are wooden gliders worthwhile building ?

On Mon, 4 Feb 2008 07:47:26 -0800 (PST), BB
wrote:

On Feb 4, 6:16*am, Stealth Pilot
wrote:
serious question.
in this day and age where the slippery glass reigns supreme are there
any wooden gliders actually worth building ?

if your son was on the way to a glider instructors rating, as mine is,
is there a wooden glider design that would be worth building ?
something with reasonable performance that would be a sheer pleasure
to fly.

something a dad could spring on the kid.

Stealth Pilot

In one word, no. If he wants to fly, and advance in the world of
soaring, get him a good club-class eligible fiberglass glider with a
well-engineered safety cockpit. I love the grandeur and history of
wooden gliders, I admire the courage and achievements of their pilots,
and I admire the skills of their homebuilders, but I would never send
my son up in something that turns to splinters if he has a rough
landing. Would you home-build him a wooden car?


no, he can and probably will buy the fibreglass ship himself.
I wanted something that was beautiful to look at and fun to fly. the
amazing thing in aviation is that if you can lay hands on the plans
you can build an exact replica of a classic design in modern
materials, and have it perform just like the original.

he is building a Corby CJ1 Starlet which is all wood and I'm
supporting him through the build.

build him a car - no
build him an aeroplane - yes.

Stealth Pilot