American Spirit / Falcon Owners

At 17:46 11 February 2013, Bob Kuykendall wrote:
On Feb 10, 9:09=A0pm, wrote:

I do not own one. I am contemplating buying one and am looking
for more information from current owners and former or current
builders.

Andrew, there are a couple of things you need to know about the Spirit/
Falcon:

* Full disclosu I offer a competing sailplane kit, so anything I
tell you should be automatically suspect. You have to do your homework
on this.

* Static tests of the as-originally-designed wing structure have
failed in static test at less than the design load limit; the wing
should have been good for at least 1.5 times the design limit. The
problem seems to have been shear failure of the wing root rib where
the transverse pin on the opposite wing spar plugs into it.

* Fixes for the root rib shear issue were designed and at least one
builder tested them. Make sure you know what the fixes are and how to
implement them.

* There are a number of ASC ships that are operational and get flown
regularly, so it is apparently possible to make a usable sailplane out
of one.

* I have satisfied myself that the Spirit and Falcon are relatively
direct copies of a crashed Ventus that was used to make the ASC molds.
However, I haven't gotten any of the remaining principals to go in
record to that effect.

* ASC founder Tor Jensen was killed in 2006 in a motorcycle accident
near Reed's Pinnacle in Yosemite, so he is not available to offer
advice.

* Ralph Luebke seems to be the go-to guy for the various fixes and
upgrades, I wouldn't consider buying a kit without talking with him
about it.

* Marty Eiler of California City flew most of the ASC ships and knew
Tor well; I also recommend you talk with him before buying any ASC kit
or ship.

Wandering off topic, I learned a lot about sailplane design and
development from watching a couple of ASC kits go together at a shop
in Fremont, California:

* Big floppy wing shells and fuselage shells are a real pain for the
builder to align and join, and it is a huge problem if they are
aligned wrong. That is something best done at the kit factory.

* Integrity of the basic structure is key. Static tests to at least
design limit load must be performed and documented.

* Detail design is important in and of itself.

Thanks, Bob K.

Thank you Bob for laying it out so clearly,I was worried I was stirring the

waters with little knowledge

Tom Riley built and is regularly found flying an exceptionally good example of the ASC Spirit. It is based in Tehachapi, CA.
Jim