8 Different Gliders In 10 Minutes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- I've had the opportunity to fly 8 different gliders or sailplanes over the past few years. While the basic aspects of flying a glider (stick/rudder/spoilers/instruments) is about the same, there are differences you need to be aware of when flying each of these. Each are unique and have their various charms.
In this video, I give a brief summary about each of these gliders.
Have you flown any of these gliders before? What other gliders have you flown. Do you ever have an issue switching between different gliders all the time? Please share in the comments below
Background Music: Drifting at 432 Hz - Unicorn Heads - กีฬา
56 years gliding 34 types. The more types you fly the more you learn. Great sport.
John. FAI/BGA 51417.
The list of gliders that I have flown will give away my senior status, ha. I actually first trained in a Schweizer 2-22, then a 2-33 in college with no money to my name. Got a job in the early 80's and finally soloed in an ASK-21. Bought a 1-26, sold it and bought a Std Libelle 201b and thought it couldn't get any better, and in some respects it couldn't. The Libelle was beautiful to me, was easy to fly and could thermal better than most anything costing much more. So, I never traded up after that but gave it up after about ten years because of a touch of vertigo. I miss it all.
I also started working in the early 80's. I suspect we are close in age. Sorry to hear about the vertigo. I developed vertigo two summers ago but it turned out I had contracted Lyme Disease. After treatment, it (and other symptoms) went away. It is scary to think that someday I'll not be medically fit to pilot an aircraft, but it's an important consideration, and we'll all get there. Take care!
I've flown 2-33. 1-26, 1-34, Blanik, K6, M-100, and Cirrus gliders. I owned a Grob 109b for 20 years and now own a Silent2 Electro. I've also flown the "Gimli Glider" 8>).
But did you fly the “Gimli Glider” as a glider, or under power as it was intended? I actually lived in Gimli when it was an airbase in the 60’s, which pre-dates that incident.
I don’t think many Blaniks are flying anymore as the AD costs more than the glider itself to implement, but there are a few Super-Blaniks around. In Canada I do see one L-13 registered as of 2021 at Bonnechere Soaring.
Fortunately the engines were always running on the Gimli Glider. I did have both engines shut down in the DC9 simulator shortly after the Gimli incident. I managed to land it successfully.@@davesgliding
Nice. Thank you very much.
In our club I am allowed to fly the ASK-21, the LS-4, the ASW-28, the Discus 2B and the DG-1001S which I love to fly with passengers.
Your club has some very nice gliders.
My club owns an ask21, Discus cs, Duo Discus, Discus 2cT and an szd-51 junior. So really nice gliders!
There are very few glider videos without an ASK21 in it. In fact, Schleicher built over 10.000 of them. In Germany they lovingly call it Mothership. You can even order that in the standard livery.
10,000 ASK 21 build ! In reality, it must be less than 1,000 , still a great acomplishment for a glider .
I can't fly due to ADHD and severe anxiety. A panic attack in flight would be a nasty trick to pull on the instructor. But, man, I love gliders. Even within the same class and design layout, their "personalities" can differ so vastly.
Some well spent 10 minutes.
Thanks for sharing, mate. Have a great 2023.
I'm a little ADHD, but I find all the stuff I have to be engaged with inside and outside the cockpit actually makes me focussed. A lot of ADHD folks are that way because simple tasks bore them.
I've witnessed airplane crashes from the ground from an early age, and I've got a bit of PTSD, so there have been days when it can cause me to feel anxious. On flyable days that I'm affected by this, I stay home. I know of other pilots like that. It's not that we are bad pilots or encounter scary situations all the time, but we know that we need to be in a good mental and emotional state to fly our best. For sure, anxiety needs to be left on the ground. For stressful situations, like rope breaks, or heavy sink in the circuit, I continuously make the decisions what I would do if it happens as I go along, so that if it does, I don't need to think about it as I've already made my decision.
I hope you do get to enjoy some aspects of gliding. Do you use Condor, the simulator?
I always wondered why nobody does a comparison videos with gliders.. Nice job!
Thanks. I hope I can get a chance to fly something with flaps. I’ve exhausted the club owned gliders, so it’s not likely that I’ll get a chance to fly another 8, unless I do some traveling.
Ka-8, Ka-6, Astir CS, Std. Cirrus, DG-300, SF-34 & Twin Astir I. Funny i loved the stiff-winged heavy on controls Astir CS even when the DG-300 was the porn of the day in the club some 35 years ago.
Those are some classics. One of the pilots at my club has a Std. Cirrus. It's in great condition. Still a lot of first gen fibreglass flying out there.
@@davesgliding I was 18 when flying the Cirrus. We did only winchstarts at the club normally and i simply couldnt find a position where i wouldnt slip during the acceleration and reach the pedals... But in weak thermals she was fantastic
I enjoyed your video very much. It has been a while since I've been able to fly.
I fly the gliders with Civil Air Patrol in Minnesota. I have most of my glider flying in the Blanik L-23, a two seat trainer. We use it for both training and for Orientation Flights that all cadets get. We use primarily an aero tow, using Cessna 172 with the 185 HP conversion. It is easy to fly and at times it will out climb the tow plane.
I'm also qualified in the tow plane so I have had a interesting time towing students. I can always tell when they release.
I mostly see taildraggers being used to tow. In Canada the Royal Canadian Air Cadets (aka Air Cadet League of Canada) use the American SGS 2-33 for their training. Last I checked, they have 80 of these gliders scattered across Canada. I was on the sponsoring committee for a squadron and went with the cadets to take photos, and was invited to go up for a flight to take shots from the back seat, one of only two flights I've ever had from the back seat of a 2-33.
CAP, in the USA, doesn't have any taildraggers, so they use the Cessna C-172 and C-182 as tow planes. They work great for that purpose, but with all the power, the tow pilots right leg gets quite strong, from the P-factor. I've got about 100 hours as a tow pilot.
The CAP also has some SGS 2-33's I've gotten two flights from the back seat so I could provide orientation flights in the glider. I was never fully checked out in them as time was short and we didn't complete. in the USA
@@user-kg9kk5nv7i In the back of the 2-33 you sit back there with your chin on your knees. I've heard that any hard landings shoots up your spine. It's good though to be able to see over the front pilot to see the instruments, and bark orders to get them to set the trim. I'm not an instructor, but I have to admire what instructors go through when teaching in the 2-33's.
At the club I'm part of, we have an all glass fleet of varied types.
We've got two club owned ASK21s, one with modifications for the spin kit and hand rudder to be fitted if required, and one that's not got these but is a bit comfier in the front seat without the extra bulk of the hand rudder mechanism.
There's a club owned Duo Discus, which is super nice but I need a lot more experience until I will be allowed to take that one solo. It flies very nicely and the speed can build up quickly if you're not paying enough attention.
The only club owned single seater I've flown is the unique Astir CS WL, yes that is an Astir with winglets. This is the only CS in existence modified as such, although a very small number of CS77s have a similar modification. It flies nicely although will bounce on landing if you don't fully hold it off.
We recently had a second CS, without winglets, at the club to evaluate against the one we already have but it was rejected for a number of reasons. I had a go in it and wasn't a fan. We're keeping the winglet Astir.
The club also has a Discus and an LS8-18, which I'll hopefully progress to eventually. A Scheibe SF25C is our tug and motor glider, I've flown it once dual but I don't really see much point in flying it over a proper glider aside from specific training applications.
The university club flying there, which I'm part of, owns a Twin II Acro which is my favourite glider in the fleet. It's pretty much as you describe it. I did most of my pre-solo training in it and still favour it for taking check flights, and enjoy just taking it solo when no one else is using it. There's also the added bonus that I'm flying around in a glider with a brand new livery that I designed.
We also own an Astir CS77, which I've just converted onto. It is more bouncy than the CS and I've got a great video of one of my landings where I decided I wanted a sneaky extra flight after I landed- the closest a glider will ever get to a touch and go!
Thanks for sharing. I think I've seen that video of a touch and go. There's a mod kit for my Libelle that adds winglets. From what I've gathered, it does not improve performance much, but does help with lateral stability while banked in a thermal. I've not been willing to do the mod though. Anyway, it sounds like you have a nice fleet to fly with.
My first introducory flight was with an ASK21 with an Aerobatic flight instructor, that was impressive.
Five years later i started and finished my license on a G103 Twin Astir. She is heavy but glides well (best L/D38.5) up to 130kph.
Then i have flown G102 AstirCS and its successor Standard Astir 2 both 15m single seater and easier to fly than the Twin, but the CS has lower performance (best L/D ~35). Astir 2 is quite a bit tighter and pilots lie down in it.
Than i flew an ASW15 which is very nice. I did my silver badge 50km flight with it in the alps (scored 200km on WeGlide).
To check out on an airfield in the alps i flew their ASK13 wood/steel frame double seater. Very nice flying ship with LD below 30. With instructor in the back i landed with overtaped altimeter to practice outlandings.
Last year our club bougth a Janus CT with 20m Wingspan i only had 3 flights with it but it seem very agile for 20m. I has flaps and a good performance (best L/D 43).
I had a few guest rides on DG500 22m and one on a DG505 in Boulder, CO at the Club from @Chessintheair . Thats a trip worth taking.
It sounds like you've been able to enjoy flights in both multiple aircraft and locations, and with good company as well. There was a self-launching Janus at our club at about the time I was starting to learn to fly, but the owner sold it to someone in South America and a year or two later passed away. As for multiple locations, I've only flown from two, and both are flatland.
During these cold dark winter months, I enjoyed reading your comment. Thanks!
@@davesgliding Thanks for the work and courage to upload videos, even failures. Always nice to learn.
I on the other hand had never flown in the flat lands. The next 1000m elevation mountain is only 15km/10 miles away from the airfield and the first 2050m only 30km. Thats a beautiful playground to learn but leaving glide distance to the homebase puts a mountain between you and you airfield, so it ist quite challenging. on really good days we get cloud base up to 2400m near the mountains.
Nice video. Soloed in the 2-33 and also flew 2-22, 1-26, 1-34 , Blanik and open cockpit T21
For open cockpit, I'd like to try a primary glider sometime. I need something interesting to put in the 9th box.
I started flying on the szd 50 puchacz this year, it's a great glider, and its comfy because of it's suspension. My club also has 2 Puchatek's, but as of now they are not airworthy. As of now, i fly the szd 51 Junior, also a great thing.
2-33 and and the 1-26 were training staples at our club.
Yes, I can see that transitioning to a 1-26 to do your solos would be a good option. These are excellent gliders to start with and to build skills and confidence.
Loved every minute of the video
I remember assembling an LS-4 was a breeze.
I find it difficult to see the connections, but you can feel for them and once you're familiar with the placement, it's not difficult to do them. Need to be careful not to raise/lower the wings too much during rigging or you can damage the wing fairings.
The easiest to rig by far is the Libelle, though for some reason last year I've been having issues getting the wings aligned to allow that final tug to pull them together. Not sure what's happening there. Once they're on, the only control attachments are the ailerons as everything else is automatic.
36 different types and still counting.......from T21 to Duo Discus. Love them all.
Wow! That's very impressive. What's been your favourite, and why?
@@davesgliding hmmm. Horses for courses. Spend a lot of tie in the back (and front) of a K21. Excellent all rounder, a pleasure to fly from either seat. My hot ship choice at the moment is LS8 or Duo Discus. I must say I prefer the Duo. You need to be on top of speed control, but its so stable in a thermal. Personal faves, others may disagree.
@@davesgliding I owned a Libelle for a while. Thats was a great soaring machine. As you say, out soars everything else at the club.
Nic video, haven't flown in a while. When I did I flew the Ka-7, ASK-13, ASK-21, ASK-23B and Pilatus B4
The B-4 was my first retractable.
i flew similar planes to yours: the DG-500 which kinda directly compares to the G103 Twin II, a DG-300 which compares to the LS4 and a PZL PW-5 which is a very light, high wing single seater. it's so light that you can take weaker thermals too which you probably wouldn't with others - on the other hand it's polar is not well suited for over land flying and if you have a stronger headwind you have to put the nose down pretty low to get any ground speed going 😅
I recommend trying out a T21. Their performance is not particularly good, you wouldn't go cross country in one, and they wouldn't be appropriate for training, but they're open topped and sat side by side with another pilot so can be a lot of fun on a calm sunny day
We used to have ab RHJ8 at our club, but it's since been sold. It's a two-seat side-by-side glider, but I don't believe it can fly open-topped like the T21. I'd love to try flying something side-by-side like that, and the T21 looks interesting, and I think there's 1 in Canada, so who knows. I also think it would be neat to try a primary glider, though I might want to bring some floss with me, to get the bugs out of my teeth. :-)
LS-4 gear is easy to put down. I owned one. Plus it's rare to land gear up because when you go for the spoilers, the gear handle is in the way.
Nice video! I started adding, 11 gliders (not including RC, I've crashed more than that!). Sounds like a lot but I only have one flight in the PW-6, maybe 3, including first ever, in the 2-32, half dozen in 1-26. The rest are Schweizers 2-33 and 1-34, Grobs 103 and 102, L13 Blanik, DG500, Ventus b in which I probably have half my total hours, and Glasflugel Mosquito. I haven't flow in over a decade (kids, time, money, health...the usual) but still interested.
Sounds like you had fun. It's not unusual to walk away from the sport when starting a family like that, but I do know a number of pilots who fairly quickly resumed their flying a decade or two later. Hope you get a chance to get back in the saddle.
I have flown an arcus,an sf25c,and regularry i fly an ask21 ,ask23 and an discus. In joust an student though,but that will hopefully change in the next few months
I think it's unusual for a student to be flying such a variety of gliders. We usually get them to stick with one, solo in it, and then licenses, usually an easy to fly and forgiving one. Then when they have enough experience, they get trained to fly a more difficult/complicated one and get checked out in it. Eventually they will progress through the club fleet. It sounds like you are learning a lot though. Wishing you many happy landings!
im not certified in the arcus and the sf25 but i was the pilot in command, so its the usual three for me aswell. But my regular all time favorite is our discus. The cockpit is quite narrow and a lot of people dont like him,thats why its almoast like my own private plane. Also they are not that forgiving at slow speeds. The ask23 is excelent in weak conditions and almoast impossibal to stall unintentiuallly,you can circle in them with 55kmh easyly propulaary easyer to fly than an 21,but very bad at high speeds. And the ask21 is-well an ask21,in my opinion the best schooling twin seater. Happy landings
ASK7, ASK8 ASK6C, Pilatus B4, AStir CS, St Cirrus, DG200, DG300, DG400 DiscusB, LS4, LS7, Grob 103 II, Later on, Discus 2Bt, Discus2Ct, Duo Discus T, Arcus T. Most likely forgotten some. Favorite absolutly Duo Discus for fun, and Arcus for run ;-)
A bunch of us got together this past winter and flew a task in Condor using an Arcus as our glider. At the end of the flight, we were all saying how much we wished we owned an Arcus. :-)
@@davesgliding We have a couple of them in our club. Both doing the Danish nationals here in May.
my club avoids doing spin training with an ASK21, this is due to the glider having a different spin recovery than most other gliders (if it recovers at all) and has scared a few of our CFIs over the years shitless
Indeed. Even the same glider can behave differently when you add water ballast and move the centre of gravity aft. It's important to read the flight manual thoroughly.
@@davesgliding From memory, the K21 spin mod flight manual includes the phrase that using incorrect action "may delay *or even prevent* recovery" (emphasis mine). I have spun K21s many times solo and with light pilots in the front and never had a problem, but I believe that the spin weights change the moment of inertia as well as the CofG and so I've never done it. We bought a new K21 with spin weights, and after reading the manual we locked the weights in a box and promptly lost the key!
@@BruceDuncanwell they say do not push stick fully forward, rather apply full opposite rudder wait a sec ease off back pressure it should recover within 1 turn , there is a report put out by the us air force on spin characteristics of the ask21 and they went true every single cenario and CG option. with normal weight adults it basically impossible to make it spin and no wingdrop either in stalls. though when it spinns it has a nasty nose oscillation but your cg needs to be around 16 inch after datum plane to put into self stable spinns
There were actually around 55 Puchatek's built. We have 3 in our club
Very nice. What do you think of them?
Flapped, 15 Meyer class, H-301 Libelle is a wonderful ship.
I still have not had an opportunity to fly something with flaps. I'd like to.
@davesgliding You will never want to fly Standard Class again. You leave a thermal with VERY Little of "down nose" & slowly feed in negative flaps...then hold on as the thing pulls away
like a turbo kicked in. You are dumping drag and race away "in a nearly flat glide". (I had a Scheumannized H-301 with a few mods..and it was a solid 40:1.
I've flown 5/8, even with the North American-centric list. The 2-33 made it into my logbook ;) Can't believe they are still used as trainers for people who want to fly plastic!
Looking at registrations for 2021, the Air Cadet League of Canada owns 80 x 2-33's, and only train with those. A few clubs keep them because they are an easy to fly trainer, and because it attracts Air Cadets who licensed on them, who then get to move on to plastic.
@@davesgliding Also super easy to repair, compared to plastic! Did you know that the RAF Air Cadets in the UK train on the Grob Twin Astir II, which is also on your list
@@BruceDuncan I believe they've re-labelled them Viking T1's, and I've seen a flight or two recorded flying in one on TH-cam at some point.
@@davesgliding Correct! I was going to mention that as a ridiculous fact... Sadly most of the cadets don't get to do any soaring in them, they just do circuits, or "patterns"...