1-26 for first glider, or not?

I think the best of the wood homebuilts is the Woodstock. It was the
last of the breed pretty much and benefits from the earlier designs.
But, it doesn't carry a big pilot. One just sold for $1500 with
enclosed trailer and out of annual. They fly like a dream and perform
better than the 126. Super easy to rig too. You'll never get your
money out of an old homebuilt but you don't have to put much in to
begin with so... Dusters are fine, Terns have puny airbrakes, BG12s
are flaps only, Chrokees aren't available because some chucklehead in
Kansas has cornered the market...

Cherokees aren't available because some chucklehead in
Kansas has cornered the market...

Hey, you all had your chance...

On 12 Nov, 23:20, Steve Leonard wrote:
On Nov 12, 9:41*pm, wrote:

" For performance, I would take the 1-23. *But I think the 1-23 may be
a
bit easier to put together. *The 1-23 uses taper pins to attach the
wings. *The 1-26 uses straight bolts. "

The 1-23 pretty much needs three people to get the wings on and off
(it takes two people on the root due to its width), and getting the
wings on and off a typical Schweizer open trailer is no fun without a
strong crew. I keep mine assembled all season (and only "land-out" at
airports!).

On Nov 13, 8:52*am, Scott Lamont wrote:
On 12 Nov, 23:20, Steve Leonard wrote:

On Nov 12, 9:41*pm, wrote:

" For performance, I would take the 1-23. *But I think the 1-23 may be
a

bit easier to put together. *The 1-23 uses taper pins to attach the
wings. *The 1-26 uses straight bolts. "

The 1-23 pretty much needs three people to get the wings on and off
(it takes two people on the root due to its width), and getting the
wings on and off a typical Schweizer open trailer is no fun without a
strong crew. I keep mine assembled all season (and only "land-out" at
airports!).

Steve's advice is very good. I store my Ka-6 in its covered trailer,
and assemble every time I fly.Putting on the wings is best done with
three people (two at the root, one at the tip). I can be done with
twobut it is much more difficult to line up the lift pin fittings
without someone on the trailing edge. Now that I know what I'm doing I
really only need about 5 minutes of help when putting on the wing.
Wing pins are all straight pins, and the control hookups are very
easily accessible.

Pete

On Nov 13, 10:27*am, vontresc wrote:
On Nov 13, 8:52*am, Scott Lamont wrote:

On 12 Nov, 23:20, Steve Leonard wrote:

On Nov 12, 9:41*pm, wrote:

" For performance, I would take the 1-23. *But I think the 1-23 may be
a

bit easier to put together. *The 1-23 uses taper pins to attach the
wings. *The 1-26 uses straight bolts. "

The 1-23 pretty much needs three people to get the wings on and off
(it takes two people on the root due to its width), and getting the
wings on and off a typical Schweizer open trailer is no fun without a
strong crew. I keep mine assembled all season (and only "land-out" at
airports!).

Steve's advice is very good. I store my Ka-6 in its covered trailer,
and assemble every time I fly.Putting on the wings is best done with
three people (two at the root, one at the tip). I can be done with
twobut it is much more difficult to line up the lift pin fittings
without someone on the trailing edge. Now that I know what I'm doing I
really only need about 5 minutes of help when putting on the wing.
Wing pins are all straight pins, and the control hookups are very
easily accessible.

Pete

I'm part owner of a 27b and am trying to figure out a way to buy a 26
to play with. Yes, the Inquisition helped design the seating and
don't penetrate, but they are great fun.

Chip F.

The 1-26 is light, responsive and fun to fly. I'm a bit biased
against it because I'm big and don't fit very well (1/4" foam as a
cushion against the metal floor and I still hit the canopy!). Upright
seating, rather noisy. Trim mechanism may be wonky in some. (I'll
grant that I've only flown 2 at my club, private ships are probably
maintained to suit the owner).

But the 1-26 FLOATS! It'll stay up when everyone else comes down.
Slow thermalling speed, tight turns, it'll outclimb pretty much
anything except the turkey vultures. You lose in the penetration,
though... heading upwind is a recipe for disaster, as the polar drops
off quickly. Downwind dashes can be fun, but there's work at the end
of the flight to bring it home.

The 1-26 does teach some "bad habits", though:
1) You'll never meet a thermal you don't like
2) You'll avoid going upwind
3) You won't fly when it's gets windy, because you won't get back to
your airport

The 1-23 gives much better performance without too much of a price
increase. The higher number models of New York Iron give even more
performance, but more cost.

The 1-26 association gives lots of support and events and has a very
loyal following.

Pick your ship based on what you want to do and how much money you can
afford... then go out and ENJOY it!

On Nov 12, 10:48*am, hretting wrote:
On the other end of the scale.....if your plan is to eventually move
up the performance ladder....avoid the 1-26. The 1-26 is a specific
loved glider that borders on thumb screws and bamboo torture. If
you're the type of guy that has been driving the same VW since college
and loves how that old electric saw still works even though it sparks
enough to weld, then ya...the 1-26 is for you.
A tough find if you're patience would be the 1-34. It will cost you
double but give you more joy. You can park it outside like the 26 and
after you put a 1000 hours on it, get all your money back.
The 1-26 is a learning utility glider that comes with a group of
radicals that...and this is where they excel....are much friendlier
and easy going and like landings as much as the tows.
You will never see the boundaries of soaring from a 1-26. The key to
that will always be L/D.
I burned my Nov. edition. Had a Cuba Libre with it. Bacardi..Black
R

I know of three former, including two recent World Team members that
were former 1-26 drivers. I know that when they talk of their flights
and experiences in the 1-26, they do it with a smiles, laughs and a
continuing bond to both the bird and the community of pilots (read
personalities) who fly them. One of these three even won the
Barringer Trophy for the longest unhandicapped straight out flight in
a calendar year, just like your great winning flight in the Discus 2
last year. So R, I must disagree. It's a great teaching machine for
those who want to learn a lot about thermals, persistence, landouts in
small fields and humility, all while providing the satisfaction of
accomplishment in low performance, through badges, records and contest
showings. Yep, contest showings. 1-26s have placed high in Regionals
too.

You can always move to glass but I would encourage anyone to fly the
1-26 for a while too. Then you can look back someday with smiles,
laughs and experience, as we do. Or, you can keep it and build on
your accomplishments like Ron Schwartz and many others.

7K

Well 7K....he lives along the east coast of central Fl. where I flew a
club 1-26 for years struggling to make it back to the airport through
the marine air, or not being able to reach the soarable conditions
while others were having a ball. I suppose he could ridge soar on the
300' high garbage dump along I-95.
My advice remains..... the 1-26 was created as a utilty glider to give
minimal results. They made a bunch of them. Sugar coating it to create
some soaring holiday is bad advice to Jim.
And finally, every world champion and Barringer Trophy winner started
off in crap, then they soloed, and then......
The 1-26 CAN be fun, when owned by a club or someone else. I sense Jim
is hungry for something better. The VW is rusty.
R

On Nov 13, 2:33*pm, hretting wrote:
Well 7K....he lives along the east coast of central Fl. where I flew a
club 1-26 for years struggling to make it back to the airport through
the marine air, or not being able to reach the soarable conditions
while others were having a ball. I suppose he could ridge soar on the

I meant east coast if the USA (west central FL). But I'm not sure it
makes much difference


-tom

On Nov 12, 9:36*am, tstock wrote:
I know I will get replies on each end of the spectrum... but for a
first glider, low time pilot, it seems like a 1-26 would be a good
choice. *Easy to fly, easy to land in tight spaces, cheap to maintain,
and very common and there are a few 1-26 groups, so help is
available. *It's inexpensive (well under $10,000 USD, more like $6K).
I happen to like "old" stuff, like VW busses, etc, so the vintage
aspect of the 1-26 appeals to me. *Also, I like the idea of starting
"at the beginning", maybe that's just me.

Of course, there is the option to buy an early fiberglass glider for
around 10K, but at that price it's likely a fairly uncommon glider,
hard to find parts for, and maybe not a good plane for a low time
pilot (flaps, etc). *20K would be better but right now that is outside
by budget.

I admit, reading the entire issue of the last soaring issue dedicated
to the 1-26 did lead me down this path. *My wife read it also and
started asking me questions about the 1-26.

So, before I start looking for a 1-26 is there any reason I should
not? *My plan would be to fly the 1-26 for about 5 years and then find
something more modern when funds allow and I've gained more
experience.

Opinions? *If prefer to stay out of the debate you can always email me
privately.

Thanks
-tom

Grob 102 would be an excellent venue in my opinion. It has a decent
LD and you can find them on the British market for around 8k USD with
about 2.5k USD for shipping costs. Just play it safe and get one that
has had the wing spiggot AD completed. Drop me a line if you want to
know more concerning this AD. I imported one last year with trailer
for a fantastic final price with trailer, wing AD done, less than 1700
hours on it. There are a couple on market now for close to that same
price.

I bought a wooden first sailplane for economy sake .. it was a
gorgeous vintage Scheibe with open trailer. It flew well but what a
pain with that trailer and the cumbersome rigging. Now mind you many
will say "but the 102 is a beast to rig", etc .. I can only say it is
no more a beast if you learn to rig it than any other typical glass.
It IS competitive in sports class (can be at least) and it thermals
very, very well. The wings aren't THAT cumbersome nor heavy and it
flies like a dream ... a proven, high production, safe ship for a
first rig. Not to mention a huge cockpit for comfort.

If you really want the 1-26 then get it. They are great machines in
their own right but are obvioulsy more limited in cross country
flying. But before you do, I hope you look at the real benefits of a
higher performance ship. If you have cross country aspirations, the
23/1 will get old quick I would wager, maybe not.

Best,
T2 (Grob Astir CS)