Blanik L-13

On Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 7:59:38 PM UTC+3, Frank Whiteley wrote:
On Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 5:35:04 AM UTC-7, Charles Longley wrote:
I had a long talk with Boise Pilot last night mostly about buying the 1-35 on Wings and Wheels. The conversation moved to his L-13 which piqued my interest. I am associated with an aerospace engineering company that specializes in serious sheet metal projects. The one picture I've seen of the factory mod looks relatively straightforward. I am trying to gauge how many L-13's are left in the US. And how much interest there is in resurrecting them.

Been a while since I looked at the issue. Before the FAA started requiring renewals there were about 190 on the FAA registry. However, a few people, clubs had multiple airframes for parts. A local L-13, before repainting, had three N-numbers showing on various locations. I'm sure several are similar, sporting wings and things from other airframes. That could be a potential issue in returning some to service. However many are still on the registry, my guessimate at the time of grounding was that about 90 were in serviceable condition. 2-3 people had just restored/repaired examples and were ready to return to service. Several had only a few hundred hours. At the prospect of recovering 2000 or more hours of service life at a reasonably recoverable cost might be of interest to a few.

The L-13 is, after all, better than the majority of training gliders in use in the USA.

FYI, regarding the possible FAA AMOC: Here is a recent response to an inquiry someone made to the SSA and posted elsewhere. The authors names have been removed, but this is a direct quote:

XXXX,

Ken Sorenson asked me to respond to your inquiry regarding the status of the Blanik L-13.

To date, the FAA has not approved any modification which would allow the Blanik L-13 to return to service in the US. Private (as in unofficial, off-the-record) discussions between the SSA and individuals within the FAA lead us to believe that it is doubtful that the FAA will ever approve one, as they raised concerns that came to light as a result of the fatal accident which resulted in the grounding. Their concerns center around the original basis of structural certification of the aircraft, issues which they raised but which have never been addressed/resolved by the certifying agency.

Having said that, attached is a recent letter (October, 2015) from Blanik Aircraft CZ via Blanik America to the L-13 owners of record. I will note that the FAA has not - as of this writing - approved this modification. As stated in the letter, the modification would extend (not add) the airframe life to 6000 hours. So if your airframe has over 6000 hours, it would not be eligible for modification.

Regards,

XXXX XXXX

I'm looking to purchase a Blanik 13 for decoration in my yard

On Monday, April 24, 2017 at 9:11:56 PM UTC-6, wrote:
I'm looking to purchase a Blanik 13 for decoration in my yard

Location would be helpful.

On Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 4:51:43 PM UTC-7, Tim Taylor wrote:
On Monday, April 24, 2017 at 9:11:56 PM UTC-6, wrote:
I'm looking to purchase a Blanik 13 for decoration in my yard

Location would be helpful.

Front yard or back yard?

On Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 7:51:43 PM UTC-4, Tim Taylor wrote:
On Monday, April 24, 2017 at 9:11:56 PM UTC-6, wrote:
I'm looking to purchase a Blanik 13 for decoration in my yard

Location would be helpful.


"Location would be helpful."

I would assume front yard......

Prison yard, more likely. Didn't the FAA approve a fix for these L13's? I think this is another "let me buy your Blanik for pennies so I can profit from my immorality". Forgive me if I'm wrong.
http://home.nwi.net/~blanikam/ba/news.htm

No, the FAA has not approved a repair. There is an EASA approval but the last word I got from "those in the know" the license holder was going to approach the FAA to get the approval done. A big part of that approval is that all repair individuals have to be trained by the group having the approval in Europe. The first thought was that interested USA repair personnel would go there to be trained and then the FAA would be approached for approval.. Allegedly there were no USA repair shops that jumped on that idea. Supposedly, now the plan is to get FAA approval first and hopefully train USA repair personnel here not in Europe. This is still a work in progress and realistically, the longer it goes the less likely it will happen.





Prison yard, more likely. Didn't the FAA approve a fix for these L13's? I think this is another "let me buy your Blanik for pennies so I can profit from my immorality". Forgive me if I'm wrong.
http://home.nwi.net/~blanikam/ba/news.htm