Janus 2-seat glider as a club glider?

Yes, my German club purchased Janus C in 2011. Apart from a protracted time
getting it registered in Germany it was nicely overhauled by our club
before being put into service. It is used as a cross country trainer (the
other club 2 seaters are 2 K-13s and a K-21).

I flew for 4 hours with an instructor wanting to get his OLC and P1 cross
country time up. I used the flight as a regional acquaint and an
introduction to flying with flaps. Later in the year I got cleared solo on
the Janus C. It has 'long legs' compared to my Standard Cirrus but once
you compensate with a suitably sized circuit and approach I was able to get
the landings spot on. later in the season I flew my buddy's DG-200 17.6 and
so I am transitioned onto single seat with flaps.

Impressions:

- Pretty roomy in the back but after 4 hours getting out was pretty painful
with cramped legs & stiff knees (I never have that problems in the Std
Cirrus, even after 6+ hours).

- Flaps become intuitive pretty quickly. If you 'change down' the flap too
quickly when pulling up into a thermal your feel the drag and quickly learn
when to change the flap setting.

- Front seat seems a little cramped. My parachute kept catching on
something when closing the canopy - I will try with another parachute next
time.

- Poor man's Duo Discus. Good performance and handling though. The
ergonomics are compromised cf a modern 2 seaters. I am sure my club would
love to a have a Duo or DG1000/1001 but could get about 6 or 8 Janus C for
the price we paid for ours.

- Tail parachute not used (fitted but tagged out for normal use).

- Air brakes seem pretty effective.

- Undercarriage mechanism not repeated in the which led to the amusing
incident 'Youthful instructor in the front after 2.5 hours flying 'Gavin we
have a problem' me: I check a/c position against airspace - no problem.
Check height 7,500 feet, wings still attached,level flight, not stalling,
not spinning - all seems OK to me 'What is the problem? Instructor: 'The
undercarriage is still down'. me. 'Well if you pull it up and you don't
tell anyone then nobody will know!.

-Mylar strips/tape on wing tips, aileron mechanism seems a little
vulnerable to hangar rash/handling in a club environment.

The Janus C is proving very popular.


Gavin
Std Cirrus, G-SCNN, #173
LSV Viersen, Keiheuvel, Belgium