Kirk Stant wrote:
Bruce Greeff wrote in message ...

As Long as you know it's a raft...

Personally - if it flies I'm game. Having learned to fly in a 1956 tube and
fabric, wooden wing vintage I am constantly pleasantly surprised by the other
types I fly. And equally happy to go up in the vintage (German) bird. Just know
what you are flying, and appreciate it for what it is.

Tried to get a flight in a 2-33 last time in the USA but some genius had just
decided to invade Iraq...

Bruce



Personally, I also enjoy flying anything with wings -including 2-33s -
they all are interesting in their own way, even their faults are
interesting to discover and work around. My objection to the 2-33 is
that it is SO non-representative of the current state of the art in
soaring that it results in a lot of potential (read "rich enough to
afford the sport") glider pilots leaving the sport shortly after
getting their licence, in search of some sport that doesn't force you
to train and fly in a beat-up doggy glider. These are the poeple
riding $20k motorcycles, boats, etc. NO WAY is a guy (or gal) like
that going to put up with a 2-33!

And since no-one in their right mind (except for some friends of mine
who raced a couple of 2-33s XC yesterday - see the ASA forum for
details) would take a 2-33 XC, they result in the total de-emphasis of
XC glider flying at most US schools, and a lack of XC experience among
US CFIGs.

You want to fly an antique, go for it, and have a good time doing it.
But if you want to grow the sport, get a good, modern trainer. THATS
my beef with the 2-33. Oh, and the trim is dangerous, and the back
seat is uncomfortable and is almost impossible to get out of wearing a
chute, and...

Re Blaniks, funny that the Soviet Air Force had no trouble training
all their pilots using Blaniks for 30 odd years (or more?). I've got a
sneaky suspicion that the real problem at the Zoo was due to a
lingering 2-33 trainig mentality, not a problem with the Blanik, which
was actually designed as a military trainer for the entire Warsaw
Pact.

And since I'm a Zoomie, I can say that!

Well, enough tilting at windmills.

Kirk
Hi Kirk

We do have 3 private L13s for slightly more advanced flying, and then there are
a number of private single seater planes for students to move on to. The L13
tought the Soviet airforce to fly for years. They came here and have been worked
hard for thirty years. In general they remain servicable and withstand our rough
runway very well. Being metal and not exactly in the first blush of youth, they
tend to need maintenance, but nothing excessive. The only recurrent problem
appears to be the relatively weak tail post bulkhead which can get damaged by
agressive flares - landing tail first, and ground loops. (2 repairs in 30 years
for the one whose record I know)

Personally, I like the Grob 103 - It is very comfortable, easy to fly, low
maintenance. I only worked out that you COULD fly on trim after solo when I got
to fly a twin Astir...

So from relatively recent experience of learning to soar I can say that the
vintage lumps taught me to fly better in terms of much better demonstration of
bad habits like adverse yaw and lack of control harmonisation, and judgement -
"in a headwind if you can see it over the nose it is out of soaring range" .
Conversely I also have noted that there are many things I learned much better
from a more modern glass two seater - and getting my backside into a 1970's
German single seater opened up a whole new universe. I did my first XC in the
L13, and 25 miles was exciting. Best to date is 250km in the Cirrus - it teaches
a whole new perspective. Any club that does not have access to, and teach
something beyond local soaring is missing something important. Without something
to graduate to and continue to grow I think I would soon have lost some
motivation - and flown less. So I agree - to grow the sport you have to have
some modern two seaters, at least of the G103, or K21 league. Even in the deep
rural third world you can see the interest disappear when a visitor sees the
antiques. The two glass planes attract - fact.

Just for interest we had no instructors at my club with any interest in XC.
Though there were two private owners to emulate. Neither were particularly
interested in teaching the art.

So - I get to teach myself - and so far so good.

If we can get there we will work on buying a club glass 2 seater in the next
year or so. Probably buy one of the private L13s first though. Not my
prefference but some things are facts, whether we approve or not.

Tilting at clouds is more fun anyway.