Sparrowhawk Ultralight

Can someone who has flown a Sparrowhawk give their impression of the
AC. What does it do well? Can you really compare this sailplane to a 15
meter or any current sailplane? Can it be a serious cross country flier?

wrote:
Can someone who has flown a Sparrowhawk give their impression of the
AC. What does it do well? Can you really compare this sailplane to a
15 meter or any current sailplane? Can it be a serious cross country
flier?

Yes, it is a serious cross country flier. Here's some info from Windward
Performance's web site:

SparrowHawk News:

5/22/05

The second annual spring SparrowHawk Rally was held at Great Western
Soaring in Llano, CA May 8-14. Seven SparrowHawks were flown by 18
different pilots, eleven of which were first time SparrowHawk pilots.
Mike Reagan in his SparrowHawk SN008 flew the longest distance of the
Crystal squadron on May 14, landing in Bishop, CA, a flight of over
220 miles. Great Western now has a SparrowHawk available for
demonstration flights. Please contact them at 661-944-9449 to arrange
your first SparrowHawk flight.

If your are really interested in one, you ought contact Great Western,
then arrange a visit there to fly their SparrowHawk, and see for yourself.

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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

"Yes, it's a serious cross country flier. As evidence, here's a
marketing blurb from the manufacturers web site."

wrote:
"Yes, it's a serious cross country flier. As evidence, here's a
marketing blurb from the manufacturers web site."

No, that's not evidence, nor is it a a "marketing blurb", but
description of what happened at the event, and an offer of a way to
assess the situation yourself (go fly it!). Someone seriously interested
in a $30K+ glider that is relatively new to gliding (that's why the
original poster was asking those questions) ought to take advantage of
an offer to try it himself. Do you see the other dealers making that
opportunity available?

I didn't supply evidence of it's "seriousness" because I thought the
quote offered enough to confirm that, but even better, made it
unnecessary to rely on someone's opinion; that is, try it himself.

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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Eric

It's more of a marketing blurb than an actual account of what happened
at an event.

some people would consider it a bit misleading to say that on May 14 a
sparrowhawk flew the longest distance of the crystal squadron. While
failing to also say that the sparrowhawk was the only glider of the
crystal squadron to fly xc from crystal that day!

Hang gliders have flown diamond distance, so they should be considered
serious cross
country fliers also.

All aircraft have a performance envelope. Some pilots can "fill" the
performance envelope of their aircraft. Most can't. The real question
aircraft purchasers need to ask is "Will I be happy with the aircraft's
performance at the level to which I can 'fill' its performance envelope?"



wrote in message
oups.com...
Eric

It's more of a marketing blurb than an actual account of what happened
at an event.

some people would consider it a bit misleading to say that on May 14 a
sparrowhawk flew the longest distance of the crystal squadron. While
failing to also say that the sparrowhawk was the only glider of the
crystal squadron to fly xc from crystal that day!

Hang gliders have flown diamond distance, so they should be considered
serious cross
country fliers also.

wrote:

Eric

It's more of a marketing blurb than an actual account of what happened
at an event.

some people would consider it a bit misleading to say that on May 14 a
sparrowhawk flew the longest distance of the crystal squadron. While
failing to also say that the sparrowhawk was the only glider of the
crystal squadron to fly xc from crystal that day!

I think how many flew is irrelevant to the original question: Is it a
serious cross-country flier? I think Mike's flight indicates it is.

Hang gliders have flown diamond distance, so they should be considered
serious cross
country fliers also.

It didn't seem like the time to get into a philosophical discussion of
what a "serious cross country flier" is (it certainly meets my
standards, but that's another thread), but what I posted indicates it's
not just a local flier, and gave Hombres a way to assess the glider
himself, to his definition of "serious cross country flier".

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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

My Russia works out at about 7 lbs/sq ft. Last September
I shared a thermal with a Sparrowhawk - it was turning
tight and climbing just a shade better than me. And
it's probably a little faster in cruise as well. To
my mind a 'serious cross-country ship' in the West
needs to carry 'serious landout and safety equipment'.
How much space and weight can the Sparrowhawk offer
when you're sitting in the cockpit ?

Ian



At 05:42 09 June 2005, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Tim.Ward wrote:

Well, while the weight is low, the wing is small,
so the wing loading
is probably similar to a 1-26.

It's actually much higher than a 1-26. The 1-26 is
rated at 3.6
pounds/sq ft; the SparrowHawk is typically 5 to 6 pounds/sq
ft. This
makes a big difference! This wing loading is about
the same as Russia
AC-4, which is similar in performance.

As to resale price, that's a tougher one, because
I have not seen one
offered on the used market. I find that interesting,
because I seem to
remember that nearly as soon as the Russias and PW5s
became available
new, they became available used.

Tim Ward



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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

On 9 Jun 2005 05:57:34 GMT, Ian Cant
wrote:

My Russia works out at about 7 lbs/sq ft. Last September
I shared a thermal with a Sparrowhawk - it was turning
tight and climbing just a shade better than me. And
it's probably a little faster in cruise as well. To
my mind a 'serious cross-country ship' in the West
needs to carry 'serious landout and safety equipment'.
How much space and weight can the Sparrowhawk offer
when you're sitting in the cockpit ?

Ian


The cockpit is very roomy, and the instrument panel lifts up with
the canopy.

Ian Cant wrote:
To
my mind a 'serious cross-country ship' in the West
needs to carry 'serious landout and safety equipment'.
How much space and weight can the Sparrowhawk offer
when you're sitting in the cockpit ?

There is plenty of room behind the cockpit for the tiedowns and
emergency kit you'd want to carry, and the 5-10 pounds of weight won't
be a problem, except for the heaviest pilots with the BRS option installed.
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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA