New member so bare with me, but PW5, how does she fly?

I'm a rather new glider pilot and I am about to fly on the PW5 as my instructor deems me to be competent after training on the G103, I've seen photos and the glider seems small and the wingspan is only 10 meters or so, so I was wondering how she flies. Any PW-5 experiences?

Thanks!
Happy gliding!

On Thursday, October 16, 2014 1:00:19 AM UTC-5, Howard Lau wrote:
I'm a rather new glider pilot and I am about to fly on the PW5 as my instructor deems me to be competent after training on the G103, I've seen photos and the glider seems small and the wingspan is only 10 meters or so, so I was wondering how she flies. Any PW-5 experiences?



Thanks!

Happy gliding!

Its a Joy to fly. it is very light and nimble compared to the Grob. but does not penetrate into the wind as well. Be careful as you lift off because it is very pitch sensitive. many people who are unprepared for this enter a PIO (pilot induced oscillation) the stick is very sensitive and new pilots often over-correct minor pitch problems. my recommendation is to pant your stick hand in your lap and hold the stick slightly back of neutral and move the stick with your fingers only until you are away from the ground. you will quickly get a sense of the stick forces and how little movement is necessary. landing attitude should place the horizon bisecting the compass on the glare-shield. remember that the brake is a trigger on the stick not at the end of the spoiler travel. the span is 13.4 meters FYI

On 2014-10-16 06:00:19 +0000, Howard Lau said:

I'm a rather new glider pilot and I am about to fly on the PW5 as my
instructor deems me to be competent after training on the G103, I've
seen photos and the glider seems small and the wingspan is only 10
meters or so, so I was wondering how she flies. Any PW-5 experiences?

A lot of people criticise the PW5, and the design contest which
resulted in it, but I think it does what it set out to do. Flying-wise,
anyway. It failed to sell thousands and expand gliding as a whole,
which was one of the hopes.

It's a very nice, responsive, docile glider to fly. Like all
single-seaters, it is lighter and more responsive than the Grob. You'll
feel the air much more (Grobs are known as steamrollers around here).

The glide angle is slightly worse than the Grob. Not enough to notice
or affect your planning at 50 - 55 knots, but it gets rapidly worse
above 65 or 70 knots. Don't fly above 65 knots unless you're in heavy
sink (or want to lose height).

On the plus side, the PW5 will circle much tighter and climb much
better than the Grob.

I've done contest flights up to 250 km in the PW5, in thermals. 500 km
would be a big flight in it and need an early start, but 300 is not a
problem.

If the flight doesn't go according to plan, it's very easy to land in a
field. The brakes work well for a steep approach, and the touchdown
speed is low. I've done a number of outlandings in the PW5 and paced
out each one. Normally I touch down about 30m from the fence (typical
NZ sheep/cattle farm fence about 4 ft high), and stop in another 30m.

I own a PW-5 and have about 75 hours in it. It is a great glider as stated by Quietpilot and Bruce.

One attraction is it has "no nasty habits". Stalling is a non event. The nose mushes down a slight bit and the glider starts flying again. Ditto in thermals.

Because it is lighter and smaller than the Grob, you do get bounced around more in a rough thermal.

It is a great "first single seat" glider to fly.

A prediction - Once you jump into the PeeWee, you will never want to fly the Grob solo again.

Lou

On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 11:00:19 PM UTC-7, Howard Lau wrote:
I'm a rather new glider pilot and I am about to fly on the PW5 as my instructor deems me to be competent after training on the G103, I've seen photos and the glider seems small and the wingspan is only 10 meters or so, so I was wondering how she flies. Any PW-5 experiences?



Thanks!

Happy gliding!

The canopy release and tow release look pretty similar. Don't mistake one for the other!

On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 11:00:19 PM UTC-7, Howard Lau wrote:
I'm a rather new glider pilot and I am about to fly on the PW5 as my instructor deems me to be competent after training on the G103, I've seen photos and the glider seems small and the wingspan is only 10 meters or so, so I was wondering how she flies. Any PW-5 experiences?



Thanks!

Happy gliding!

Is it Winter already? :-)

On Friday, October 17, 2014 5:18:27 AM UTC+8, Darryl Ramm wrote:
On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 11:00:19 PM UTC-7, Howard Lau wrote:

I'm a rather new glider pilot and I am about to fly on the PW5 as my instructor deems me to be competent after training on the G103, I've seen photos and the glider seems small and the wingspan is only 10 meters or so, so I was wondering how she flies. Any PW-5 experiences?







Thanks!



Happy gliding!



Is it Winter already? :-)

Darryl, I wish

On Thursday, October 16, 2014 3:05:26 PM UTC+8, quietpilot wrote:
On Thursday, October 16, 2014 1:00:19 AM UTC-5, Howard Lau wrote:

I'm a rather new glider pilot and I am about to fly on the PW5 as my instructor deems me to be competent after training on the G103, I've seen photos and the glider seems small and the wingspan is only 10 meters or so, so I was wondering how she flies. Any PW-5 experiences?







Thanks!



Happy gliding!



Its a Joy to fly. it is very light and nimble compared to the Grob. but does not penetrate into the wind as well. Be careful as you lift off because it is very pitch sensitive. many people who are unprepared for this enter a PIO (pilot induced oscillation) the stick is very sensitive and new pilots often over-correct minor pitch problems. my recommendation is to pant your stick hand in your lap and hold the stick slightly back of neutral and move the stick with your fingers only until you are away from the ground. you will quickly get a sense of the stick forces and how little movement is necessary. landing attitude should place the horizon bisecting the compass on the glare-shield. remember that the brake is a trigger on the stick not at the end of the spoiler travel. the span is 13.4 meters FYI

Thanks, sorry about the wingspan mistake!

Very docile stall-spin characteristics, easy to handle on the ground as when empty it is almost balanced on the main wheel, very directionally stable on take off and landing due to weight on the nose wheel though this does make it harder to change direction on rollout if needed. Very light and well harmonized controls and easy to assemble. As previously stated it climbs very well but starts coming down pretty quickly if you put on the speed.

There are some calendar life limited parts on the ship which may or may not have been replaced in accordance with the maintenance manual as referenced in the type certificate so that should be checked on any PW-5 being considered for purchase.

The big problem this glider (and others in the same performance class) faced was that the number of glider pilots is not increasing and glass ships have a very long life. This results in a fairly good supply of older standard class ships which could be purchased for less money and which offered better performance while still having acceptable flying characteristics. I really liked flying the PW-5 but when it came to my own money I bought an old, but very nice ASW-15b.

Years back a friend and I were asked to perform the FAA mandated Phase I
flight tests for a newly imported PW-5. We did ground launch and aero
tow, stalls, spins, rolls, loops, Cuban 8s, Immelmanns, aileron and
barrel rolls, and slow and high-speed flight. It was extremely easy to
take off and to land and, as I recall, had powerful dive brakes. It was
docile and well-behaved in all flight regimes. In fact, the only short
coming we could find was in its appearance. It did not attract the
expected (and hoped for) crowds of chicks...

Dan Marotta

On 10/16/2014 8:20 PM, wrote:
Very docile stall-spin characteristics, easy to handle on the ground as when empty it is almost balanced on the main wheel, very directionally stable on take off and landing due to weight on the nose wheel though this does make it harder to change direction on rollout if needed. Very light and well harmonized controls and easy to assemble. As previously stated it climbs very well but starts coming down pretty quickly if you put on the speed.

There are some calendar life limited parts on the ship which may or may not have been replaced in accordance with the maintenance manual as referenced in the type certificate so that should be checked on any PW-5 being considered for purchase.

The big problem this glider (and others in the same performance class) faced was that the number of glider pilots is not increasing and glass ships have a very long life. This results in a fairly good supply of older standard class ships which could be purchased for less money and which offered better performance while still having acceptable flying characteristics. I really liked flying the PW-5 but when it came to my own money I bought an old, but very nice ASW-15b.