US Air Force buys 19 DG-1000 trainiers

As a soaring pilot I welcome all efforts to expose young potential pilots
to soaring.

As a taxpayer, I want to see value for my money. Under-used AF L-33s did
not give value. For initial exposure in a modern glider, many more
ASK-21s for the same total price would give much better value; and would
be more welcome on the civil market when the AF gets bored with them.

Pity Schweizer or other US manufacturer is not around to compete [I wonder
if the contract was even competitive ?]

Ian





At 10:17 23 March 2011, Martin wrote:
I don't expect the USAFA to buy used, ancient gliders to teach its
cadets. I am delighted the USAF gives all cadets an exposure to
flying, and that they chose gliders as the means to do so.

And there's more than one instructor at my club - good ones, in fact -
who got started in soaring as cadets at the academy.

Bitching about this is like complaining that the army drives Abrams
tanks while I have to drive to work in my 10-year-old Subaru.
Different mission, different budget, different priorities.

On Mar 22, 2:52=A0pm, JS wrote:
Their cheapest hardware, but total landed cost will be about $5
million. Meanwhile most US clubs and commercial operators are using
trainers based on a circa 1940 single seat design and/or trying to
figure out what to do with a 1970s Czechoslovakian debacle.
Can't the USAFA racing team fly the DG1001s? Would that be stooping
too low?
The benefits of working for a company that prints its own money...
Jim

On Mar 22, 9:49=A0am, Mike the Strike wrote:



Almost certainly the cheapest flying hardware they have. =A0My take
is
I'd rather have the air-force guys flying gliders than anything
with
an engine in it.

Mike