are wooden gliders worthwhile building ?

On Feb 4, 12:16*pm, Stealth Pilot
wrote:
serious question.
in this day and age where the slippery glass reigns supreme are there
any wooden gliders actually worth building ?

if your son was on the way to a glider instructors rating, as mine is,
is there a wooden glider design that would be worth building ?
something with reasonable performance that would be a sheer pleasure
to fly.

something a dad could spring on the kid.

How could a Dad spring something on the kid he's been working on for
months and months?

Since you say your son is on his way to a glider instructor's rating I
imagin he's got his own ideas about what he'd like to fly. How about
springing a surprise of some financial help to purchase wings of his
own choice?

Best idea yet!

I will never forget the long-term anguish of a couple
of two women who were piano teachers and whose husbands
surprised them with new grand pianos not of their choosing.
They could not express their HUGE disappointment and
their dismay at being stuck forever with an instrument
they didn't want. It lasted a lifetime. I had to
talk my own daughter out of doing this very thing for
her husband, a professional pianist.

Surprise him with the offer to help, but let him choose!

At 19:48 04 February 2008, Cats wrote:
On Feb 4, 12:16=A0pm, Stealth Pilot
wrote:
serious question.
in this day and age where the slippery glass reigns
supreme are there
any wooden gliders actually worth building ?

if your son was on the way to a glider instructors
rating, as mine is,
is there a wooden glider design that would be worth
building ?
something with reasonable performance that would be
a sheer pleasure
to fly.

something a dad could spring on the kid.

How could a Dad spring something on the kid he's been
working on for
months and months?

Since you say your son is on his way to a glider instructor's
rating I
imagin he's got his own ideas about what he'd like
to fly. How about
springing a surprise of some financial help to purchase
wings of his
own choice?

On Feb 4, 7:47*am, BB wrote:
On Feb 4, 6:16*am, Stealth Pilot
wrote:

serious question.
in this day and age where the slippery glass reigns supreme are there
any wooden gliders actually worth building ?

if your son was on the way to a glider instructors rating, as mine is,
is there a wooden glider design that would be worth building ?
something with reasonable performance that would be a sheer pleasure
to fly.

something a dad could spring on the kid.

Stealth Pilot

In one word, no. If he wants to fly, and advance in the world of
soaring, get him a good club-class eligible fiberglass glider with a
well-engineered safety cockpit. I love the grandeur and history of
wooden gliders, I admire the courage and achievements of their pilots,
and I admire the skills of their homebuilders, but I would never send
my son up in something that turns to splinters if he has a rough
landing. *Would you home-build him a wooden car?

If he wants to build, and to learn the skills thereof, send him to a
good repair shop or off to one of the German factories to learn modern
composite construction and repair technique.

If you want a project, for you to have fun building for several years
and then float around the airport on a Sunday afternoon....well,
that's a different story. Have fun! If not a homebuilt, consider
restoring an antique.

John Cochrane

Hey John,
I don't know if that's a complement or a put-down..................I
got all 3 diamonds in a wooden ship I built (Duster). I would have to
agree with you, though, but not because I believe wood is all that
much more dangerous. My reason to advise buying a club class machine
would be because there are builders and there are flyers and seldom do
you find them both together. Remembering the rhetoric from the '60's;
Wood is good!.........You can trust a tree!
JJ

If you bought him a car kit when he was learning to drive, I suppose a
glider kit might make some sense.

If he just wants to fly, help him buy a nice older glass ship - it'll
be cheaper and quicker, believe me.

Mike

On Feb 4, 7:47*am, BB wrote:
...If he wants to build, and to learn the skills thereof, send him to a
good repair shop or off to one of the German factories to learn modern
composite construction and repair technique...

Sound advice. If he speaks German, that is.

Thanks, Bob K.
http://www.hpaircraft.com

On Feb 4, 7:52*pm, Bob Kuykendall wrote:
On Feb 4, 7:47*am, BB wrote:

...If he wants to build, and to learn the skills thereof, send him to a
good repair shop or off to one of the German factories to learn modern
composite construction and repair technique...

Sound advice. If he speaks German, that is.

This would be one way of learning a second language.
The interest in a subject, in this case aviation, is a very good
motivator
and accelerates the learning curve dramatically.
Udo

Cant beat a good home built wood glider for good cheap fun.

But if you got a bunch of money laying around I see two options:

1) buy a nice fiberglass glider. Enjoyment will be had, cross country
flights made. Landouts will be rare.

2) Send me the money. Ill buy a fiberglass glider and send you the
Cherokee. You will have lots of fun. Landouts will be a joy. Cross
country flights will be made.

On Feb 4, 7:30*am, "Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:
The problem with wood is that it changes shape with changes in humidity.
It's also heavier than composites or metal construction. *But, one has to
admit, some very nice gliders have been built using wood.

There's one wood homebuilt that I've always admired - the Briglieb BG-12.
It's a very simple to build - well within the capabilities of the average
homebuilder. *Almost all of them easily achieved 34:1. *The 3-part wing was
a beast to assemble but the 2-part wing should be easy enough to rig with
some assembly aids.

I would also consider the Marske Pioneer II D. *Although the wing is wood,
the rest is composite. *It's a nice safe glider with reasonable performance.

Finally, don't build a glider just to own a glider - do it because you want
to build something and learn from the process. *If you just want to own a
glider using some sweat equity, buy a first or second generation fiberglass
glider that needs refinishing. *There can be some real value added in a good
refinish job.

Bill D

"Stealth Pilot" wrote in message

...



serious question.
in this day and age where the slippery glass reigns supreme are there
any wooden gliders actually worth building ?

if your son was on the way to a glider instructors rating, as mine is,
is there a wooden glider design that would be worth building ?
something with reasonable performance that would be a sheer pleasure
to fly.

something a dad could spring on the kid.

Stealth Pilot

Wasn't this accident a young man flying a BG-12 bought by his father.
http://ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_i...LA312& akey=1

Infact looking at the NTSB this type has a lot of fatal's from
structural failure!!

Sobering thought when looking at old wooden / homebuilt gliders.

On 4 Feb, 15:47, BB wrote:

... but I would never send
my son up in something that turns to splinters if he has a rough
landing.

I have never seen or heard of a wooden glider turn to splinters as a
result of a "rough landing". Can you give examples? I have seen the
result of a Pirat flying into a corrugated iron fence at about 40kt:
huge dent in the fence, broken canopy and squashed glider nose. The
pilot walked away and the glider flew again.

Ian

On 4 Feb, 12:16, Stealth Pilot
wrote:
serious question.
in this day and age where the slippery glass reigns supreme are there
any wooden gliders actually worth building ?

Building a wooden glider is hugely time consuming business, and while
the last designs were pretty good, making moulded wings is probably
beyond most amateur facilities. If you fancy working on a wooden
glider for your son to fly, what about restoring an SHK-1?

Ian