Debacle: Flight test of Diana-2

pbc76049 wrote:


Item 4 is subjective at best. The aircraft meets JAR 22.

I'm not aware of any standardized crash testing procedure for gliders,
and if the the manufacturer of my ASH 26 E has knowledge of such tests,
they haven't shared it with any of the customers I know. It would be
wonderful if such data was available, but if you must have this data for
any glider in production, I think you will have pay someone to do a
crash test on it.

Unless you are an engineer competent in composite design for crash
protection, I don't think you will learn anything about the design by
asking "where the Kevlar is".


Item 5 is conjecture on your part. You are
presupposng a failure mode not in evidence
by inferring that it is problematic.

I don't think any of the manufacturers test their gliders until they
flutter, because it is very dangerous. The glider is likely to be so
damaged or uncontrollable, the test pilot will have to parachute out of
it. Certification requires testing to a certain speed beyond the Vne;
above that, and you are a test pilot. If you want to "know what margin
you will have when you are in an emergency" then you should fly so that
your emergencies do not exceed Vne. Even if the manufacturer the exact
flutter speed, he would be smart not to reveal that speed, for fear that
pilots would then use that speed as the "real" Vne.


Item 13 is again subjective. Properly assembled trailing
edges do not delaminate regardless of their construction
method. Your presupposition that fabric wrapped edges
are superior is not based in fact, just an opinion you hold.
Attempting to show one Trailing Edge construction method
as superior to another again shows the limitations of your
composite construction background.

My ASH 26 E does not use fabric wrapped trailing edges, nor did my ASW
20, yet they both seem like fine machines. I would feel rather foolish
telling Gerhard Waibel or Martin Heide the proper way to build a glider!

It appears Neshe sets very high and very unusual standards for a glider.
If I were a glider manufacturer, I would pray he became interested in
some other manufacturer's glider.


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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA