Next glider, ownership costs question?

On Monday, 20 November 2017 07:56:29 UTC+11, flgliderpilot wrote:
The problem with 1-26 is that you will have to be catching every thermal ahead of you or you
will have to hurry back to the last one to prevent to be landing out. You will land out with 1-26
a lot and with that the safe 1-26 has a risk factor. Go for something better performance. The
Libelle: My shoulder with is 19" and I cannot fit in the Libelle 201, however if you have 17.5"
will work for you. There is lots of leg room in the Libelle, a 6ft 3" tall person would fit in. There
is one for sale in St. Louis for $9500 (Wings and Wheels) with TWO trailers, (open and closed), has great vario, new canopy..... It is a nice glider and the seller is super nice.

True, this described my silver distance attempts exactly. I'd do 2/3's of the triangle and get stuck in a weak thermal trying over and over to get to the next thermal anywhere up wind. I'd have to scurry back re-gain altitude over until the thermal would break up and I'd land out. The challenge was of course fun at first but the cost of tow plane retrievals started to add up and take the joy out of it. But, I hadn't given up.

I may not actually fit in a Libelle... only 5'4 and around 200 pounds. Not all that fat but stocky and wide (and add parachute).

Then go for a Hornet (H206). Armchair cockpit, inflight adjustable seatback and rudder pedals. Lots of room. Goes just a bit better than a Libelle and and is even easier to rig, also has a T Tail. Support for this old line of gliders by Glasfaser is nothing short of superb.

On Sunday, November 19, 2017 at 3:54:35 PM UTC-6, FNQ Mark wrote:
On Monday, 20 November 2017 07:56:29 UTC+11, flgliderpilot wrote:
The problem with 1-26 is that you will have to be catching every thermal ahead of you or you
will have to hurry back to the last one to prevent to be landing out. You will land out with 1-26
a lot and with that the safe 1-26 has a risk factor. Go for something better performance. The
Libelle: My shoulder with is 19" and I cannot fit in the Libelle 201, however if you have 17.5"
will work for you. There is lots of leg room in the Libelle, a 6ft 3" tall person would fit in. There
is one for sale in St. Louis for $9500 (Wings and Wheels) with TWO trailers, (open and closed), has great vario, new canopy..... It is a nice glider and the seller is super nice.

True, this described my silver distance attempts exactly. I'd do 2/3's of the triangle and get stuck in a weak thermal trying over and over to get to the next thermal anywhere up wind. I'd have to scurry back re-gain altitude over until the thermal would break up and I'd land out. The challenge was of course fun at first but the cost of tow plane retrievals started to add up and take the joy out of it. But, I hadn't given up.

I may not actually fit in a Libelle... only 5'4 and around 200 pounds. Not all that fat but stocky and wide (and add parachute).

Then go for a Hornet (H206). Armchair cockpit, inflight adjustable seatback and rudder pedals. Lots of room. Goes just a bit better than a Libelle and and is even easier to rig, also has a T Tail. Support for this old line of gliders by Glasfaser is nothing short of superb.

I've never been around either Hornets or libelles, but I'm 6'2" 245lbs, and I love my standard cirrus.
Scott

On Sun, 19 Nov 2017 15:50:01 -0800, Scott Williams wrote:

On Sunday, November 19, 2017 at 3:54:35 PM UTC-6, FNQ Mark wrote:
On Monday, 20 November 2017 07:56:29 UTC+11, flgliderpilot wrote:
The problem with 1-26 is that you will have to be catching every
thermal ahead of you or you
will have to hurry back to the last one to prevent to be landing
out. You will land out with 1-26 a lot and with that the safe 1-26
has a risk factor. Go for something better performance. The Libelle:
My shoulder with is 19" and I cannot fit in the Libelle 201, however
if you have 17.5"
will work for you. There is lots of leg room in the Libelle, a 6ft
3" tall person would fit in. There is one for sale in St. Louis for
$9500 (Wings and Wheels) with TWO trailers, (open and closed), has
great vario, new canopy..... It is a nice glider and the seller is
super nice.

True, this described my silver distance attempts exactly. I'd do
2/3's of the triangle and get stuck in a weak thermal trying over and
over to get to the next thermal anywhere up wind. I'd have to scurry
back re-gain altitude over until the thermal would break up and I'd
land out. The challenge was of course fun at first but the cost of
tow plane retrievals started to add up and take the joy out of it.
But, I hadn't given up.

I may not actually fit in a Libelle... only 5'4 and around 200
pounds. Not all that fat but stocky and wide (and add parachute).

Then go for a Hornet (H206). Armchair cockpit, inflight adjustable
seatback and rudder pedals. Lots of room. Goes just a bit better than a
Libelle and and is even easier to rig, also has a T Tail. Support for
this old line of gliders by Glasfaser is nothing short of superb.

I've never been around either Hornets or libelles, but I'm 6'2" 245lbs,
and I love my standard cirrus.
Scott

Libelle max seat weight is 110 kg, so you would be pushing the limit, and
how its distributed would have a major effect on whether you'd be
comfortable in a Libelle. Please treat this as advice to the OP, not
criticism!

I've sat in a late model Std Cirrus (one with elevators, not an all-
flying tailplane), but never had the opportunity to fly one.

I'm really pleased to hear that you like your Std Cirrus: it seems we're
both happy campers in our respective mounts.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

There could be a Club Libelle for sale at my club near Toronto if that is of interest to anyone. Was refinished about 10 years ago and has not flown more than a couple of hours since then. Not currently listed and I don't own it, I just know the owner could be convinced to sell it if someone asked..

On Sunday, November 19, 2017 at 7:45:45 PM UTC-6, Dave Springford wrote:
There could be a Club Libelle for sale at my club near Toronto if that is of interest to anyone. Was refinished about 10 years ago and has not flown more than a couple of hours since then. Not currently listed and I don't own it, I just know the owner could be convinced to sell it if someone asked.


Hi. I fly at FLF in Austin, Tx; a low time glider pilot. And think Club Libelle may be a good match. Kindly email me a picture / price, and lets see if we can work something out. Thanking you for the help. Ed Khan (cell # 504-256-3929)