Cirrus vs ASW

Thanks for all of the advise. I dont think I can afford
a B or C and I have made 2 minor errors in preflight
in all of my hours. Any suggestions on a 25k and under
sailplane would be appreciated.

Jeff

Jeff Runciman wrote:
Thanks for all of the advise. I dont think I can afford
a B or C and I have made 2 minor errors in preflight
in all of my hours. Any suggestions on a 25k and under
sailplane would be appreciated.

Jeff

I have twice owned an LS-3 -- the original model with the 175 pound
wings. If you have a Komet trailer, it isn't hard to rig an LS-3, and
there is no way to put it together without hooking up all the controls.
They rarely come on the market, but when they do they are dirt cheap
-- probably no more than $20,000. That would leave you $5,000 for all
the instrument and other upgrades that inevitably come with a new glider.

Other than the heavy wings, it is difficult to find fault with the
original LS-3, and the wings really are not bad -- two people can easy
rig in 5 minutes. The newer -3a model has lighter wings, but a manual
hookup for the ailerons, and is considerably more expensive.

Well as noted by Marc previously...with a hotellier
fitting on the elevator...getting it right 99% of the
time means you die.




At 01:06 12 March 2006, Jeff Runciman wrote:
Thanks for all of the advise. I dont think I can afford
a B or C and I have made 2 minor errors in preflight
in all of my hours. Any suggestions on a 25k and under
sailplane would be appreciated.

Jeff

At 01:06 12 March 2006, Jeff Runciman wrote:
Thanks for all of the advise. I dont think I can afford
a B or C and I have made 2 minor errors in preflight
in all of my hours. Any suggestions on a 25k and under
sailplane would be appreciated.

Jeff

I take it you have looked at:

www.wingsandwheels.com/wantads1.htm

Its great to see what types of gliders are/have been
on the market and the prices they go for.

With your budget, I can see a nice ASW19 for $22,500,
a Jantar for $18000, even a LAK12 (~48:1!!) for $20,500.

I really use it as an eye-opener to what is going around.
LAKs by the way are great machines and have flaps.
At almost 50:1 the performance per dollar cant be matched.
Just make sure you have done a bit of work with bigger
wings (20.5m)....

A friend at my club owns one and has never had any
problems with it, apart from it being a bit heavy on
the rigging side. He made a field landing last week
- late selection, landing in waist high crop, the glider
ground looped and came to rest within 2 fuselage lengths
of touching down. He walked away and the glider didnt
have an ounce of damage.

A glider like that at a price like that means (as someone
has already mentioned) you have a spare $4500 to do
upgrades or just to pocket the difference for those
aerotows!

As with any glider, each has its own characteristics
and should be respected. Do not be put off by flaps
or slightly bigger wings - its just a case of getting
some practice in a 2seater and then taking a day which
you can stay up a long time and get a feel for the
thing.

Hope this is of help,

JR

Jeff Runciman wrote:
Thanks for all of the advise. I dont think I can afford
a B or C and I have made 2 minor errors in preflight
in all of my hours. Any suggestions on a 25k and under
sailplane would be appreciated.

The best cheap glider is the Pegasus, by far. But as others have said,
there are at present problems, since the producer Centrair has
abandoned production, and there is a stupid 3000 hours limit. While
these problems are not cleared, it is perhaps not reasonable to buy one.
It is certain that these problems will be cleared since the Pegasus
is the basic club glider in France, there are a large number in use,
and these clubs will do everything necessary to get out of this trap.


Jeff



--

Michel TALON

Michel Talon wrote:
Jeff Runciman wrote:
Thanks for all of the advise. I dont think I can afford
a B or C and I have made 2 minor errors in preflight
in all of my hours. Any suggestions on a 25k and under
sailplane would be appreciated.

The best cheap glider is the Pegasus, by far. But as others have said,
there are at present problems, since the producer Centrair has
abandoned production, and there is a stupid 3000 hours limit. While
these problems are not cleared, it is perhaps not reasonable to buy one.
It is certain that these problems will be cleared since the Pegasus
is the basic club glider in France, there are a large number in use,
and these clubs will do everything necessary to get out of this trap.


Jeff



--

Michel TALON

That would be very nice if the Centrair would deal with the 3000 hours
issue.

Jacek Kobiesa
Washington State

In France, there is no 3000h issue with the Pegasus. The issue stems from
the FAA's interpretation of the service note, but it is still an issue for
the US and Centrair doesn't seem to be very responsive...

wrote in message
oups.com...

Michel Talon wrote:
Jeff Runciman wrote:
Thanks for all of the advise. I dont think I can afford
a B or C and I have made 2 minor errors in preflight
in all of my hours. Any suggestions on a 25k and under
sailplane would be appreciated.

The best cheap glider is the Pegasus, by far. But as others have said,
there are at present problems, since the producer Centrair has
abandoned production, and there is a stupid 3000 hours limit. While
these problems are not cleared, it is perhaps not reasonable to buy one.
It is certain that these problems will be cleared since the Pegasus
is the basic club glider in France, there are a large number in use,
and these clubs will do everything necessary to get out of this trap.


Jeff



--

Michel TALON

That would be very nice if the Centrair would deal with the 3000 hours
issue.

Jacek Kobiesa
Washington State

wrote:

That would be very nice if the Centrair would deal with the 3000 hours
issue.

Jacek Kobiesa
Washington State


You are perfectly right. I have always known that the founder of Centrair was
not very serious, and we have one more proof here.
I am still quite sure that this issue will be ironed out since there are
hundreds of Pegase in use in French clubs. If the Pegase was grounded at 3000
hours it would be a domestic catastrophe.
In spite of all these worries, i am not aware that the Pegase has experienced
big problems such as delaminations of wings which have afflicted some of the
most prestigious brands ... Nor does it have nasty tendencies to spin, too
light or too heavy controls, like some other gliders which have been
mentioned. It is very homogeneous, good performing, comfortable, has powerful
air brakes. So a good bang for the buck, even if newer german gliders are
better, but considerably more expensive. I suppose you are thinking of polish
gliders, unfortunately they are not very visible here.


--

Michel TALON

Bert Willing wrote:
In France, there is no 3000h issue with the Pegasus. The issue stems from
the FAA's interpretation of the service note, but it is still an issue for
the US and Centrair doesn't seem to be very responsive...

Oh, i see! then the question is much more serious that i thought, because
there is no big incentive to strongarm Centrair.

--

Michel TALON

Bert Willing wrote:
In France, there is no 3000h issue with the Pegasus. The issue stems from
the FAA's interpretation of the service note, but it is still an issue for
the US and Centrair doesn't seem to be very responsive...

You can say that again...

Half of our club's ships are 101As and 2 off them are grounded as a
result of this. :-(

Worse, we've been waiting months for a replacement part that a more
attentive factory should have had little trouble providing.

Jeremy