On May 29, 3:25*pm, Marc wrote:
On May 29, 1:18*pm, "noel.wade" wrote:

I am also curious if any clubs have self-financed new equipment (by
taking out loans from members)? *Getting ~15 members to each pony up
$5k - $10k at 5% interest would get you a new trainer. *And promising
individuals a ~5% return on their money is a hell of a lot better than
most CDs or Money-Market accounts these days; and even better than
some stock portfolios! :-P

About 5 years ago I and a few others did precisely that, loaned money
to a local club to buy a nice G103C that had belonged to a (sadly)
deceased member. *We had the option of either 5% interest over a 3
year term or no interest and waiving associated flight fees for the
glider. *Works well if you have one glider to replace, and members who
have ready access to cash, might be a bit tougher during this
perpetual recession. *It was lucky we did this, primary training fleet
was two L-13s, along with two older G103s.









In the "I wish..." column, I'd love to see a non-Euro-currency country
out there building an inexpensive (say $50k - $60k) trainer. *The
aerodynamics nowadays are well-understood so it should be easy to make
something simple that has no "bad habits". *I've always been told that
its the tooling and labor costs - especially the labor costs - that's
the issue. *So shouldn't it be possible to get a known group of
aerodynamic and mechanical engineers together to make a solid design,
and then fabricate the darned thing in a region with lower labor
costs? I'm thinking South America, India, or another area where
technically-oriented people live and they can put something together
without major quality-control concerns... Seems like it should be
possible (see: Embraer, or some of the aerospace contracting that's
done in the Asia-Pacific region). *Of course, Windward performance
comes to mind for a "local" solution. *I'm sure they have a few
Duckhawk orders to process right now, but I wonder if Windward could
switch from PrePreg to some simpler fiberglass & kevlar layups and
operate cheaply enough to put out a reasonably-priced trainer that's
sold in US Dollars?

Paging Bob Kuykendall! *Please enter URLhttp://www.kickstarter.com/
8^)

Also, my favorite bizarre concept, an ASK13 clone constructed
primarily of CNC cut fiberglass honeycomb and precured sheets, glued
together like a giant balsa wood model:

http://www.retroplane.net/forum/files/optimist_195.pdf

Marc

Actually, Bob has a better idea. How about an US made ASK-21
equivalent constructed with the best modern materials but licensed
under LSA rules?

LSA rules allow 1320 Lb gross (same as an ASK-21) and at least 120 kt
airspeed. (151 knots might be possible. LSA's are limited to 120 kts
max level cruise speed but dive speed does not seem to be restricted.)
There's no need for retractable gear, flaps or faster airspeeds in a
trainer. And, best of all, LSA rules eliminate a huge chunk of type
certificate and production certificate costs. An LSA trainer could be
used for any purpose one with a standard type certificate could.

Don't confuse the light sport PILOT rules which address airspace
access with the light sport AIRCRAFT rules. An LSA flown by a pilot
holding a Private or better does not face those restrictions.

Contact Bob with donations...