Fortunately we dont look on our pilots the same as our aircraft.
If old and ugly and lacking in performance put us out in the paddock,
scrapheap or in the musuem i would have had to give up gliding a while ago. And
i suspect i wouldnt be alone??
Personally i enjoy flying all aircraft from glass to ali and wood. 50 to 1 or
15 to1 there all damn good fun and i have been lucky enough to flown many
different types and cant think of one i didnt enjoy (even the T53b).
My concern and i have seen it at my own club is the misinformation surronding
older aircraft ,eg that wood falls apart if wet (more damage has been done to
our k13 putting it in the hanger in a hurry than the rain ever would) and you
cant do a 50/300k badge in anythink less than a glass ship,etc,etc.
I agree that a fleet of shiny white glass ships will be more attractive in
regards membership but a cheap alternative for the budget minded or new young
member who might be flipping burgers to pay for it isnt such a bad idea. Might
keep more people in the sport if we make it more affordable. Next ill be
wanting to winch lauch....whoops quick delete that!!
I also agree the blaniks can be a bit more labour intensive than your average
glass 2 seater( and ive been guilty of a bit of bashing as well while working
on one) but you dont see many 2 seat glass on the market for under 10 grand so
can still be quite economic for both the club and pilot/trainee. Take a lot
longer to pay off a K21. Where still doing it.
Thats one thing i still like about this sport. It can satify a large range of
pilots from the competion minded to those who like to float about local. We
have pilots ranging from 15 to 80 +. And we have a large range of interesting
machines to fly.
Anyway , off to polish my P76.
cheers> From: [email protected]> Subject: Aus-soaring
Digest, Vol 63, Issue 41> To: [email protected]> Date: Sun, 21
Dec 2008 12:00:12 +1030> > Send Aus-soaring mailing list submissions to>
[email protected]> > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World
Wide Web, visit> http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring>
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to>
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the list at> [email protected]> > When replying, please
edit your Subject line so it is more specific> than "Re: Contents of
Aus-soaring digest..."> > > Today's Topics:> > 1. Re: SPAM: WPP Update - Tiger
([email protected])> 2. Vintage and beautiful or old and ugly. (DMcD)> >
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------> >
Message: 1> Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 23:33:58 +0000> From:
[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] SPAM: WPP Update - Tiger>
To: "Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.">
<[email protected]>> Message-ID:>
<539524699-1229816044-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-9607198...@bxe1002.bisx.prodap.on.blackberry>>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"> > Hey Adam,> > Well done!
Scarebus guy now hey! Sorry, Boeing loyalty! Now, when flying with Summersby
don't turn both engines off for gliding practise, I know he's lovin his gliding
again!> > Gongrat's you're going to have a ball!> > Cheers> > Nick> > > Nick
Kranenburg> Managing Director > SimJET Training Systems> e -
[email protected]> w - www.simjet.com.au> Sent from my BlackBerry? from Optus>
> -----Original Message-----> From: Adam Woolley
<[email protected]>> > Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2008 08:39:21 > To: aus
soaring<[email protected]>> Subject: [Aus-soaring] SPAM: WPP
Update - Tiger> > > _______________________________________________>
Aus-soaring mailing list> [email protected]> To check or
change subscription details, visit:>
http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring> > > >
------------------------------> > Message: 2> Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2008 11:30:18
+1100> From: DMcD <[email protected]>> Subject: [Aus-soaring] Vintage and
beautiful or old and ugly.> To: [email protected]>
Message-ID:> <[email protected]>>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"> > >> > Congratulations Ian on
return to service of Ka6. Nice to see some> > refreshing news on this site in
regards to aircraft restoration instead of> > the usual Blanik/PW5/anything
under 40 to1 bashing that wastes so much space> > at times. I also returned our
clubs Arrow to service yesterday,probably much> > to the digust of some who
would rather use the wood for a BBQ and insert a> > new private (plastic) toy
in its hanger space. Would be much the same as> > sending your MG to the
wreckers because it was old and cant keep up with> > your commodore.> > > Was
it me who mentioned Blanik and caused this?> > Can I qualify my opinion a bit
more?> > Many old aircraft are lovely things. Surely there is no modern glider
with> the grace and beauty of say a Minimoa? And there will always be a place
for> gliders like the Zogling or Grunau Baby, certainly in my hangar.> > But
not all old aircraft are vintage. There were a fair number of mistakes> and
dead ends along the way which might want to be preserved. But more as> museum
pieces than recreational gliders.> > This is not because the performance is
lacking. In many cases the> performance of these vintage aircraft is better
than other current aircraft> such as paragliders or hang gliders. It is only to
do with practicality and> maintenance.> > What worries me is that gliders like
the Blanik are used in clubs as on-line> training aircraft where the
maintenance becomes a nightmare for someone. I> don't have hard statistics but
my guess is that a Blanik would take close to> 5 days for a proper form 2
compared with 1-2 days for a glass glider. For> what return? Cheap flying?> >
The Norfolk club in NZ has about 5 Blaniks and they don't charge anything> for
flight time, only for aerotows. That's a pretty good deal for students,> but
not for the maintenance people. I have heard it said here and there> that Kiwis
have a different attitude to maintenance.> > I think clubs which are trying to
be active and attractive clubs for new> members are digging a hole in the
ground if they choose to fly aircraft> whose value in scrap aluminium would not
warrant putting them on a truck to> take away.> > Wooden gliders are probably a
but easier to maintain than alu ones so long> as they don't get wet. But they
do need gangs of dedicated volunteers like> you. And at some stage you have to
ask the difficult question as to whether> such and such an aircraft is worth
preserving as a flying aircraft. DH> Comet. Yes! DH Mosquito. Abolutely!!
Wirraway or Bolton and Paul Defiant? No> no no! The game's just not worth the
candle. Ditto Blanik.> > Probably the same applies to MGs. A mass produced, low
cost, sports car for> the masses. More MC TCs were made in 4 years than Morgans
in 60 years. And I> have never driven a Morgan which was worse than an MG TF.>
> Moving right along...> > The next question is PW5. Why? Was it a mistake or
did they do it> deliberately? Because if it was a mistake, maybe there's
something we can do> about it.> > It is not to do with the performance, it's
the aesthetics. It would be> difficult to draw something as ugly as the PW5. I
find myself wondering> whether there was a deliberate plan to make something
which looked like a> low-cost glider so as not to detract from sales of the
high end gliders.> > Some designs stand outside time, and will probably always
be beautiful. For> example a Bugatti Type 52. A 3 litre Bentley. Spitfires,
Tiger Moths, Horten> wings, Minimoas, Olys, Aston Martins (most) and so on.> >
Other designs are dated in months, or weeks or before they left the drawing>
board. P76 for example. EH Holden. Wirraway, Aircobra, Blanik. PW5.> > The idea
of a low cost, medium performance glider is excellent. So why make> it look
like the low cost option?> > In advertising there is a process called
"polishing pooh". It doesn't matter> how much you polish, it's always pooh. You
can' t polish a Blanik.> > And many congratulations to anyone who preserves
anything of beauty. I'm> doing my best with my wife.> > DMcD.> --------------
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