Hi Eric

I can only say that as a UK qualified instructor with
several hundred hours in the Standard Cirrus, I have
briefed many very nervous pilots for their first flight
in this type. They are mostly only nervous because
of the scare stories put about by people like you.
They have all returned with big beaming smiles, asking
what all the fuss was about!

OK it has very light controls compared with the 'Yank
Tank' Schweizers that your CFIGs tend to fly, but as
long as this is properly briefed for it doesn't seem
to cause a problem. Ideally I would prefer pilots to
have had at least some previous experience in other
types of standard class gliders.

Regards,
Derek Copeland
--------------------------
At 03:30 22 March 2006, Eric Greenwell wrote:

Please read this part again:'When a number of experienced
pilots, some
of them CFIGs, and some with thousands of hours, who
have flown a
variety of gliders,issue warnings about a particular
glider, that rises
above the level of 'scare stories'.'

It's not just me, it's not just an anorak with 20 hours
in a 2-33 that
scares himself in his first flight in a Std Cirrus.
That would be a
'scare story'.

The Standard
Cirrus may not have quite the same modern safe handling
as a LS4 or a Discus, but any competent pilot should
be able to fly one quite easily and safely.

That begs the question: 'any competent pilot'. Yes,
someone that can fly
it safely can fly it safely. My comments were to the
less experienced
pilot that might be able to safely fly an LS4 but not
the Std Cirrus.

They also
have the advantage of costing a fraction of the amount
expected for these supposedly more desirable types
and are not that far short on performance.

Yes, they are cheaper, and it's not just because they
are older or have
less performance. Cheaper may not be a good value for
the less
experienced pilot.

snip

The only issue with all flying-tailplanes is that
they
tend to trail along the relative airflow. This means
that if you let go of the stick the glider will have
little stick free stability. If it is not perfectly
trimmed out, or hits disturbed air, it will slowly
enter an ever increasing phugoid which will not damp
itself out. However if you do remember to hold the
stick, this problem disappears and the glider will
be as stable in pitch as any other type, as long as
the cockpit weight limits are observed. How often
and for how long do you normally fly without holding
the stick?

Not very often, but my Std Cirrus was the only one
I didn't dare let go
of the stick over about 80 mph. Have you missed the
discussion of the
positive feedback in turbulence from the unbalanced
elevator circuit? My
other gliders didn't have that.


If you could be placed in a Standard Cirrus at 2000
feet and told to get on with flying it, you probably
wouldn't even notice that it had an all flying tailplane.

I sure did in mine.

The only thing you might find out if you experimented
a bit is that the elevator loads do not change with
speed. This probably makes it unsuitable for aerobatics
unless you are very skilled at doing them, although
it is certified as semi-aerobatic. Best to regard
it
as a soaring machine, which it does very well. Standard
Cirri usually clean up in Club Class competitions.

All the owners I know love their Standard Cirruses,
not least because of the light and precise handling.

I did not love my Standard Cirrus, but I did like it.
It's handling
stunk compared to my ASW 20 C. What a difference! The
designers have
learned a lot since the Standard Cirrus was designed
almost 40 years ago.