L13/L23 gliders

No longer available as the manufacturer is concentrating on 40 year
old designs...

This is a 1956 design - pre Finite element analysis and CAD and all
those other things.
It was designed to build using the abundant cheap, skilled labour
available in the Soviet Union. I assume the factory stopped the rebuilds
because of simple economics...
You have to question whether it will be economically *viable to keep
this fleet flying.

I would love there to be an economical way to return them to service,
but am not optimistic.

Bruce


--
Bruce Greeff

Right.........so this "Pavel" guy is still a joke!

I wish my (former) club would just face facts and "get over it".
Their Blanik is junk. We got about 20 years of service for about
$12,000..........not a bad deal at all.....$600 a year.....(especially
when you count the twenty previous years of service somebody else got)

Our airport does need a new wind tee........they were quoted several
thousand to have one fabricated....hmmmmm...

Cookie


Cookie

On Feb 24, 7:09*am, This "Cookie" guy wrote:

Right.........so this "Pavel" guy is still a joke!

Mr. Pavel Rind represents a large engineering/maintenance company that
EASA has certified as a Continuing Airworthiness Management
Organization (CAMO). These certifications are not just handed out.
It is an expensive endeavor to be certified, and it is a major
accomplishment, especially in Eastern Europe. The name of the company
is Air-Tech Ltd http://www.air-tech.cz/index-a.htm They do first
class work on a large number of airframes and powerplants.

Mr. Pavel Rind is leading a small group of engineers on a trip to
deliver a completely restored Blanik L-23 to a customer in the UK.
Recognizing that such service is unusual, Mr. Pavel Rind has taken it
upon himself to offer his team's expertise to other owner/operators of
Blanik gliders in Britain.

Mr. Pavel Rind is in close communication with Aircraft Industries a.s.
and the Prague Research and Testing Institute (the people who are
working on the L-13 problem). The first implementation of any
approved modification to the L-13 will probably take place under the
supervision of Mr. Pavel Rind.

Mr. Pavel Rind is a dedicated professional with our interests at
heart. He is a hero, not a joke.

On Feb 24, 9:11*am, Pat Russell wrote:
On Feb 24, 7:09*am, This "Cookie" guy wrote:



Right.........so this "Pavel" guy is still a joke!

Mr. Pavel Rind represents a large engineering/maintenance company that
EASA has certified as a Continuing Airworthiness Management
Organization (CAMO). *These certifications are not just handed out.
It is an expensive endeavor to be certified, and it is a major
accomplishment, especially in Eastern Europe. *The name of the company
is Air-Tech Ltdhttp://www.air-tech.cz/index-a.htm*They do first
class work on a large number of airframes and powerplants.

Mr. Pavel Rind is leading a small group of engineers on a trip to
deliver a completely restored Blanik L-23 to a customer in the UK.
Recognizing that such service is unusual, Mr. Pavel Rind has taken it
upon himself to offer his team's expertise to other owner/operators of
Blanik gliders in Britain.

Mr. Pavel Rind is in close communication with Aircraft Industries a.s.
and the Prague Research and Testing Institute (the people who are
working on the L-13 problem). *The first implementation of any
approved modification to the L-13 will probably take place under the
supervision of Mr. Pavel Rind.

Mr. Pavel Rind is a dedicated professional with our interests at
heart. *He is a hero, not a joke.

We'll see how this all pans out.........March begins in 5 days!

I still see the humor in the original post, which seems to have
avoided the issue of (almost) worldwide grounding of the L-13.

Cookie

Ms? Cookie

I said nothing about Mr Rind, who I believe is a respected professional.

What I DID say is that the repair / maintenance for release to service
would probably be uneconomical . The opinion of the eddy current testing
professionals I spoke to around here is that the cost of special probes
and analysis required would probably be a substantial fraction of the
airframe's value. Considering that this test would probably have to be
repeated every 300-500 hours (one pessimist opined 100 hours) it becomes
a very expensive airframe to maintain in an airworthy state.

So - I hope to be proven wrong, and the comments from Mr Rind elsewhere
indicate that I may be.

Glider pilots are optimists - we have to be to get in an aircraft with
no means of propulsion and honestly expect to fly hundreds of
kilometres. Let's hope the optimism is justified in this case.

Cheers
Bruce

--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771 & Std Cirrus #57

Bruce,

That will be "MISTER" Cookie to you! LOL

We are in agreement about the state of the Blanik.....Also about Mr.
Rind.


I disagree with your optimism. I am pragmatic.

Mr. Cookie



On Feb 24, 4:43*pm, BruceGreeff wrote:
Ms? Cookie

I said nothing about Mr Rind, who I believe is a respected professional.

What I DID say is that the repair / maintenance for release to service
would probably be uneconomical . The opinion of the eddy current testing
professionals I spoke to around here is that the cost of special probes
and analysis required would probably be a substantial fraction of the
airframe's value. Considering that this test would probably have to be
repeated every 300-500 hours (one pessimist opined 100 hours) it becomes
a very expensive airframe to maintain in an airworthy state.

So - I hope to be proven wrong, and the comments from Mr Rind elsewhere
indicate that I may be.

Glider pilots are optimists - we have to be to get in an aircraft with
no means of propulsion and honestly expect to fly hundreds of
kilometres. Let's hope the optimism is justified in this case.

Cheers
Bruce

--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771 & Std Cirrus #57