Hi all

If anyone has an electronic version of the T59D manual I would much appreciate a
copy. I do have a paper version came with serial #1771. Unfortunately the
quality is poor and many of the diagrams are illegible (high acid paper + 30 years)

As an aside - I have the standard question - what is the real/realistic max L/D
of this beast.


For what it is worth I attempted to soar with the owner in the Kestrel, and me
in my Std Cirrus. Cirrus in club racing trim, with mylar gap seals, polished
surfaces and every possible gap sealed, but no ballast. Wayne brushed the worst
of the dust and mud drops (from the swallows in the hangar) off the top surfaces
on the Kestrel. No gap seals at all - not even tape...
Unfortunately this handicap was not enough to allow us to fly even remotely
together... The book says 1:44 - but I am not clear if that is for the 17m
version. It certainly appeared to be better to me - my Cirrus manages ~1:36 and
I was simply unable to stay in touch with the Kestrel. At 140 km/h, after 17km
for me he was at 24km, with the same height loss - (At 30km he was at 60km,
although he had lost 1,500" relative to the Cirrus at this point, due to me
thermalling so the comparison fails)

Simple extrapolation of the figures suggest 1:53 which is unlikely. Just
wondering what the number is.

I know a fair difference is probably because of better pilot and conditions, but
in this case we were flying very close together. The only part where I stayed
even remotely close was the 200 kph final glide - it looks like the longer wings
give greater drag here and the Kestrel was less "ahead" of the Cirrus after a
20km dash than the cruise experience would have indicated. He got there a lot
faster pulling out ~3km but with similar height loss...

She may no longer be competitive in any current racing class, but the Kestrel is
a serious XC machine. So any information on real world performance?