Ventus 2CT or 2CM or DG 808b or ASH26E or LS8t

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 12:40:53 +0000 (UTC), "John Mason"
wrote:


"John Galloway" wrote in
message ...
? add Discus 2CT (18m turbo) to your list. Of course
it hasn't flown yet but will do fairly soon and deliveries
start next year.

The D2CT basically seems to be a single seat Duo in
that it shares very similar wing design in wing section,
swept plan form, and polydihedral and there seems to
be every reason for it to share the Duo's exceptionally
sensitive and benign handling characteristics. It
also seems to have the new Maughmer winglets that seem
pretty successful on the Ventus 2CX. These are my
own thoughts and not based on any comments from the
factory.

Thanks for this information.

The question does follow though: What improvement the Discus 18m can give
on the flapped Ventus and why if it is a better aircraft than the Ventus
that the factory consider it worth developing a new model rather than
improve the Ventus?

I suspect it is the case that the new Discus is really made to be a 15m club
class option and they thought they could just stick on some wing extensions
for those people who don't like flaps or for those 15m pilots to have the
option of 18m as a low cost extra. If this is the case it doesn't sound
like a solution designed for the job I need, which is a no compromise top
performing ship.


IMHO the benefits of a self launcher over a turbo are
far outweighed by the extra cost, weight and maintenance
demands of the SLMG. In the UK just take a winch
launch and pop the engine out if you need more height
instead of wasting money on an aerotow.

For me weight is the only issue. I can afford the extra costs and can pay
the extra for maintenance, I am not too bothered by the resale issue. I
have a current PPL and so the SLMG PPL is no big deal. I do like the idea
of being independent and not needing a club launch with its inevitable
waiting around. For me this is the main trade off. Does the weight
disadvantage of a self launcher compared to a turbo offset the advantages of
time saving, independence and climb rate that you have with the self
launcher?

So really I have a two part question.

1. Turbo vs Self Launcher?

2. Which ship?

Cheers,
John



John,

Get a self launcher. You'll love it.

Mike Borgelt