L33

The AC-4 is extremely light and easy to assemble.
And the
trailers are tiny compared to the bigger span ships.

But the 15 meter ships didn't seem like a huge weight/disassembly
step up. Enough to consider it, but
my goodness, the gliders less than 10-15 years old
seem pretty well set up for disass3embly.

The 304c got a few purchasers locally. I haven't had
a chance to assemble/disassemble one, though. I'm
not a flap guy (I'm a non-flap 'tilter') but there
is a cz variant with flaps also, I believe. 150# wings
aren't exactly lightweight, though.

I really like to help assemble gliders when I can to
get a feel for what the wings weigh. I suggest you
spend a day at a gliderport 'volunteering.' It seems
like a lot of people actually LIKE help putting the
wings on or off :)

Good luck! Of course you can always go the other way
and get metal, and leave it out in the weather instead...

At 22:00 13 July 2005, Jack wrote:
>Michael wrote:
>
>> [The L-33 is] all metal...so can be kept assembled
>>and tied down...
>> and...is a pretty sensible ship for...a pilot with
>>low total time who
>> doesn't want to mess with assembling and disassembling
>>after every flight
>> and doesn't have a hangar available.
>
>I like the all-metal part, so that I can leave it out
>for a weekend
>whenever possible, but the real reason for needing
>to part with the
>wonderful 1-26E is that the wings are getting heavier
>with each passing
>year, and I can't assemble without a helper or two.
>This is partially a
>fault of the open trailer design and partially just
>me getting older, in
>addition to the design of the 1-26. I enjoy flying
>it, and if it unloaded,
>assembled, disassembled, and loaded as easily as a
>modern design
>combination, I'd stick with it indefinitely as the
>price cannot be beat.
>It's the most flying fun I've ever had for so little
>money, and going to any
>type that did not handle as well in the air would be
>a disappointment.
>
>Another consideration is dues, insurance, storage and
>operating expenses
>which will not change much, so the actual cost of a
>50 percent performance
>boost is not huge. However, if I could leave the 1-26
>assembled in a hangar
>I would not consider parting with it for the foreseeable
>future.
>
>
>> ...I recall thinking that your total time was pretty
>>high. If so, and if
>> you must have metal...I would seriously consider one
>>of the HP's instead.
>
>> Not the hot tip for someone with 50 hours total time...but
>>no big deal at
> > 500 hours.
>
>Total time is ~20,000 hrs, the usual military/airline/private
>stuff; but, my
>glider time is ~35 hours (2-33 and 1-26), so I am not
>embarrassed being seen
>in low performance sailplanes. Hey, I'm still getting
>used to the idea of
>flying beyond gliding range of the glider port -- I
>have done it a few times
>when conditions were very good.
>
>Consideration is also being given to the 1-36 and the
>PW-5, and the PW-5 is
>a strong contender. If a ship is easy enough to assemble/disassemb
>>le and has
>an enclosed trailer, I don't mind putting it together
>every day of a
>three-day weekend. I hope to get checked out in the
>Club's PW-5 this season
>and that will aid the decision process.
>
>Either way, it's good to have a glider of my own.
>
>
>Jack
>
Mark J. Boyd

Buy a SparrowHawk !

Should be easy to assemble/disassemble.

They're pretty expensive but I'm willing to live vicariously through
you !

Doug

Buy a SparrowHawk !

Should be easy to assemble/disassemble.

They're pretty expensive but I'm willing to live vicariously through
you !

Doug

Doug Snyder wrote:
> Buy a SparrowHawk !
>
> Should be easy to assemble/disassemble.
>
> They're pretty expensive but I'm willing to live vicariously through
> you !


I'd be glad to accept donations, and in return mail out a free video of me
smiling to each benefactor.


Jack

Doug Snyder wrote:
> Buy a SparrowHawk !
>
> Should be easy to assemble/disassemble.
>
> They're pretty expensive but I'm willing to live vicariously through
> you !


I'd be glad to accept donations, and in return mail out a free video of me
smiling to each benefactor.


Jack

Stay with the gteen pickle Jack, but pink?
Rich

Stay with the gteen pickle Jack, but pink?
Rich

The paint on our club's L33 looks bad (not as bad as the one in those
pictures though, yikes!). Part of the problem is that LET uses anodized
aluminium which is tricky to get paint to stick to. Excellent corrosion
resistance though. That doesn't forgive the brittle, chalky paint on
ours but it does help explain why it comes off so easily. We should
have ordered it in the plain anodized finish.

I found it fun to fly (more so than a 1-26 which I also enjoyed). Very
nimble and, perhaps surprising for a metal ship, dead quiet inside.
That said, I still found the PW-5 to be better. For one thing the low
speed handling of the PW seems better. The L33 just doesn't seem happy
below 50 knots.

If the main thing you're worried about is saving your back rigging and
derigging though just get a good one man assembly dolly like Udo
Rumpf's. I got one for my ship and I'm NEVER going back to doing it the
hard way!

The paint on our club's L33 looks bad (not as bad as the one in those
pictures though, yikes!). Part of the problem is that LET uses anodized
aluminium which is tricky to get paint to stick to. Excellent corrosion
resistance though. That doesn't forgive the brittle, chalky paint on
ours but it does help explain why it comes off so easily. We should
have ordered it in the plain anodized finish.

I found it fun to fly (more so than a 1-26 which I also enjoyed). Very
nimble and, perhaps surprising for a metal ship, dead quiet inside.
That said, I still found the PW-5 to be better. For one thing the low
speed handling of the PW seems better. The L33 just doesn't seem happy
below 50 knots.

If the main thing you're worried about is saving your back rigging and
derigging though just get a good one man assembly dolly like Udo
Rumpf's. I got one for my ship and I'm NEVER going back to doing it the
hard way!

rich wrote:

> Stay with the green pickle Jack, but pink?

What a great pear they make. ;)


Jack