First Glider - No Gelcoat

Jacek,

Wad. didn't say he was a beginner pilot, only he was looking for:
1. A first ship
2. One without gel coat
3. Would work while he is learning cross-country and be able to grow
with him as he got better

I still think the Jantar Standard meets all those criteria. My first
ship was a Std. Cirrus. If I listened to all the pundits I should have
been killed because they are so hard to fly. What I found was it was
one of the nicest ships around for a first glass and I flew my first
cross countries to my diamond distance flights in the ship. Any new
ship should be approached with caution and a plan should be established
to allow time to learn to fly the ship in low stress environments
before taking one cross country.

I have seen very few areas where a Std Jantar would be difficult for a
relatively competent low time pilot. Any pilot at that stage should be
working with a good instructor that knows the capability of the student
to handle new situation and their rate of learning. The only phase of
flight that is different for the Std. Jantar is take-off due to the
high angle of attack. This does not take long to learn and with use of
spoilers minimizes the issue.

If the student is competent and a reasonable learner they will out grow
the L-33, SGS 1-34 and other similar ships very quickly. Why waste
their time going through two or more ships. I usually recommend a
minimum of 25 hours and 10 flights in a new ship for a low time pilot
before they consider going cross country. The 25 hours will make sure
they have thermalled enough to know what the stall characteristics are
and how the plane will react prior to stall.

They should also have an instructor or coach evaluating their readiness
to progress to the next level.

I am 5' 9" and fit in a Std. Jantar just fine.

All glass ships as well as all gliders must be approached with caution
and respect, but most pilots interested in going cross country that
have time in a glass trainer will have little trouble transitioning to
most of the standard class ships. I don't think the transition is
that difficult due to the ship as much as the change in performance
from most trainers. That is where a good training plan is needed to
allow the pilot to stay ahead of the ship. I have over 500 hours each
in a Std. Cirrus and a Nimbus 2M as well as a hundred this last year in
a Ventus B. They all are supposed to be somewhat difficult to fly, but
I have enjoyed them all and learned a great deal about soaring from
each one.

Tim