What am I looking for?

There are plenty of very good gliders that don't have
self-connecting controls, don't let that put you off
buying them; unless you think you are the sort of idiot
that will take-off without having the connections checked.


At 02:48 02 November 2007, Waduino wrote:
What's the solution to this question?
What's a good first glider for someone transitioning
from a CS77 and
wanting the following:
- automatic hookups
- easy to rig
- flaps
- well behaved in terms of stall/spin, and
- climbs well in weak conditions and runs reasonably
well in average
east coast conditions

Budget? Say 20-60k US, depending whether I go alone
or with 1 or 2
partners.

Thanks.
Wad.

Unfortunately relying on being less of an idiot than others does not
always seem to work as a safety approach. :-(

So personally I had automatic control hookups on my requirement list
in my early glider purchase decisions.

On the other hand what is it with people still not doing positive
control checks. On any glider manual or automatic hookup (and I am
aware of incidents with failure of automatic hookups). I threatened
not to run one guys wing earlier this season because he had not done a
positive check and instead was standing around chatting to people
waiting for a tow - and he was about to tow a matter of a few hundred
feet from where somebody had been killed a few years ago from guess
what... not having controls connected.

Sigh.


Darryl

On Nov 2, 5:39 pm, Mark Dickson
wrote:
There are plenty of very good gliders that don't have
self-connecting controls, don't let that put you off
buying them; unless you think you are the sort of idiot
that will take-off without having the connections checked.

At 02:48 02 November 2007, Waduino wrote:

What's the solution to this question?
What's a good first glider for someone transitioning
from a CS77 and
wanting the following:
- automatic hookups
- easy to rig
- flaps
- well behaved in terms of stall/spin, and
- climbs well in weak conditions and runs reasonably
well in average
east coast conditions

Budget? Say 20-60k US, depending whether I go alone
or with 1 or 2
partners.

Thanks.
Wad.

Wad,

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the LS8. I don't know market value
on this ship right now, but I would imagine a used "straight 8", i.e.,
15m wingspan only and not the 15/18m version, might be had for $60k.
Well, maybe not. These are still competitive ships. Damned good
ones, too. They have automatic connections, assemble very easily, and
go VERY WELL.

Wings seem a bit heavy (I'm the guy out on the tips, so I know the
wings are heavier than ASW-20C, Discus CS, ASW-24, Standard Cirrus,
LS1-f, and Libelle 301. These are the other ships at my club that I
get to help assemble.) But the LS8 goes together so quickly that I
don't have to hold them very long.

So, I would definitely add the LS8 to your list.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
LS1-d

rlovinggood wrote:
So, I would definitely add the LS8 to your list.

Given that "flaps" were his second priority after "easy to rig", that
could be fixed with a hack saw and a bit of time...

On Nov 2, 10:23 pm, Marc Ramsey wrote:
rlovinggood wrote:
So, I would definitely add the LS8 to your list.

Given that "flaps" were his second priority after "easy to rig", that
could be fixed with a hack saw and a bit of time...

Marc,

Yes, yes, yes. He did mention flaps, but as UH mentioned, on the East
Coast, Standard Class ships do quite well and go "almost" as fast
(sometimes faster?) than the flapped variety.

Do you really need a hacksaw, or can you just add a "dummy" lever on
the left side of the cockpit, in order to give the left hand something
to do during flight?

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
LS1-d

rlovinggood wrote:
Yes, yes, yes. He did mention flaps, but as UH mentioned, on the East
Coast, Standard Class ships do quite well and go "almost" as fast
(sometimes faster?) than the flapped variety.

Do you really need a hacksaw, or can you just add a "dummy" lever on
the left side of the cockpit, in order to give the left hand something
to do during flight?

I think you and UH see flaps as just a go fast option, for a lot of us,
flaps are for going slow when we're trying to land in little dinky fields...

Marc

On Nov 2, 10:05 pm, Marc Ramsey wrote:
rlovinggood wrote:
Yes, yes, yes. He did mention flaps, but as UH mentioned, on the East
Coast, Standard Class ships do quite well and go "almost" as fast
(sometimes faster?) than the flapped variety.

Do you really need a hacksaw, or can you just add a "dummy" lever on
the left side of the cockpit, in order to give the left hand something
to do during flight?

I think you and UH see flaps as just a go fast option, for a lot of us,
flaps are for going slow when we're trying to land in little dinky fields...

Marc

20 and 24 are still wood gliders : look inside
SZD-55 has automatic hookups, no wood, big tanks for ridge, light
wings for assy,
Look at last Sunday OLC 1010 km from Mifflin.
RW

wrote in message
oups.com...
On Nov 2, 10:05 pm, Marc Ramsey wrote:

20 and 24 are still wood gliders : look inside
SZD-55 has automatic hookups, no wood, big tanks for ridge, light
wings for assy,
Look at last Sunday OLC 1010 km from Mifflin.
RW

And what exactly is the problem with a bit of aviation birch or mahogany
plywood?

On Nov 1, 10:44 pm, Waduino wrote:
What's the solution to this question?
What's a good first glider for someone transitioning from a CS77 and
wanting the following:
- automatic hookups
- easy to rig
- flaps
- well behaved in terms of stall/spin, and
- climbs well in weak conditions and runs reasonably well in average
east coast conditions

Budget? Say 20-60k US, depending whether I go alone or with 1 or 2
partners.

Thanks.
Wad.

L/D =$/Distance. Tthat's what you are looking for?.
SZD55 kicks any asses

One thing missed in this discussion (unless I didn't see it) is
comfort. We spend a lot of time in our gliders and they should be
comfortable. That includes control system forces. And no one glider
is comfortable for everyone.