It may well be that in the rather specialised world of the Air Training
Corps the Grob Viking does a good job for your pupils aged under 21. Of
the over 100 pupils you solo'd in the Grob, how many went on to get their
Silver 'C'?

However, Lasham has had in their fleet a K21 and a Grob, in fact I think
they have had two successive Grobs. Nevertheless, Lasham still continue to
use the K13 as their main training glider, they have no plans to replace
them and are re-furbishing them. They currently have 1 Duo-Discus, 1
ASK21, 1 Grob Acro and 9 K13s. They have paid a deposit on a DG1000, this
is not to replace a K13, they are thinking of changing the order to a turbo
DG1000. Lasham have operated the K21, the Grob and the K13s quite long
enough to evaluate them as training machines, and from the maintenance point
of view.

Lasham not only sends pupils solo, they also teach them to soar, fly
cross-country and win competitions at world level so they must be doing
something right!

W.J. (Bill) Dean (U.K.).
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"Don Johnstone" wrote in
message ...

The original post was asking for an opinion on the
relative suitability of a Grob Acro versus a K13 from
someone with experience. I would have thought that
was sensible. Whether it was sensible to seek that
on ras is perhaps open to debate.

To answer the original question, as always it depends.
I have instructed extensively on both with over 2500
launches in a Grob Acro and sending over 100 students
under the age of 21 solo in it. It is probably one
of the best ab initio training gliders I have even
flown. Its main rival, the ASK21 is, like all Scheicher
gliders, better harmonised and probably slightly easier
to teach in, however the Grob is far more robust. (I
have never seen the disappearing nosewheel syndrome
in a Grob).

If you just want to teach people to fly solo and not
go off soaring then either glider will do. If however
you want to teach beyond that the Grob is the proper
option. If you are teaching people and are expecting
them to go straight into a GRP glider as their first
single seat machine then the Grob is the best option.
If you want to reduce your long term maintenance costs
then the Grob is the best option (You don't have to
recover a Grob every few years, and the gelcoat is
almost bomb proof). If you want to reduce your insurance
bill then the K13 may be the way to go. If you want
a much wider and larger cockpit loading option then
the Grob is the answer.

In my opinion there really is no contest. The K13 was
a fine glider, in it's day, and still is in some ways
but for overall robustness, suitability for training
for GRP flying, and the ability to provide realistic
xcountry training it has had it's day. The Grob is
the best option even if you have to find a trailer
for it.