Minden Tube.

Curiously.
how does a minden tube differ from a normal tube or clamshell?

On May 20, 4:17*pm, quietpilot wrote:
Curiously.
how does a minden tube differ from a normal tube or clamshell?

Though it was made in the 1980s, it is not totally tubular.

Thanks, Bob K.

On May 21, 10:17*am, Bob Kuykendall wrote:
On May 20, 4:17*pm, quietpilot wrote:

Curiously.
how does a minden tube differ from a normal tube or clamshell?

Though it was made in the 1980s, it is not totally tubular.

Thanks, Bob K.

No, but it can be bitch'in.

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 9:47:37 AM UTC-5, Whiskey Delta wrote:
On May 21, 10:17*am, Bob Kuykendall wrote: On May 20, 4:17*pm, quietpilot wrote: Curiously. how does a minden tube differ from a normal tube or clamshell? Though it was made in the 1980s, it is not totally tubular. Thanks, Bob K. No, but it can be bitch'in.

a radical departure from the norm?

On Monday, May 20, 2013 6:17:24 PM UTC-5, quietpilot wrote:
Curiously. how does a minden tube differ from a normal tube or clamshell?

Tubes and Clamshells are two subsets of trailers. Tubes and boxes open at one or both ends to let the glider in and out. Clamshells have all or part of the top swing up to let the glider in and out.

Minden Tubes are square alminum frame hoops on 2 foot centers, with skins running lengthwise along the trailer. One on each side, and one over the top. Interesting extrusion at the bottom, and generally have a wooden floor. They also added an extra skin to the inside of the trailer around the cutout for the vertical fin box.

Schreder Tubes are all 1 inch square aluminum tube frames (floor and hoops) with hoops on 4 foot centers, skins wrap from one side, over the top, to the other side. Generally have an aluminum floor.

Pfeiffer Tubes are steel tube truss sides, wooden floors, fiberglass hoops and skins.

Komet's are gnarly. Cobra's are Bitch'in.

Then, there was a Swiss company that made egg shaped trailers.

So, as you can see, there really is no "norm" for trailers. Other than two wheels is the generally accepted "norm". Have had a couple of 4 wheeled glider trailers. They are now two wheeled glider trailers, and I am much happier now. Ready for thread shift? :-)

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 2:30:24 PM UTC-4, Steve Leonard wrote:
On Monday, May 20, 2013 6:17:24 PM UTC-5, quietpilot wrote:

Curiously. how does a minden tube differ from a normal tube or clamshell?



Tubes and Clamshells are two subsets of trailers. Tubes and boxes open at one or both ends to let the glider in and out. Clamshells have all or part of the top swing up to let the glider in and out.



Minden Tubes are square alminum frame hoops on 2 foot centers, with skins running lengthwise along the trailer. One on each side, and one over the top. Interesting extrusion at the bottom, and generally have a wooden floor. They also added an extra skin to the inside of the trailer around the cutout for the vertical fin box.



Schreder Tubes are all 1 inch square aluminum tube frames (floor and hoops) with hoops on 4 foot centers, skins wrap from one side, over the top, to the other side. Generally have an aluminum floor.



Pfeiffer Tubes are steel tube truss sides, wooden floors, fiberglass hoops and skins.



Komet's are gnarly. Cobra's are Bitch'in.



Then, there was a Swiss company that made egg shaped trailers.



So, as you can see, there really is no "norm" for trailers. Other than two wheels is the generally accepted "norm". Have had a couple of 4 wheeled glider trailers. They are now two wheeled glider trailers, and I am much happier now. Ready for thread shift? :-)

Don't forget about the UK. They've got their own brands of curious and quirky trailers. A friend of mine had an LS4 here in the US that somehow ended up in a British trailer. IIRC, either the fuselage or the wings went in "backwards" resulting in a whole dance at the time of assembly/disassembly.. It wasn't a Shirenewton... maybe an Angus-something-or-other?

On 22/05/2013 08:50, Papa3 wrote:

Don't forget about the UK. They've got their own brands of curious
and quirky trailers. A friend of mine had an LS4 here in the US that
somehow ended up in a British trailer. IIRC, either the fuselage or
the wings went in "backwards" resulting in a whole dance at the time
of assembly/disassembly. It wasn't a Shirenewton... maybe an
Angus-something-or-other?

Aberdeen Angus, I think - or maybe Poll Hereford. Is that the trailer
where the fuselage and wings go in from the hitch end, not the number
plate end?

Or is it the one with the door at the hitch end where the wigtips go in
first on a strop which runs in a track on the roof - until it jams
halfway in and you can't get past the wing and fuselage to disgorge it
(or whatever you need to do with jammed wheels in tracks).

GC

On Wednesday, May 22, 2013 1:35:24 AM UTC-5, GC wrote:
Aberdeen Angus, I think - or maybe Poll Hereford. Is that the trailer where the fuselage and wings go in from the hitch end, not the number plate end? Or is it the one with the door at the hitch end where the wigtips go in first on a strop which runs in a track on the roof - until it jams halfway in and you can't get past the wing and fuselage to disgorge it (or whatever you need to do with jammed wheels in tracks). GC

Ugh. Yes, the early Schleicher trailer has you hang the tip in a strap that runs in a track along the roof, tip went in first, and you carried the root out. Great fun with an AS-W12. Not as bad with a 15. Some US Made Sailplane Associates trailers do this, too. But, a lot of them load through the number plate end. Early Schleicher loaded over the hitch. Then, there were the ones that had the hitch that got un-pinned from one side and swung out of the way for loading from the hitch end.

Thank goodness we have evolved as we have. Those old trailers were a royal pain in the Arse!

On 5/22/2013 1:29 PM, Steve Leonard wrote:
On Wednesday, May 22, 2013 1:35:24 AM UTC-5, GC wrote:
Aberdeen Angus, I think - or maybe Poll Hereford. Is that the trailer
where the fuselage and wings go in from the hitch end, not the number
plate end? Or is it the one with the door at the hitch end where the
wigtips go in first on a strop which runs in a track on the roof - until
it jams halfway in and you can't get past the wing and fuselage to
disgorge it (or whatever you need to do with jammed wheels in tracks).
GC

Ugh. Yes, the early Schleicher trailer has you hang the tip in a strap
that runs in a track along the roof, tip went in first, and you carried the
root out. Great fun with an AS-W12. Not as bad with a 15. Some US Made
Sailplane Associates trailers do this, too. But, a lot of them load
through the number plate end. Early Schleicher loaded over the hitch.
Then, there were the ones that had the hitch that got un-pinned from one
side and swung out of the way for loading from the hitch end.

Thank goodness we have evolved as we have. Those old trailers were a royal
pain in the Arse!


Haw! They were a PITA even "way back when (I was young and stupid)!!!" They
haven't improved with age - theirs OR mine.

Sailplane trailer evolution is a classic case of darwinism in
action...combined with intelligent design...uh oh, I may be in trouble with
some portions of society here.

Bob - I'll be leaving now, my work here is done - W.

P.S. For the life of me, I've NEVER been able to imagine even a
half-baked-rationale why anyone would have EVER designed a glider trailer to
load/unload over the tongue. I owned one once. I let the neighbor kids destroy
it with sledgehammers, then burned the resulting splinters. Both events were
immensely soul-satisfying for all concerned.

"Then, there was a Swiss company that made egg shaped trailers. "

We've got one with a Twin Astir RG in it. Ouch. Great for removing gelcoat and skin and punishing your muscles. Assembling it out of that trailer always makes me wish there really was a product called Flintstones' Chewable Morphine available. Since there isn't I usually end up grading how well an assembly went by the number of scrapes/cuts/Advils taken afterwards.