Phoebus A as a first glider

On Mon, 16 Apr 2018 15:38:16 -0700, son_of_flubber wrote:

What is the spin warning/entry behavior of these first generation ships
and does that matter for a new pilot?

As someone who learnt to fly in the UK, I'd say that spin awareness and
recovery matters for every pilot, and especially for a new soloed one,
because he's likely to be a bit more ham-fisted than a more experienced
pilot. Over here you can't go solo without having demonstrated spin
recognition and recovery to your instructor and gotten his sign-off.

And, to make sure that remains a current skill, we repeat that exercise
every year, along with failed winch launch exercises, before the summer
soaring season starts. No launch failure and spin sign-offs, no solo
flying until you have them.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

Here ya go, a visual on a decent enough trailer set up. Not in this setup, but the wings are often crisscrossed in the trailer with the Phoebus for some reason, which adds a little bit of monkey business when rigging and de-rigging. Pay particular attention to how the fuselage lives securely in the cradle.
Only the C model had that parachute of course, which is pretty cool... And probably fun to play around with if you're living on grassy fields, wouldn't last too long out in the Wild West.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GY4NmiJc6o

Originally Posted by John Foster

What are your thoughts regarding the Phoebus A as a first glider for a low-time pilot who received their training in a 2-33? I have the opportunity to acquire a Phoebus for a very good price from the club that I'm training with, but it has not flown in over 15yrs. No one knows of any obvious problems with it, but no one can say it is OK either. It does not come with a trailer.

Mine derigs with wings on ea side of fuse. It the airstream of glider trailers I guess but it works.

The wings are often crisscrossed on older glider trailers in general. And they frequently put the wings in tip first so you have to walk the heaviest part of the wing the longest distance. I think the old style trailers were part of a conspiracy involving osteopaths, orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists to ensure a steady of supply of patients. If you get an older ship (first or early second generation glass) you can count yourself very lucky if you get a trailer that has the fuselage go in nose first, the wings root first, left wing on the left, right wing on the right and you don't have to pull everything out to rig over top of the damn trailer tongue. You're really in clover if your trailer allows you to leave the horizontal stabilizer safely in the trailer until the wings are on!