.....the far lower hours and relatively modest skills required to make the 2-33 look brand new despite it being tied out during the soaring season are another reason to keep these ships in the mix.

Chip Bearden

I soloed and earned my Private and Commercial Pilot ratings in 2-33s, so I have lots of good feelings for old Tubby the Trainer. Nobody in this thread seems ready to admit it, but the thing is fun to fly. Stress free as long as you stay close to home, climbs well in thermals, front seat is comfy, and visibility is excellent.

And then there's the back seat. When I got our club's permission to carry a passenger, I moved to the rear perch to allow the visitor to have a better view. One of my first riders was a young woman with long, flowing hair. Shortly after takeoff, the wind from the air vent on the panel spread her lovely locks all over the cockpit, cutting off my view of, among other things, the tow plane. I passed her my hat and she tucked her hair in it; problem solved and lesson learned. But what my old friend Don Turner observed about flying the 2-33 from the back seat is true wisdom. "Although it is very uncomfortable," he said, "you can't see anything."