Future Club Training Gliders

Funnily enough, my first trial flight was at Cambridge Club: I was
launched in a K13 and had a short thermalling flight, but never went
back because I was expecting a sleek fibreglass machine rather than
something that was older than I was (29 at the time).
I ended up joining London gliding club, whos had a fleet of 6 K21's,
and went solo in one of their K23's (a single seat version of a K21)

On Nov 6, 9:02*am, Martin Gregorie
wrote:
On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:44:18 -0500, Jim Logajan wrote:
"noel.wade" wrote:
On Sep 15, 10:14*am, "Surfer!" wrote:

But since the Schweizer seems to be the training ship of choice in
most U
S
clubs that shouldn't be a surprise. *It's certainly not (IMHO) an
endorsement of them.

I couldn't agree more! *As a "younger" glider pilot myself (29 when I
started), let me make a few assertions:

1) Do you think you can get *ANY* young person interested in soaring if
what they see is a 2-33? After playing any modern computer game? After
watching movies like "The Fast and the Furious"? *The 2-33 looks like a
dog and flies slowly.

I started lessons when I was 52. I didn't have a problem with the club's
2-33 because it is possible I'm not a shallow youth anymore. ;-)

I started learning when I was 54, and that was certainly thanks to a ride
in an ASK-21. I'd had a couple of trial flights 8-10 years previously in
an ASK-13, but though it was a nice experience it didn't inspire me to
take up gliding. However, and I don't know why, that flight in an ASK-21
in the fall of '99 at Front Royale set the hook and I joined Cambridge GC
in the UK at the start of the 2000 season, picking them for no better
reason than they were the only local club with a glass training fleet. As
it happened I couldn't have chosen better given the club's strong xc
culture. This became apparent at the 2001 Regionals when I got my first
cross-country ride in the club's G103: I had a ring-side seat as my P1
won the day on handicap.

--
martin@ * | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org * * * |- Hide quoted text -

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On Nov 9, 4:34*am, Derek ruddock wrote:
Funnily enough, my first trial flight was at Cambridge Club: I was
launched in a K13 and had a short thermalling flight, but never went
back because I was expecting a sleek fibreglass machine rather than
something that was older than I was (29 at the time).
I ended up joining London gliding club, whos had a fleet of 6 K21's,
and went solo in one of their K23's (a single seat version of a K21)


Lasham runs a large fleet of elderly K13s, albeit with nosewheel
conversions. I often wonder to what extent they put people off
gliding. However they are excellent trainers, with just enough vices
to teach pilots to deal with anything they may come across later in
their careers. We have a couple of K21s, but they are so bland and
easy to fly that they might cause problems later on, IMHO as an
instructor. We mainly use them for aerobatic training, glass
conversions and general fun flying.

The advantages of the K13 also include low capital value and lower
insurance costs. In fact Lasham's K13s are only insured for third
party and seat insurance, as required by EASA regulations. If we
damage them, they are either repaired by our in house maintenance
organisation or scrapped, not that we have had to do that for a long
time.

Derek C