Good sailplanes for tall pilots?

On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 11:29:19 AM UTC-4, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 3:56:37 PM UTC+3, wrote:
Le jeudi 8 septembre 2016 13:54:56 UTC+2, a écritÂ*:
On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 6:12:37 AM UTC-5, joesimmers wrote:
Since you are snug in the G103, the roomiest cockpit
out there is the Genesis.


Now that I think about it, I recall that the G103 had some crazy thick pads in the seat. At the time, I was fairly new to gliders, so it didn't occur to me that the pad thickness could be changed out. I think what I should do is:
1. Test the seat with no pads. If it's too tight, then that ship is off the list.
2. Test it with whatever pads the owner has. If I still fit, great. If not, then I know that a thinner pad will probably allow me to fit.
3. Research the availability of thinner pads for the glider described in #2 above. As long as I don't have to pay $2k for some custom-stitched job, I can get along.

Now parachutes are another story. Unless I have an acro bird, I do not plan to wear one. I hate them. And the thickness of a chute is likely to create insurmountable fit problems. Does anyone want to rebut these points? Or do I seem reasonable?

The roomiest cockpit by far (for modern gliders) is the DG-1000 / DG-1001 two-seater. Aerobatic with the 18 m tips, better performance of course with the 20 m tips. Even with a chute, it should be no problem at all.

DG1000 is very roomy in the back, but a bit narrow in the front!

I've sometimes contemplated throwing a bunch of ballast in the front and flying it solo from the back. But I've always managed to find a victim willing to sit in the front...

Are there many DG1000's available for less than $30,000?

On Friday, September 9, 2016 at 7:29:11 AM UTC+12, PGS wrote:
On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 11:29:19 AM UTC-4, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 3:56:37 PM UTC+3, wrote:
Le jeudi 8 septembre 2016 13:54:56 UTC+2, a écritÂ*:
On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 6:12:37 AM UTC-5, joesimmers wrote:
Since you are snug in the G103, the roomiest cockpit
out there is the Genesis.


Now that I think about it, I recall that the G103 had some crazy thick pads in the seat. At the time, I was fairly new to gliders, so it didn't occur to me that the pad thickness could be changed out. I think what I should do is:
1. Test the seat with no pads. If it's too tight, then that ship is off the list.
2. Test it with whatever pads the owner has. If I still fit, great.. If not, then I know that a thinner pad will probably allow me to fit.
3. Research the availability of thinner pads for the glider described in #2 above. As long as I don't have to pay $2k for some custom-stitched job, I can get along.

Now parachutes are another story. Unless I have an acro bird, I do not plan to wear one. I hate them. And the thickness of a chute is likely to create insurmountable fit problems. Does anyone want to rebut these points? Or do I seem reasonable?

The roomiest cockpit by far (for modern gliders) is the DG-1000 / DG-1001 two-seater. Aerobatic with the 18 m tips, better performance of course with the 20 m tips. Even with a chute, it should be no problem at all.

DG1000 is very roomy in the back, but a bit narrow in the front!

I've sometimes contemplated throwing a bunch of ballast in the front and flying it solo from the back. But I've always managed to find a victim willing to sit in the front...

Are there many DG1000's available for less than $30,000?

You might get a quarter or fifth share or so in one, depending on how it was set up :-)

I am 6'3". The grob 103 is comfortable without a parachute. But I don't fit with my parachute. A lark is a cheap two place ship if you can find one, but after an hour or so you'll be miserable.

For single place, an ASW19 is a great fit. You will need to remove the seat, which takes about 30 seconds. Its comfortable for at least 5 1/2 hours. The asw20 cockpit is the same design, so that might be a good fit also.

I'm 6'4" 175 lb. I co-owned a Twin Lark wit a couple of big tall guys, one my height but 190 lbs and one 6'2" 200 lbs. We could all fit in both cockpits, although it was a bit snug fo flights longer than 3 hors.
Branko

On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 6:13:40 PM UTC-5, Branko Stojkovic wrote:
I'm 6'4" 175 lb. I co-owned a Twin Lark wit a couple of big tall guys, one my height but 190 lbs and one 6'2" 200 lbs. We could all fit in both cockpits, although it was a bit snug fo flights longer than 3 hors.
Branko

You got to be kidding. A fiberglass 2-seater for under $30k? Not on this planet. All the types you mention are available - if you can find any - starting at $60-80k. They are mostly guaranteed to have bad gel coat. A reality check is in order.