1-26E Aerobatics

On Friday, October 4, 2019 at 1:10:41 PM UTC-6, BG wrote:
On Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 10:45:20 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Does anyone know if it is safe, assuming you are properly trained in aerobatics,
to perform loops, rolls and inverted flying in a 1-26E?
Glider is rated at +5.3 -3.3 Gs

As already mentioned the 1-26 was rated aerobatics and later that was probably removed for liability reasons. I could be wrong, but I have never heard of a catastrophic failure in flight. Some severely damage but it still flew. Many years back in the SSA archive is a picture of a 1-26A with fabric top section on the main wing was gone after some high G loops were preformed. Front section of the wing has a aluminum skin and that was all that was need for the plane to still fly. Pilot landed OK. There was a severely buckled spare near the root of a 1-36 after some one did the high speed barograph notch off tow. Plane remained flyable.

There might be better planes for aerobatics, but none as fun as a 1-26 with a sport canopy to get your blood flowing. There use to be one at Dillingham in Hawaii.

Soaring_June_1983.pdf page 22 1-36 spar bent

George Powell's "Wild Ride in a 1-26" page 8 Soaring_July_1991.pdf 1-26 lost fabric

BG

The wing of a 1-26B departed in 'turbulence' in Florida. The remaining glider slipped into some trees and the pilot survived. A 1-36 (yeah, not a 1-26 but was included in the same SB IIRC) in Boulder was, against the instructions of the FBO owner, being looped by a rental pilot (sans parachute) and the wings folded up. Fatal. The widow attempted to sue the owner of the operation and his estate, after he passed away suddenly. If the SB protected Schweizer, it didn't do much to protect the operator. IIRC, the lawsuit was based on the absence of a specific placard against aerobatics.

Frank Whiteley