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#11
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#12
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My Russia works out at about 7 lbs/sq ft. Last September
I shared a thermal with a Sparrowhawk - it was turning tight and climbing just a shade better than me. And it's probably a little faster in cruise as well. To my mind a 'serious cross-country ship' in the West needs to carry 'serious landout and safety equipment'. How much space and weight can the Sparrowhawk offer when you're sitting in the cockpit ? Ian At 05:42 09 June 2005, Eric Greenwell wrote: Tim.Ward wrote: Well, while the weight is low, the wing is small, so the wing loading is probably similar to a 1-26. It's actually much higher than a 1-26. The 1-26 is rated at 3.6 pounds/sq ft; the SparrowHawk is typically 5 to 6 pounds/sq ft. This makes a big difference! This wing loading is about the same as Russia AC-4, which is similar in performance. As to resale price, that's a tougher one, because I have not seen one offered on the used market. I find that interesting, because I seem to remember that nearly as soon as the Russias and PW5s became available new, they became available used. Tim Ward -- Change 'netto' to 'net' to email me directly Eric Greenwell Washington State USA |
#13
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Hmmm...not to dis' the PW5 or Russia, which I think
fit their missions well, the Sparrowhawk seems to be very, very different from a typical sailplane, while the PW-5 and Russia are not. Something of an engineering marvel, in my opinion. Haven't flown one yet, but the idea of a 145# or so glider with that kind of no-flap performance is simply mindblowing to me. If it weren't for the over 50% price increase (over the past few years) listed on the website, I suspect it would have generated quite a few more sales. $22k vs. $35k is enough to make some tilters (like me) consider other options. But it looks like they are still gaining interested buyers. At 23:24 08 June 2005, Tim.Ward wrote: As to resale price, that's a tougher one, because I have not seen one offered on the used market. I find that interesting, because I seem to remember that nearly as soon as the Russias and PW5s became available new, they became available used. Tim Ward Mark J. Boyd |
#14
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Something of an engineering marvel, in my opinion. Pleaseee, if SH is an "engineering marvel" then constructor of Pewee should get a Nopel prize... |
#15
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M B wrote: Something of an engineering marvel, in my opinion. Haven't flown one yet, but the idea of a 145# or so glider with that kind of no-flap performance is simply mindblowing to me. What kind of performance? I am still waiting on an independent flight test of this ship. The idea of an 11 meter ship with 36:1 glide ratio seems unrealistic. I also wondered how a 150 pound sailplane would have any penetration into the wind. $22k vs. $35k is enough to make some tilters (like me) consider other options. I briefly considered this ship until I saw the price vs performance. With instruments and trailer, this comes out to $40k, for that I can buy that's two used libelles that can really go 38:1. |
#16
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On 9 Jun 2005 05:57:34 GMT, Ian Cant
wrote: My Russia works out at about 7 lbs/sq ft. Last September I shared a thermal with a Sparrowhawk - it was turning tight and climbing just a shade better than me. And it's probably a little faster in cruise as well. To my mind a 'serious cross-country ship' in the West needs to carry 'serious landout and safety equipment'. How much space and weight can the Sparrowhawk offer when you're sitting in the cockpit ? Ian The cockpit is very roomy, and the instrument panel lifts up with the canopy. |
#17
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On 9 Jun 2005 06:45:35 -0700, "Willie G" wrote:
M B wrote: Something of an engineering marvel, in my opinion. Haven't flown one yet, but the idea of a 145# or so glider with that kind of no-flap performance is simply mindblowing to me. What kind of performance? I am still waiting on an independent flight test of this ship. The idea of an 11 meter ship with 36:1 glide ratio seems unrealistic. I also wondered how a 150 pound sailplane would have any penetration into the wind. Isn't it the wing loading, rather than the gross weight of the aircraft, that is a factor? $22k vs. $35k is enough to make some tilters (like me) consider other options. I briefly considered this ship until I saw the price vs performance. With instruments and trailer, this comes out to $40k, for that I can buy that's two used libelles that can really go 38:1. |
#18
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In January both Dean Carswell and I performed a number of test
flights with the Sparrow Hawk at Caddo Mills, and we both were quite pleased with it. The results will appear in Soaring soon. It was very easy to fly, and to prove that, I somehow made 8 perfect (in my opinion anyway) landings in a row. My wing loading was 5.15 psf, but that included the 25 lb BRS parachute system. Dick Johnson |
#19
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The PW-5 has performance and materials and
weight within 30% of quite a few other gliders, including the Russia and Grob 102 club. If you are aware of a glider which has more than a dozen produced by the factory which is within 30% of the performance and empty weight of the Sparrowhawk, I would love to read about it. Please post this info or e-mail it to me. The Carbon Dragon seems the closest (and I also consider it an engineering marvel) but the difference is there is no factory producing a finished glider in any noticeable quantity. To my knowledge it is a onesy or twosy amateur built glider. flame suit on It also gets its performance by use of flaps, which I (being a tilter) consider cheating... :P At 11:00 09 June 2005, Gk wrote: Something of an engineering marvel, in my opinion. Pleaseee, if SH is an 'engineering marvel' then constructor of Pewee should get a Nopel prize... Mark J. Boyd |
#20
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Ian Cant wrote:
To my mind a 'serious cross-country ship' in the West needs to carry 'serious landout and safety equipment'. How much space and weight can the Sparrowhawk offer when you're sitting in the cockpit ? There is plenty of room behind the cockpit for the tiedowns and emergency kit you'd want to carry, and the 5-10 pounds of weight won't be a problem, except for the heaviest pilots with the BRS option installed. -- Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly Eric Greenwell Washington State USA |
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