Noel, 30k dollars will not get you a 55, but perhaps
30k pounds would, 30k Euros may even pull it off, but
not USD. The 55 is a nice standard class. It was SZD's
answer to the Discus.
I recently bought an SZD-59, which as the acro adaptation
of the Std-3. It has all the performance of the Std-3
(38/1 @ 70kts and 130fpm @ 43kts, MEASURED by Johnson,
in 15m config with 36/1 @ 70kts and 135 fpm at 43kts
in 13m), in all measurable fields except with a much
higher roll rate. It will fly circles (literally) around
a Std 3 though, as it has double the aileron, lots
more rudder and elevator as well, and it is stressed
for +7 to -5 G's with the outboard 1m tips removed
(in 15m it is still Jar 22, + 5.65 to - 3.5), boasting
a 2.6 roll rate (45 to 45 degrees at 50 kts). Airbrakes
and main wheel can be operated up t VNE, which is 154
kts with the 13m wing and 143 kts in std mode. There
are only a dozen or so in the states, and I am not
selling mine. One just sold off of WingsandWheels for
$33k. The extra $3k on your budjet would have been
well worth it. The ship is easy to rig, and an absolute
joy to fly. I have yet to hear anyone who has any experience
with them speak badly about them. If one of these
is in your reach though, it really is a very nice ship,
with 2 distinct personalities (13/15m modes). The
Johnson/Carswell report on it is worth reading.


Paul Hanson

At 18:12 09 January 2008, Noel.Wade wrote:
On Jan 9, 9:12 am, Andreas Maurer wrote:
an advice: Don't stick too close to numbers. Performance
numbers of
glider differ vastly depending on who measured them
(Johnson or the
German Idaflieg), and, more important:
Sheer performance numbers are only one part of the
truth.
In reality you are not going to notice if your ship
has two points
better L/D or a slightly better sink rate.

Bye
Andreas


I totally agree with you on the numbers deal - especially
when it
comes to manufacturer's specs! And I know that small
variances in
finishing and mold changes over the years can affect
the L/D by a
point or two. But at least with Johnson (and other
practical flight
tests) I have demonstrated numbers that have actually
been measured
*in flight* - not theoretical or predicted numbers.

And I understand that I won't notice one or two points
of L/D - that's
why I'm going for a jump from ~31:1 to at least 38:1.
That big of a
spread I _will_ notice.

The reason I use sink-rate as a measure of performance
is because it
directly affects climb rate in a thermal, and just
trying to figure
out which airplane 'thermals best' is subjective, dependant
upon
conditions, and plain tough to get an accurate reading
on (especially
because so few people have flown a wide range of gliders
over the
years - so there's little common basis for direct comparison).

Dave - The 1f is cool; but the two that I've found
talk about having
rough finishes. A glider that old/cheap is just not
worth the cost to
refinishing... Again, its not that I don't like them;
but do you
think that an $18k LS-1f is a better purchase than
a good-condition
LS-3 at $24k? The difference in monthly loan cost
is not an issue for
me (I'm not rich, but I've carefully budgetted to handle
$8k to $10k
down and a $15k to $18k loan).

Having only flown my Russia, Blanik L-13s, and SGS
2-33s I think I
ought to follow through with my original plan to visit
Minden sometime
soon and try their Mini, LS-3a, and LS-4. I need some
seat-time in
15m ships to see how they compare to my Russia...

Thanks again, all! The conversation is certainly good
for helping
organize my thoughts and refine my opinions.

Anyone have any info about SZD-55's? I had two people
email me
privately to say that they thought I could pick one
up for around my
$30k limit - but those folks were in England and I
haven't heard
anyone from the USA talk about this model. It got
plenty of favorable
reviews when it came out... ??

Take care,

--Noel