How Many Clubs Still Have A 1-26?

On Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 3:33:42 AM UTC-7, wrote:

I have always had a suspicion, with a few exceptions, that while many clubs still have a 1-26 on their roles, they are fairly under utilized

From what I've seen, if you get 13-18 year olds involved in flying gliders, flying a nice 1-26 is a goal to strive for, and an experience to savor. The magic still works.

So I'm thinking that the under-utilization of 1-26s may have something to do with the demographics of glider clubs.

And as an older person, I enjoyed my 1-26 phase a few years ago, but after a while I lost interest in our completely worn out 1-26. That said, I recently jumped at the chance to fly a nicely restored 1-26 on the right day.

So I'm thinking the under-utilization of 1-26s may have something to do with worn out condition of club 1-26s.

Yes S o F, I think you might be right. When I first moved down here to FL and joined a club telling the guys I was a 1-26 driver, I got a few sneers and many stories of the dismall performance of 1-26's in general. The day I brought my ship out to the gliderport, I got alot of "wooo....ahhhh's", and a number of members after taking a little spin in my ship, came down with big smiles on their faces lol. The next week when I went for a little 140 mile run while the glass guys were afraid to leave the field, all of the sneers finaly disappeared lol.

months late to this thread, but in the case of CCSC (the one in California), the main issue with taking the glider XC is the lack of a properly equipped trailer setup. When I was president I tried to encourage people to take on the project of equipping a trailer to make it an XC machine, but couldn't get any takers to own the project and make it happen.

We have a DG100 with a decent trailer that is ready to go. Most people interested in pursuing XC are making the jump to the DG.

Maybe the rule should be that you can't go XC in the DG until you go in the 1-26 and you can't go in the 1-26 until you get the trailer situation corrected.

Morgan



On Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 2:33:42 AM UTC-8, wrote:
Hi Cindy, thanks for the reply. I have studied the 1-26 assoc database and also the FAA database but that doesn't really give a feel for if those ships are actually active or airworthy.

I am working on ways to help clubs to utilize their 1-26's for more xc activities. I feel that we need to re introduce many clubs and their members to the virtues of these birds as a fantastic and safe way to give folks a taste of xc and also competition.

I have always had a suspicion, with a few exceptions, that while many clubs still have a 1-26 on their roles, they are fairly under utilized in favor of the more advanced ships. I know in my club, our 1-26 has been pretty idle with folks either flying the grob 103 solo or transitioning into our discus.

In addition to developing ways to get these ships up and productive again, one of the biproducts is the 1-26 Association stays alive with new membership and possibly new attendees for our nationals.

Dan

On Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 9:41:22 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Folks, I'm doing an informal survey. How many of you are members of a club that still has a 1-26 in your club fleet?

The Connecticut Soaring Association has an SGS 1-26E along with 2 x SGS 2-33A and a recently acquired SGS 1-34. We fly out of the Danielson, CT airport.

On Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 9:41:22 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Folks, I'm doing an informal survey. How many of you are members of a club that still has a 1-26 in your club fleet?

Not enough!

Two at the Niagara Soaring club in Cambria, NY

On Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 8:41:22 AM UTC-6, wrote:
Folks, I'm doing an informal survey. How many of you are members of a club that still has a 1-26 in your club fleet?

Hamilton Soaring Club Hamilton Tx has a 1-26E flown frequently