Pilot weight and gliding

If you want to move into high performance single seaters, your
options will be somewhat restricted, but you'll manage to find
something. Its typical for Euro gliders to come out of the factory
with a max cockpit load of 242 lbs (110 kg.), but that often gets
reduced when extra equipment is installed.

Most high performance gliders have provision to store ballast in the tail.
This could increase the minimum cockpit weight. You will have to reduce the
water ballast accordingly to stay below gross weight.

most high performance gliders of European manufacture have a max seat load
of 242 lbs (US) or 110Kg, that cannot be adjusted (increased)by extra
ballast weight in the tail, regardless of what the W&B computes out to. It
is a manufacturing design limit for structural integrity under impact loads.

The other consideration other than weight, especially with an aircraft like
the 2-32, is the "belly girth", even at 6ft+ and 232#, if you can't get full
aft stick movement.. don't fly.

Our very lightest CFI turned down a student, the CG worked out ok, but the
"fit check" did not.

BT

"Guy Byars" wrote in message
...
If you want to move into high performance single seaters, your
options will be somewhat restricted, but you'll manage to find
something. Its typical for Euro gliders to come out of the factory
with a max cockpit load of 242 lbs (110 kg.), but that often gets
reduced when extra equipment is installed.

Most high performance gliders have provision to store ballast in the tail.
This could increase the minimum cockpit weight. You will have to reduce
the
water ballast accordingly to stay below gross weight.

"Guy Byars" wrote in message ...
If you want to move into high performance single seaters, your
options will be somewhat restricted, but you'll manage to find
something. Its typical for Euro gliders to come out of the factory
with a max cockpit load of 242 lbs (110 kg.), but that often gets
reduced when extra equipment is installed.

Most high performance gliders have provision to store ballast in the tail.
This could increase the minimum cockpit weight. You will have to reduce the
water ballast accordingly to stay below gross weight.

I will assume you meant "maximum" cockpit weight.

Isn't water ballast a different issue from fuselage weight? In other
words, it may be perfectly ok, structurally, to add 300 lbs of water
in the wings but that same 300 lbs added to the fuselage (with pilot)
would not be ok. The issue is the structural limits of attachment of
the fuse to the wings, I believe. Perhaps I simply misread your
message and this is not what you were implying. But I add this
comment just to make the issue clear to the original poster.

Water in the wings does not stress the attachment of the fuse.

-Doug

(Doug Hoffman) wrote in message . com...
"Guy Byars" wrote in message ...

Most high performance gliders have provision to store ballast in the tail.
This could increase the minimum cockpit weight. You will have to reduce the
water ballast accordingly to stay below gross weight.

I will assume you meant "maximum" cockpit weight.

My apologies. You had it right with "minimum" cockpit weight.

-Doug

JohnH wrote in message . net...
Hello,

I'm just now learning about Gliding and will start instruction soon.
Question: I'm 6ft tall and weigh 232 lbs. Have I weighed myself out of
many sailplane options? I DO plan on losing some more weight, but just
in case I don't, would appreciate some knowledge on this The
instructor said I'm ok for the trainer I'll be flying in.

Thanks in advance

john

Schleicher makes gliders that will take your frame.

BTW, the Adkins diet worked for me, dropped about 30 lbs.

As a single seater consider the Lak 12 ,a bear to rig if you don't have the
rigging gear but is a huge cockpit and
a max placarded weight 140kg - 150kg without tailballast.and 50/1 ld
I saw a pilot who put even put one on its nose while waiting for takeoff
"JohnH" wrote in message
et...
Hello,

I'm just now learning about Gliding and will start instruction soon.
Question: I'm 6ft tall and weigh 232 lbs. Have I weighed myself out of
many sailplane options? I DO plan on losing some more weight, but just
in case I don't, would appreciate some knowledge on this The
instructor said I'm ok for the trainer I'll be flying in.

Thanks in advance

john

The real problem with Schweizer sailplanes it the quality of the gelcoat.
GA

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 22:16:30 GMT, JohnH wrote:

Hello,

I'm just now learning about Gliding and will start instruction soon.
Question: I'm 6ft tall and weigh 232 lbs. Have I weighed myself out of
many sailplane options? I DO plan on losing some more weight, but just
in case I don't, would appreciate some knowledge on this The
instructor said I'm ok for the trainer I'll be flying in.

Thanks in advance

john