Discus/DG-300 performance difference

Hi, I'm interested by your suggestion of the ASW 24,which I hadn't really considered. I have heard that they are trickier to thermal well, which may be a disadvantage when scratching being a relatively novice cross country pilot. Did you find any trouble in that regard?

On Saturday, May 9, 2015 at 10:56:24 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Hi, I'm interested by your suggestion of the ASW 24,which I hadn't really considered. I have heard that they are trickier to thermal well, which may be a disadvantage when scratching being a relatively novice cross country pilot. Did you find any trouble in that regard?

My first glider was a used ASW-24. It had 6 hours on it! I was a new glider pilot and wanted a safe easy to fly machine for spreading my wings to fly far and fast. I was very comfortable in this ship. The only problem I had was the experienced pilots telling me that I needed to thermal slower, turns out I was right, the 24 does need to be thermaled a bit faster. After the first year I got the new winglets and that made it even a better glider! The human ergonomics, are well thought through, you can touch the instrument panel, the visibility is great, control harmony is the nicest of anything I have flown, safety cockpit, with Murray dump value the entire water ballast evacuates in two minutes. I did also find with water, it was best not to load it past 10.5 lb, even though you can load it higher.

I am bigger than most other pilots, 210 pounds very fit, but with broad shoulders 6 feet tall. I fit very well and in fact I fit very well in all the AS gliders, the same cannot be said for the LS or S-H with the "a" fuselage.

I have had a number of gliders and the ASW-24 is still one of my two favorite gliders. The other favorite glider was my Nimbus 4, but I did a lot of work on her to make it such a great glider, (still wish I had kept her) but I had gotten out of the sport for many years. "I am back", now.

On Saturday, May 9, 2015 at 1:56:24 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Hi, I'm interested by your suggestion of the ASW 24,which I hadn't really considered. I have heard that they are trickier to thermal well, which may be a disadvantage when scratching being a relatively novice cross country pilot. Did you find any trouble in that regard?

The 24 is not hard to thermal, but I will admit, it's a better thermalling glider with decent winglets on it. I have flown a stock 24, "slip-on winglets" as well as a few "cut the tips off & do it better" winglets.
Any of the tips help, later models allowed you to fly thermals a lot easier..
In my view, the "Murray/Nixon" tips were the best to use.

I had never heard of slip on winglets for the ASW-24. I bought factory winglets and I imagine virtually all ASW-24's have winglets so that should be a non-issue. As stated before the ASW-24 is a great glider and is worthy of consideration for a new or experienced pilot. Standard class is nice for new pilots, less to think about just fly. The standards lose out on the high end of the polar as compared to flapped ships but that really will not be a factor most pilots.

On Sunday, May 10, 2015 at 12:30:33 AM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
I had never heard of slip on winglets for the ASW-24. I bought factory winglets and I imagine virtually all ASW-24's have winglets so that should be a non-issue. As stated before the ASW-24 is a great glider and is worthy of consideration for a new or experienced pilot. Standard class is nice for new pilots, less to think about just fly. The standards lose out on the high end of the polar as compared to flapped ships but that really will not be a factor most pilots.

"Slip on" winglets were an interim way to do winglet development on the '24 before Gerhard had started working on the winglet for the '24. Later we cut the tips off to match factory configuration and continued the development based on that. It worked out well with almost 40 sets installed.
FWIW
UH

How costly is it to put a nose hook on DG300?

Does anyone know?

S

I've owned a DG-300 since the early nineties and have 2000+ hours in type. This includes a lot of Allegheny ridge flying and several 1000-km flights. Here are my comments, some of which echo others. Overall I'm glad to have chosen this ship and would replace it, if I had to, with another one.

+ Very "honest" airplane; no mean tricks
+ DG canopy/visibility, warm feet in cold wx yet not intolerable in summer
+ Comfortable seating position
+ 5-inch mainwheel with good brake energy
+ Pneumatic tailwheel
+ Performance very close to original Discus, maybe a tad worse at 75-80 KIAS and a tad better at higher speeds
+ Only minor L/D loss with rain, insect accretion
+ Good longitudinal stability; excellent ridge ship (esp. ith water)
+ Easy rigging (though wings are heavy)
+ May be priced lower than equivalent Discus
+ Experimental certification

- DG parts/support extortion
- DG parts/support extortion (worth at least a second mention...)
- DG parts/support extortion (... and a third)
- Underwing blowholes can clog (turbulator tape probably better)
- DG-300 ailerons are a bit heavy and it somewhat blacks the sexy, natural feel of other ships (Discus, LS-4, etc.) when thermaling. This said, its roll rate and climb are comparable.
- Cockpit ventilation may be inadequate for hot climates but mods are available
- While DG gelcoat is generally excellent, some ships have cracking, alligatoring, yellowing, etc. due to inconsistent QC at the Elan factory.

Don't put a nose hook on the DG!!
No reason to, I was also afraid of the CG hook and then flew it and it's a non-issue on my DG 100. Great rudder control and no wing drop makes T.O easy.
Besides, when your club finally buys that winch, you'll be ready to GO

Do winglets make any real difference in terms of handling?

CoG max front. Does it adversely influence handling?

S

On Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 7:04:30 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Do winglets make any real difference in terms of handling?

CoG max front. Does it adversely influence handling?

S

First question- It depends upon the glider. Some gliders have significantly improved handling at low speeds when winglets are installed.
Second question- forward CG adds stability and accordingly can reduce response to maneuvering inputs.
UH