First glider Nimbus 2 ?

On Monday, January 4, 2021 at 8:58:17 AM UTC-7, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Mon, 04 Jan 2021 07:43:22 -0700, kinsell wrote:

On 1/4/21 3:30 AM, krasw wrote:
These old open class gliders were designed for max LD at quite low
speed, nothing else. Their handling in the air is not good and on the
ground it is just awful. You will fly less because of this. I usually
fly modern glider from std. class to 18/20m class. I flew one summer
mostly Std. Cirrus and did enjoy xc flying exactly same as with any
other type. You fly exactly same tactic as with modern glider, only
with lower airspeed duirng glider and taking few more climbs. With a
glider like Std. Libelle, thermalling is actually fun. Saying that
thermalling is fun with N2 buys you a ticket to hospital with padded
walls. There is a very good reason N2 is cheap to buy.


The OP was clear that he wanted "airchair soaring" doing 300-500K tasks..
Apparently he thinks he can buy a carefree experience with long wings.
Maybe his expectations aren't realistic. He also thinks it's a
particularly pretty glider, that shouldn't be a purchase consideration.
The OP will be used to good thermal climbs and relatively low XC speeds
from time spent he's spent in an SZD Junior. I know them well. My club
owns two for new solo pilots to fly when transitioning to single seaters,
and I got my Silver in one of them.

Now I fly a Std Libelle and would agree with the nice things others have
said about its thermalling ability. There's very few gliders resident at
my club that can out-climb either a Libelle or a Junior, especially in a
narrow thermal. IMO both are nice to fly though the Libelle is smoother
flying and quite a bit faster XC due to a better high speed polar, though
both Libelle and Junior have the same Vne.

About the Nimbus 2: here's all I know. I once helped an owner put his N2
back in its trailer when I was visiting Sutton Bank. He used a rope and
pulley to slide the wings into what seemed quite a long trailer: I
thought that was a clever trick. That's the only N2 I've seen.


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Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org
I know virtually nothing about soaring in Poland except what friends have shared. However, I did have 10 1/2 years of UK soaring, ending in the mid-1990's. My experience was that a club member should consult with the chief instructor before buying a glider. If the glider was considered too advanced or complex for the member's level of experience or skill, they wouldn't be permitted to fly it until they exhibited that proficiency. I don't now if the same is true in Poland, but Piotr needs to have that talk perhaps. Some RAF gliders even had plates indicating minimum PIC time required to fly certain gliders. Perhaps things are different now.

Any comment Martin?

Frank Whiteley