Wooden gliders

We are thinking of getting a wooden glider as a second
glider and are looking for something;

1) Cheap
2) Fun
3) Capable of cross country flying...so ok performance
(UK conditions) and comfortable.

Looking at things like a Dart 17 or Cobra 15. Anyone
got any thoughts, experience or alternatives??

Thanks Chris

On Mar 17, 8:58 am, Chris Davison
wrote:
We are thinking of getting a wooden glider as a second
glider and are looking for something;

1) Cheap
2) Fun
3) Capable of cross country flying...so ok performance
(UK conditions) and comfortable.

Looking at things like a Dart 17 or Cobra 15. Anyone
got any thoughts, experience or alternatives??

Thanks Chris

i, obviously, quite enjoy my Cherokee II. It fills all of your
requirements. Not sure of how many are in the UK though. Its good
cheap fun and is quite cabable for cross country flying, just make
sure to have a good trailer. check out my flight reports at
www.knightglider.com/flightreports.htm

Chris Davison wrote:
We are thinking of getting a wooden glider as a second
glider and are looking for something;

1) Cheap
2) Fun
3) Capable of cross country flying...so ok performance
(UK conditions) and comfortable.

Looking at things like a Dart 17 or Cobra 15. Anyone
got any thoughts, experience or alternatives??

Thanks Chris


You might want to consider a Pirat. I only have two flights in this
model, but both were good fun. In particular, the cockpit is
comparatively large, and the handling and visibility are pretty good, as
is the seating position. The main drawback is the three-piece wing for
rigging, but I've helped rig Pirats numerous times and it's not too
onerous. Make a dolly for the centre section.

Performance is just sub-K6E I believe, so XC is perfectly possible
though less good than a Dart or Cobra.

Biggest plus is the price - Pirats seem to be advertised for GBP 2k to
3k, with trailer, so there's not much cheaper for reasonable XC
performance in wood.

I used to enjoy flying an SHK-1 a few years back.
Climbs very well, so bonus for UK conditions.

Performance is excellent for a wooden glider. Drawbacks:
Quite a heavy rig. Brakes are just about adequate...!!!
(unlike my spelling) It does have an extremely effective
tail parachute on the plus side.

K6e has a fantastic following, though i've not flown
one personally. Your nearly into Libelle money though
Chris.

Luke


At 22:06 17 March 2007, Chris Reed wrote:
Chris Davison wrote:
We are thinking of getting a wooden glider as a second
glider and are looking for something;

1) Cheap
2) Fun
3) Capable of cross country flying...so ok performance
(UK conditions) and comfortable.

Looking at things like a Dart 17 or Cobra 15. Anyone
got any thoughts, experience or alternatives??

Thanks Chris


You might want to consider a Pirat. I only have two
flights in this
model, but both were good fun. In particular, the cockpit
is
comparatively large, and the handling and visibility
are pretty good, as
is the seating position. The main drawback is the three-piece
wing for
rigging, but I've helped rig Pirats numerous times
and it's not too
onerous. Make a dolly for the centre section.

Performance is just sub-K6E I believe, so XC is perfectly
possible
though less good than a Dart or Cobra.

Biggest plus is the price - Pirats seem to be advertised
for GBP 2k to
3k, with trailer, so there's not much cheaper for reasonable
XC
performance in wood.

never flew a Cobra but have heard they fly nicely.....
Owned a Dart 17 (a few decades ago ) but still remember this one with fond
memories, (would own another for old times sake, and for just nice flying !)
very capable XC glider...One of my all time favorites!....comfortable, good
handling, not-so-bad assembly for an old ship..good enough Schweizer copied
it for the SGS-134!...make sure the wing AD is complete and enjoy!.
Tim

Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com


"Chris Davison" wrote in message
...
We are thinking of getting a wooden glider as a second
glider and are looking for something;

1) Cheap
2) Fun
3) Capable of cross country flying...so ok performance
(UK conditions) and comfortable.

Looking at things like a Dart 17 or Cobra 15. Anyone
got any thoughts, experience or alternatives??

Thanks Chris

Chris Davison wrote:
We are thinking of getting a wooden glider as a second
glider and are looking for something;

1) Cheap
2) Fun
3) Capable of cross country flying...so ok performance
(UK conditions) and comfortable.

Looking at things like a Dart 17 or Cobra 15. Anyone
got any thoughts, experience or alternatives??

Thanks Chris



Scheibe Zugfogel is a good one too - if you can find one. I think we have a
significant fraction the worlds airworthy fleet at our club (four of them)

On a weak day they are similar to my Cirrus, on a typical stron highvelt day
they can't keep up at the higher speeds.

Very robust and trouble free, and the cockpit acommodates some big guys, and one
lady quite well. You will know who your REAL freinds are the second time you ask
for help rigging...

The Ka6e is probably one of the most beautifully flying wooden gliders
ever built. On the german market you can get them for about 6 thousand
euros.