My 2.2c I spend a lot of my current flying time instructing from the back seat of: ASK-21, Puchacz, Twin Astir I and II, DG-1000s. Have spent many hours in the back seats of: Bocian 1E, Bergfalke IV, KRO-3 Puchatek, Janus, and some time in IS-28 and L-13 Blaniks ! ...;-)
Agreed, the higher performance types are nice to fly (dare I say, look nice) when you know what you are doing and have had some experience under you belt. But they are much less forgiving of bad handling, it is very easy to get into high energy situations that would overload most low hour/early solo pilots. Then there are more controls such as flaps and undercarriage to worry about. The lower performance trainers tend to be much more forgiving of mishandling. I don't think putting ab-initio into a high performance a/c is the best idea. You want to send them solo in a type that is easy to handle. It makes sense to send a pilot solo in a glider type that they have trained in. Then you graduate the pilot up through higher performance types. I certainly agree with low hour pilots going along on cross country flights as P2 with an experienced pilot in higher performance a/c. This seems to be a way to get people interested (most low hour pilots who have done this have enjoyed the experience). As Catherine said, GA is still using Cessna 152, 172 for basic training, although Diamond air is muscling in on the market. You don't see ab initio GA pilots training in high performance a/c. P.S. My very brief summary of trainers (from handling point of view)... ASK21: Good trainer, docile handling, can be aerobatted (can do rolls too), spinning needs spin kit. Good visibility. Puchacz: Good trainer, not as docile in handling, spins like a top! can be aerobatted for inverted flight Twin Astir: Good trainer, docile, can loop, spinning requires nose whiskers. Visibility from back seat not so good. DG-1000s: Requires more skill to fly (can build up speed easily), more involved weight and balance system required for safe flight, can spin and loop in 20m mode, more advanced aeros in 18m mode. Good visibility. Bocian 1E: Docile Handling, Loops, Spins like a top. Good visibility. Bergfalke: Requires more precise flying technique, likes good landings, doesn't spin that well. Good visibility. Puchatek: Docile, Spins well, Loops, Great visibility. Janus: Requires more skill (slippery, has flaps, U/C, all flying tail), good visibility. IS-28: Handles well. Needs to be provoked to spin. Good visibility. L-13 Blanik: Requires more skill if you are going to use the flaps. Handles well otherwise. Visibility not so good out of the back seat. _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
