Libelle suitability for beginners

Agreeing with everything UH, JS, and Martin have said,

I made this jump in 2018 as a low-time glider pilot and junior who had been gradually transitioning from powered flying over a couple of years. When I took my first tow in the 201, I had about 30 hours and 50 landings in gliders, exclusively in our club’s training fleet of 2-33s and a 1-26. With a couple of hours of stick time (no landings) in a Duo Discus, I had some concept of the demands associated with a slippery ship, but was lacking formal training.

Beyond that, I solicited advice from the previous owner as well as a local instructor with some Libelle experience, and read everything I could find here on RAS and elsewhere about the type, including Martin’s helpful notes.

I knew at the time it would be a good idea to get some dual time in a K21 or Grob 103, but this would’ve been pretty financially taxing for me as a student at commercial rates and involve a minimum of 5 hours on the road.

Fortunately, taking that risk paid off with a first flight only notable for the giant grin I couldn’t seem to shake. Since then, Libelle ownership has opened the door to quite a few fulfilling XC experiences both from the home ‘drome and elsewhere which wouldn’t have been feasible in club hardware, and, with some luck, many more to come.

Now that I’m a bit older and hopefully a bit wiser, I couldn’t recommend in good conscience that someone make the same decisions I made, notwithstanding the outcome. I’m sharing my single data point mainly to emphasize that pilots with a level of experience approaching what UH asks reasonably before loaning out his glider shouldn’t stress out about moving up to a Libelle as long as they prepare for it.

(As an aside, the whole prospect of ownership was made much less intimidating by going in with a partner with broadly similar goals and experience.)

Practically, the main obstacle for most is the cockpit dimensions, particularly at the shoulders. At 6’ 1� with narrow-ish shoulders for my height, I manage to fit comfortably with the back rest at the aft limit with a regular, backpack-style softie parachute. Of course, the only way to know for sure is to try.

With regards to the “light� construction, you’ll see it written that Libelles are more prone to tail boom breaks in a ground loop than contemporary and newer glass ships. Of course, crashworthiness was not a primary concern at the time they were designed either. Neither the 201 nor 301 are certified for spins or any aerobatics, and you won’t find the limiting g loads in the manual, or anywhere for that matter, although I haven’t yet found a copy of the standards the gliders were certified under. The good news is that the structural design seems to have endured well over 100,000 hours across the fleet with no failures in flight. (If I’ve missed one, I’d be interested to hear about it.)

In short, the Libelle offers great value for money to those who fit comfortably, and transitioning from lower performance gliders with limited experience shouldn’t be too risky with some preparation.

Neiman
H201 #81 ‘WE’