1-26 for first glider, or not?

I think that anyone who has ever given a 1-26 a fair appraisal has
liked it. It's definitely a fun little ship to fly! It made this pilot
look good several times when he was staying up when glass couldn't.
And, as Ron Schwartz has shown, it has good XC potential in the right
hands.

Where I didn't like the 1-26 was (a) in the seating and (b) in the
cold. The one I flew (an E model) had a chair type plywood seat that
was really uncomfortable for me after 2-3 hours. The 1-26 Association
has articles showing how you can pad the seat; if you buy one I'd
highly recommend doing so.

The other issue I had was flying in the cold - this was because of the
breeze coming from the tow hook. Flying in 35 degree F weather, my
feet lost all feeling after half an hour. Again, if you buy one you
can use a simple flap of material to kill the breeze.

-John

On Nov 12, 10:49*am, jcarlyle wrote:
I think that anyone who has ever given a 1-26 a fair appraisal has
liked it. It's definitely a fun little ship to fly! It made this pilot
look good several times when he was staying up when glass couldn't.
And, as Ron Schwartz has shown, it has good XC potential in the right
hands.

Where I didn't like the 1-26 was (a) in the seating and (b) in the
cold. The one I flew (an E model) had a chair type plywood seat that
was really uncomfortable for me after 2-3 hours. The 1-26 Association
has articles showing how you can pad the seat; if you buy one I'd
highly recommend doing so.

The other issue I had was flying in the cold - this was because of the
breeze coming from the tow hook. Flying in 35 degree F weather, my
feet lost all feeling after half an hour. Again, if you buy one you
can use a simple flap of material to kill the breeze.

-John

Exactly. My 5 hour flight was in a 1-26 on the Harris Hill ridge in
the early spring. At around 2 hours I would hit a thermal and say
to myself, "Hey, I can stay up longer!". At around 4 hours I would
hit a thermal and say to myself, "Crap, I gotta stay up longer!"
It was great fun as my first single seater, but I've never seriously
considered owning one.

One other option is to look into the HP crowd. They're homebuilt,
which has its own set of problems, but the price range is similar,
they're made out of metal so you can tie them out, and (in theory)
they go a lot better than the 1-26. They are flap-only for landing,
which is not as scary as it sounds. At a price similar to the 1-34 is
the 1-35, which can be easier to find and goes better (and goes
together
better), although it is flap-only as well.

-- Matt

"mattm" wrote in message ...

.... Snip ....

One other option is to look into the HP crowd. They're homebuilt,
which has its own set of problems, but the price range is similar,
they're made out of metal so you can tie them out, and (in theory)
they go a lot better than the 1-26. They are flap-only for landing,
which is not as scary as it sounds. At a price similar to the 1-34 is
the 1-35, which can be easier to find and goes better (and goes
together better), although it is flap-only as well.

-- Matt

I guess you could classify me as part of the HP crowd. I have owned two and am currently flying a HP14. (http://tinyurl.com/N990-6F) There is a lot of information on Dick Schreder's designs on my website. (http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder)

While looking for more performance then a 1-26 don't over look the PIK-20B. They are in the same price range as the 1-35.

Wayne
http://www.soaridaho.com/