 2 flights of note:

Ran wingtip to wingtip with a Folka 4 under a cloud street for about
25 miles late in the day. I went an extra few miles off the end of
the street and ended up scratching like mad while trying to limp
home. Just as I was at pattern altitude for a private strip I caught
the gust front from a minor rain storm that was approaching and
climbed continually for 15 miles arriving home at 9000agl. Spiriled
down, rolled out, and shoved it into the nearest hanger seconds before
the downpour. 10 minutes later there was a big double rainbow over the
hanger. At dinner I kept putting my fork down and saying, "I can't
believe I made it back!"

Last fall the Cherokee Kid (Tony) and I left on a marginal afternoon
headed down wind. He pushed a little too hard and landed out some 40
miles from home. I was orbiting above having managed to hang on to a
little bubble. My Folka pal was in his C140 and offered via radio to
come get me if I landed at the nearby airport. Tony on the other hand
was telling me I should land in the field next to him so we could hang
out and de-rig together. For about 20 minutes I couldn't make up my
mind. There was this nice big paved municipal airport 5 miles
downwind and I decided to land in a farm field! It was a great time
with 2 classic wood gliders, local farmers, sunset. Just the best
kind of time. See a photo he

http://picasaweb.google.com/cherokee...63186748116946

Nothing broken. It looks delicate but it's not. Comparing the
fuselage bulkeads to a K6 you will see that the Woodstock is
considerably more substantial. Jim Maupin and Irv Culver were really
sharp guys and they had already designed a lot of stuff prior. The
light weight makes rigging a dream. Even with the old pins and
safeties to fumble with for control hook-ups it still only takes 15
minutes to rig and you only need another person for 5 minutes. The
horizontal tail stays put which makes for a goofy trailer with
outrigger boxes for the tail. Also, the max weight is under 200 lbs
which eliminates a lot of pilots though the cockpit is not
outrageously tiny. The only tweeking I've done is re-rigging the
ailerons to compensate for a slight rolling tendancy. No big deal.
I'm hoping to complete a sport canopy for it which will make it look
totally vintage plus be fun to fly with of course. You are welcome to
come see mine anytime.

Matt