300lb (130kg) pilot

On Sunday, March 8, 2015 at 8:34:01 PM UTC-4, Bruce Hoult wrote:

I've never been 300 lb, but I've been 285. ... I've never had any problem getting in or out of gliders, whether it be the back seat of the DG1000 or a PW5 or Libelle.

But the maximum pilot weight for the PW-5 is 242 lbs.. At 285 you'd be 43 pounds over allowable load. I guess that you're not concerned about overloading the glider.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 7:56:12 AM UTC+13, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Sunday, March 8, 2015 at 8:34:01 PM UTC-4, Bruce Hoult wrote:

I've never been 300 lb, but I've been 285. ... I've never had any problem getting in or out of gliders, whether it be the back seat of the DG1000 or a PW5 or Libelle.

But the maximum pilot weight for the PW-5 is 242 lbs.. At 285 you'd be 43 pounds over allowable load. I guess that you're not concerned about overloading the glider.

The PW-5 and every other glider listed.

And, no, I'm not concerned about 6.5% more than placarded max gross if I'm not going to do aerobatics or fly along a bumpy ridge line at Vne.

Once you have a pilot's licence, you may do whatever you want (btw, vne is not affected by exceeding masses...).
The problem comes before having the licence - at some point the student pilot needs to go solo, and if he exceeds the max load in the seat, or maximum payload, or CofG range, he needs a really dumb FI to send him off. I for my part have told prospective student pilots in such cases that there is no way.

On the max seat load, the Calif A21S doesn't have any limitations. There is just a maximum load in the cockpit which is in the range 180-200kg. I've flown it with quite massive passengers, and space is not a problem (the controls on the center console are a bit forward).

TW

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 9:48:20 PM UTC+13, Tango Whisky wrote:
Once you have a pilot's licence, you may do whatever you want (btw, vne is not affected by exceeding masses...).

No, but rough air speed and manoeuvring speed are.

The 242lb/110kg maximum cockpit load started out as the JAR22 airworthiness
requirement for a type certificate. The glider, when it came off the
production line had to ahve a minimum cockpit load, with basic instruments
fitted, of not more than 70kg/154lbs and a maximum of not less than
110kg/242lbs. The manufacturers specification and the type certificate
would specify a maximum weight of non-lifting surfaces and forward and aft
C of G limits. These usually resulted in max and min cockpit loads
comfortably in excess of the requirements. The individual aircraft could
then be weighed and placarded with the actual loads permitted. Some long
time ago the manufacturers got lazy and started placarding all of the
gliders with 70kg min, 110kg max when they left the factory. We used to
re-weigh them when they arrived in the UK and placard the real figures,
usually considerably more generous.

At 01:29 10 March 2015, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 7:56:12 AM UTC+13, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Sunday, March 8, 2015 at 8:34:01 PM UTC-4, Bruce Hoult wrote:

I've never been 300 lb, but I've been 285. ... I've never had any
problem getting in or out of gliders, whether it be the back seat of the
DG1000 or a PW5 or Libelle.

But the maximum pilot weight for the PW-5 is 242 lbs.. At 285 you'd be
43
pounds over allowable load. I guess that you're not concerned about
overloading the glider.

The PW-5 and every other glider listed.

And, no, I'm not concerned about 6.5% more than placarded max gross if
I'm
not going to do aerobatics or fly along a bumpy ridge line at Vne.