Pegasus or ....?

my 2 cents:

Pegasus is a very good choice.

Excellent performance for the money.

Pegasus is very typical of gliders of the late 70's mid 80's performance
More deluxe than ASW19/20 with finished interior, lifting instrument panel
like last ASW20 models offered, having owned (2)Pegasus, ASW19 and ASW20,
and ASW20C would say they all handled and performed essentially the same..
obvious differences were flaps on 20's, Quality was similar, some better and
worse on each.


It doesn't have any bad habits.

Well, keeping wings level in the early part of the takeoff run can be a
bit of a challenge, especially in even the lightest crosswind. It also
tends to drop the nose pretty dramatically and abruptly if you let speed
bleed off in a slip. Otherwise I find it to be a very honest and
relatively docile aircraft. Handling is excellent with very sensitive
response in pitch and yaw (roll is a bit less enthusiastic, as is typical
for this type of aircraft). Be prepared for some moderate PIO on the first
takeoff or two. Assembly is very straightforward assuming spring-loaded
sleeves have been retrofitted to aileron and spoiler connections,
otherwise pinning these connections can be awkward. A sleeve can not be
added to the elevator connection due to lack of space, but this connection
is exposed enough that using a safety pin is not a problem.


worst bad habit if you could call it that is manual hook-ups and lack of
access...very difficult to verify safe control connections....assembly is
slow and very unfriendly by comparison to better designs.

Flying was not difficult or unusual....I never noticed any unusual or
exciting take-offs in any of these, though I did with earlier ASW15's with
offset CG hook....now those need attention! I do have a fair amont of glider
experience though and may not recommend these gliders to lower time pilots
since like any more-or-less modern racing gliders do things more quickly and
less noticeable than club type gliders....all of these (ASW19/20/Pegasus)
gliders can catch the sloppy flyer with an unplanned wingover and possibly a
spin, probably moreso with ASW20 with flaps in use


It is built like a tank, simple and parts are available through the
factory
without any issues whatsoever.

If you speak French.

actually I've called Centrair on a couple of occasions and had no difficulty
in speaking with Mary Ann in English (actually her English was probably
better than mine ) They are still or at least were, when I called last
(about a year ago) very supportive of Pegasus owners, even in the USA but
you can expect to wait for special parts, they are IMO a bit slow with
delivering parts.



Send me an email to jacek dot kobiesa
at clearwire dot net to remained me of it and I will send you their
contact. I bought from them hinges, hinge pins, pedals, etc. So, don't
buy from anybody that lack of factory support nonsense.

Support is available. Access to support for non-Francophones can be
challenging. My best advice to a potential Peg owner is to learn enough
French to be polite and have patience.

It's no more difficult speaking English with people at Centrair than it is
with the German companies, being polite with anyone gets you further than
being rude or demanding.



I am 6' 3" (1.9 meters) and 230 pounds (103.3 kilos). Aside from being a
bit tight in the shoulders, my Peg fits me just fine with a backpack
parachute. I do find the rudder pedals to be very narrow and have to fly
wearing specialized driving shoes with narrow soles to fit my feet into
the pedals. I also find that my knees fall exactly under the relatively
sharp bottom edge of the instrument panel (I added some split rubber hose
as "edge dressing" to provide a bit of cushioning).

Rudder pedals are narrow and uncomfortable, there is little room for big
feet in any of these and there was an ad to change out the rudder pedals in
the pegasus (a not so pleasant operation to accomplish) and the new pedals
were even narrower than the originals for whatever reason...


The only item that I had an issue with is very weak
wheel brake. I rebuild it in my glider with new shoes, springs, cable,
and it was still marginal.
I find the brake, operated by a motorcycle-like lever on the stick,
acceptable when stopping from a slow roll, otherwise it's virtually
useless.

actually I never had an issue with the wheel brakes on any of these, the
brakes were not overPowering, but if serviced and adjusted did an OK job of
stoping the glider....but unmaintained you'll be very unhappy with the
stopping power, they all use a reasonibly sized 5" wheel, much better than
many gliders of the era still using very small light 4" wheels.


But don't take my word for it: go and fly
one, and then fly the LS-4, ASW-19, and whatever else you can and make
your own decision. I just sold mine and I put on it last 2 seasons
almost 200 hours.

In my humble opinion, the Pegasus is a great aircraft and a good choice
for moderately experienced pilots as a first high-performance or
competition sailplane.

I concour mostly....for the $ it's in the ball park, I'd say the LS gliders
handle better and are more docile for relative equal perfomance and similar
costs, quality is typical and no one should expect any of these mentioned
gliders to be in perfect condition, all will have some issues with finish
unless thay have been refinished, find one that has had the best care, the
BEST TRAILER since this will have a great deal to do with enjoyment since
assembly is going to be an issue, and check and DOUBLE check the control
connections!
tim
Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com

Bill
"TX"

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