On Dec 30, 8:54*pm, Dave Springford wrote:
My club is buying a K-21 for student training and I am wondering if a
tail dolly is necessary for ground handling?

We plan to get the tail wheel option - not the tail skid.

Does the K21 balance like the Twin Astir so it is easy to turn on the
ground when towing it back to the launch point?

When empty, does it sit on the main and tail wheel, or main and nose
wheel.

Anyone with experience operating a K-21 please advise

thanks,

Dave Springford

We have two K21s without tail dollys and don't have any problems. The
CoG when empty is just behind the main wheel, so if one has to go
round a sharp corner it's easy for the person walking the nose to push
down and the wingman to turn the glider. However ours go straight
into their hanger bays. If you had to pack them into a conventional
hanger a tail dolly might be very useul. Our airfield is all grass
and the only place where there is a lot of wear that we have had to do
something about is right outside the hanger, where there is the most
traffic - where the launch point is depends on where the wind is so
that doesn't generate another worn patch. Also, if we had them some
bright spark would inevitably end up trying to put the K21 in the
hanger with the dolly on, leading to an expensive noise at elevator.