I fly at Portmoak in Scotland (I was the full time all year around instructor for decades until I retired last year.) We are a ridge site and have most gliders equipped with FLARM and some with nose strobes. These devises do not replace a good lookout but are a great aid, and improve safety.
We've refitted all of our club gliders with these and it's remarkable how much more visible they are. Even on the ground with gliders on final it makes a big difference for safety IMO.
I just watched an anime movie about a you girl college student joining her school's glider club. The title of the movie in English is "Blue Thermal". The scene when she gets her first flight will remind everyone about how they felt on their first flight.
Well! Can you Say Jealous!!… i’m retiring next year so i need to come visit (or move) to come for a guest ride in this gorgeous ship (v.s. our aging Grob 103 twin). You guys rock in NZ.!!
I love flying our club's DG-1000s, they're brilliant to learn in. No fancy nose lights though! A trip in Rudolph over that beautiful NZ countryside would be a wonderful experience.
Our club has one DG-1000S and one DG-1001S and they're both working great after some starting difficulties... We have both the 18m small winglets for teaching students and aerobatics and the long 20m winglets for cross country flights and with the retractable undercarriage and 20m wingspan it has a 46:1glide ratio which is great! And the versatily with the winglets is really great, but the controls are a bit stiff... But overall a great glider I was taught on how to fly gliders!
Awesome, that sounds like our end goal of 2 of them too. Out of interest, do you think it's worth having a separate cross country version for your club?
@@PureGlide Both the DG-1000S and the 1001S have the long and short wingtips so we can just put them on whatever is better for what we want to do. Especially the 1001S gets used very often for cross-country flights because it has the LX9000 instead of the LX8000 in the older DG-1000. I think it really adds to the versatility and when we're in our camp flying in the Alps for two weeks the long wingtips come in very handy and so normally both fly with the long wingtips! So we don't have a seperate cross-country version we can just change the wingtips and beside the cockpit interior, both planes are exactly the same. Cheers!
I agree with the stiff controls. I’ve flown 4 different versions of the 2 seat DG and have never been that impressed with their handling qualities, especially the rudder coordination. They certainly perform well and nothing wrong with the engineering etc.
Nicest club glider I have ever flown is the DG1000S 18m/20m. Does everything, schooling, aerobatics and cross country. And it is more than good enough for x-country for you to have nothing to complain about, unlike my club's Twin Astir. Prefer the 20m tips to give me DuoDiscus performance, but even the 18m tips are more than good enough. My gliding club are also getting a DG1001 Club Neo soon. Looking forward to that. Congratulations with your new DG!!!
Congratulations to your club, Tim. Beautiful ship! The club I belong to has a DG1000S and a DG505. I've flown the DG1000 once, and it reminds me a lot of a very high end German car! Especially when compared with my Std Cirrus :) The weighted flight controls have a great feel, and oh my is the cockpit quiet. May you all get many years of great service and enjoyment out of that gorgeous airplane.
Look at the red one flying witch she is gorgeous 😍 Glider is very nice but you will see maneuvering it on the ground could be challenging during initial training.🙂
Congratulations! In Wellington club we've had a DG1000 Club glider since May 2007, though I personally kept flying the Janus (as it is even better performance, but a pig in handling, so almost no one else wanted it!) until we sold that when the 2nd DG1000 arrived in December 2009. They're really been superb for everything from trial flights and initial training to cross country to aerobatics. The only real quirk is that the fixed undercarriage is lower than a retractable one. That makes passenger access a LOT easier, but it also lowers the AoA on the ground with resultant higher lift-off and touch-down speeds than with the retractable undercarriage. The touch-down attitude is actually nowhere near the stall so you learn the correct attitude and hold off until it reaches that attitude rather than holding off until it won't fly at all -- if you do that then the main will be a foot off the ground when the tail touches down, which is not good. You quickly get used to that though.
@@christopherrobinson7541 you still get the main benefit of a fully held-off landing. If you touch down at the speed/AoA where both wheels touch together (or tail very slightly first) then you can't bounce because although you are not stalled the wings can not generate enough lift at that AoA to sustain further flight. You would still be able to fly if you could generate a higher AoA, but you can't because the tail wheel is on the ground. So it doesn't cause any problem in practice, it's just a quirk for transitioning pilots.
Hi Tim, Bowland Forest are a year into our purchase/wait. This is probably the first time we will have seen one up close. Well done just for hanging in there and getting it done. Fixed undercarriage deffo a good idea for a club glider. reduces maintenance and initial costs. Looking forward to more vids. Its a tad far to come and try her out me thinks :-(
What a beauty! May it give you all several decades of pleasurable and trouble-free service. It seems a fair step up in performance from a K-21, which is the only fixed-gear glass two-seater I'm familiar with, yet while maintaining operational simplicity and hopefully low maintenance requirements
And the award for best acting on a Gliding Airfield goes to .................... *Will* for the most convincing impersonation of a Wing Support Wheel 💫
First time as a private pilot the other day interacting with gliders. Was in the circuit of a major glider clubs airport Benalla, was thankful for the ground crew being on the radio keeping me alerted of local procedures (found the ERSA entry confusing) and also alerting me to the glider traffic in the area.
Oh awesome, I've flown at Benalla quite a few times. If you land on the sealed strip you'll usually avoid gliders :) although I have a feeling they had to operate off it recently due to the field being too muddy... anyway fun stuff! You're getting closer...
@@PureGlide yeah all sealed. They were bringing a glider back when I was ready to take off as well and I wasn't quite sure the procedures. I was glad when they did a radio call to say they were clear there as well since I think they saw me waiting at the holding point.
Our club has a dg1001 too, it is a very nice plane to fly. Perfect for gliding clubs, as it is easy to use and maintain... In tournaments however you dont really stand a chance agains the higher class gliders like the arcus. Still a ton of fun to compete in though. All the best to your club, and enjoy the flying.
@@PureGlide Indeed! New ship certified for aerobatic no doubt. I know that our ASK 21 is because I've watched her perform from below. Check out Michael Goulian hand flying a Dessault Falcon 8x on RUclips
In my club we have a DG505 elan and a DG1001 both with retractable landing gear(and bot in 20 meter configuration)...we use them for cross country flights...and I agree with the other comments about the stiffness of the controls...the overall performance are very good...but the duo discus is another planet for the controls(a lot more softer) and comfort in the cockpit...DGs are more suitable for basic training and easier machines
@@PureGlide Here's a video (about a different glider) where a polish guy says Puchacz at the time stamp. I don't speak polish but in germany we pronunce it the same way. ruclips.net/video/bC8H-IASho0/видео.html
Great Choice. We got a DG-1001S in 2020 as a replacement for a written off ASK13 and it's really good. We have the manually retractable gear fitted which makes the glider perfectly suited for circuit training as well as for going cross country with either the 18 or 20m Winglets. Hope you will have as much fun with yours as we do with ours.
@@PureGlide For Circuits we usually just leave it down. But even when we put it up we have to report a gear down and locked on base via the radio. Also our FI has to give the permission for flying gear up when you're a student. So we didn't have any problem with that
None of our insurance companies look at details like that when insuring gliders, that's a bit too detailed. Generally a belly landing on grass isn't a big repair anyway, so would be unlikely to use insurance.
Hi Tim, Congratulations on your newest addition to your club fleet. At the GoZC in the Netherlands we also use DG1000s for training and we're very happy with them. Unfortunately the DG1000 has a flaw. Here in the Netherlands, between multiple clubs, we seem to loose ballast weights from the trim box once a year. The aviation authorities are investigating this issue. I thought you should be aware of this when you put your new pride and joy into use. Have fun and enjoy the ease of flying the DG1000 gives you! Congratulations 😉 Best, Marcel
@@PureGlide Yes indeed, the ballast weights were lost while flying. You do need to tape the plexiglas, otherwise it'll vibrate and the plexiglas will break. At the moment we aren't using the trim box, unless we want to train for spins. By then we do tape it up and make sure its really properly locked. So far, this seems to work :-)
@@PureGlide I concur with Marcel. I absolutely have to recommend you pass on to your instructors that you tape with FRESH tape every time you change the ballast blocks. Other clubs in Australia have lost the whole clear panel and weights (not a cheap replacement) but after taping no one’s had any issues.
We always put tape around the weight box on ours in Wellington/Greytown. It's a great great thing. As a fat bastard instructor I just fill the weight box to maximum at the start of the day unless I end up with some 40 kg woman or kid in the front seat. (and even then it's better to add some weight in the front, not remove it in the back)
As someone who used to fly at a club with no home-base, where we rigged and de-rigged our gliders in the trailer every single day (unless we happened to have the luxury of putting the Puchacz in a hanger) I'd say that unless you're using an extremely crappy trailer, if you need 8 people to rig or de-rig a glider you're probably doing something wrong. It really shouldn't take that many people. (With out cobra trailers we did it with 4 people, 5 in very windy conditions. We could manage with 3 on the DG-300, 2 if we used a wing stand) Took about 5 to 10 minutes per plane. The only planes I've ever encountered where more people were required were odd-ball old wood ships like a Slingsby Sedbergh or a K-7 on an old open trailer where you needed some extra hands just to hold the fuselage upright until the wings were on. Having too many people present during rigging and de-rigging was actually more of a cause for damages and arguments.
@@PureGlide other people being around is fine, but it's my experience it always works best and safest if one person takes charge, appoints 3 aids and bluntly tells everyone else to shut up. Anyone not involved in rigging the glider should be hands off, get out of the way and keep quiet (unless it's to avoid imminent damage). The assistants ignore anyone other than the leader (again, unless to avoid damage). That way things happen much smoother than 8 people all getting in each others way and 3 people trying coordinate things in different ways
i've been flying a DG-500 elan trainer during the first part of my glider training and it was amazing. i'm pretty sure the DG-1001 will be an awesome club glider and i'm honestly a bit jealous ;-) we got 2 300s, a 500 and an 800 - so we're kinda missing that 1000 in our collection ^^
congrats, have fun with your brand new glider! i also have an ACD57 in my Libelle, it's an amazing instrument if you know how to use it, but it is on the pricy side :) btw, are you required to have a transponder or was it an optional choice?
We only are required a transponder for entering airspace, which if we want to fly above 6500 feet here we need to do. And this is a wave site, so reasonably common to do so. So most gliders in NZ do have one. ADSB is required from the end of this year.
I will be interested to hear your opinion on the DG at the end of the season and if any alternatives may have been better. Please give us a report in March/April.
What a lovely machine, I hope it will be make your life as an instructor easier and more fun. Did you have to sign a Service Agreement with DG? Some years ago a mate and I bought a DG202/17 and DG wouldn't sell us any spares unless we paid for several years SA.
Hi, no that's only for older gliders sold before the DG company went bankrupt and was restarted as a new company. People complained about that fee, but it did enable the new company to continue support for those older gliders. Which is critical to keep them flying. So not ideal, but could be worse!
Nice -seems very good value - the ASK21B has a similar compartment in the fin for weights - so not unique to the DG1001neo..... bet it doesn't spin as well as a Puchacz though.............
I would absolutely not recommend putting "extra" weight in the back for spinning. Ours is spinning like its in a flat spin when we apply the normal balancing.
I am surprised new gliders dont come fitted with solid state digital gyros. Compared to the aircrafts price, they are inexpensive, and they have much lower power requirements (4W nominal) than old timey mechanical gyros. I am aware that gliders are not supposed to IMC, and that to fly IMC needs special training. Though every now and then a glider finds themselves in IMC and it is always really bad…
Hi Tim, we are 4 months off getting our Club Neo here in Chipping. Do you have any feedback that would be useful for us. Daily operating, rigging and general daily use please
- Make sure you tape up the weight box at the back, incase it's not shut properly. - Don't leave the weights on the ground for a lawn mower to mow them. The lawn mower will not win! - Make sure the weight chart is very clear, and well understood. It can be a bit confusing. - Be aware it has a weird pin in the middle of the wing which is unusual for rigging/de-rigging. We found that out in the middle of a field the first time we de-rigged it. The manual is worth reading of course... - Make sure the TE system is compensated properly. (applies to any new glider...) Cheers!
Yeah I checked the rules but we can have any colour as far as I can tell, for New Zealand at least. Red is meant to be good in lots of conditions. Seems to work well from what I’ve seen.
A small suggestion - when talking about "dollars" - which is used in 20+ countries around the world from Canada to Chile to Namibian to New Zealand - I think that it's important to add the country code before the $ to remove some potential confusion. So US$, NZ$, etc. Many Thanks. My $0.02
No, but without one you can't fly in controlled airspace. Most clubs in NZ are not in controlled airspace. 2 are at airports that are controlled, so all their gliders have to. There is also Taupo which is right next to a transponder mandatory zone, so they generally do. Then if you want to go wave flying in most places, you'll need to talk to control at some height. And we have a lot more airspace in the top half of the North Island to deal with. So generally most do have a transponder installed. Not many have ADSB yet, but they're mandatory end of the year. Cheers
@@PureGlide thanks for your reply. It’s a similar case up in the UK. A transponder is only required in controlled airspace. (Though I have heard that you can go into controlled airspace without a transponder but will be required to radio your position and height every minute or so). I don’t know if any clubs that are at controlled airports though. We are lucky to have a decent amount of free space to play with so most people don’t bother with transponders.
My understanding is that the technology is just catching up. Most gliders built before 2000s were all only certified to carry lead-acid batteries, and aviation lights were all bulbs because LEDs were dimmer and a less mature technology. There's a lot to be said about viewing angles and things there too, you should never swap factory incandescent bulbs for LEDs (see ruclips.net/video/2z5A-COlDPk/видео.html). This all meant past gliders didn't have the battery capacity to run extra electronics like lights on top of their existing avionics, which was often just a radio. Everything else (compass, altimeter, ASI, variometer) used to be purely mechanical. It's only newer gliders that were certified with Lithium Phosphate batteries that have extra capacity, where it makes sense to start adding on after market LED glare shield flashers (ruclips.net/video/qyzd4n1TKL8/видео.html), or for manufacturers to start building them into the aircraft (like you see in this video).
@@Will-ui7dv Useful & sensible (given LEDs are pretty 'directional') Even a good big blob of Flourescent Paint *might* be of use too? [Think white-ish glider coming straight at you with white-ish cloud behind].
Love your videos. What’s the max weight that a glider pilot can be (is there a max)? And also, what’s the eyesight requirements for glider pilot licensing? Thanks!
@@garthedwards3089 The 110kg limit is including clothes and the parachute. I usually suggest your weight (just out of the bath, in the buff) and add 10kg. Most people grossly under estimate their weight. The maximum weight for the front seat is determined by three calculations:- 1) The maximum all up weight of the glider 2) The centre of gravity position (C of G). 3) The max load of the seat pan. In the UK an extra 5% can be available if the glider is flown as utility rather than as aerobatic.
@@christopherrobinson7541 very sensible to allow increased load if you're not doing aerobatics (and maybe knock 5 knots off the rough air speed too), but 20% or more would be fine, not just 5%. Here in NZ ag aircraft are routinely allowed to fly 40% over the manufacturer's maximum gross weight (that's all-up weight, not pilot weight!) provided they can dump the excess weight in something like 5 seconds.
I'm very interested in gliding, but can you give me any insight you have into this aspect. Repair and maintenance costs. In the past 3 to 5 years how much have you or people you know, had to spend on repairs and maintenance etc to stay airworthy. I ask because a woman said she had to spend $8k to have cracks around her airbrake boxes repaired and that's a lot to me.
@@PureGlide There's an old Kestral on this side of the channel with trailer etc. I think it's 45:1 and $16.5k, so they'd take 16k, with a fresh Form 2. I'd like to spend around 25k AUD and because of ipad and skybean etc options, the speciallised electronics are not required - nor wanted, some of the apps are brilliant. So for newbie pilots/owners in the under AUD 30k range it would be great to know. A lot of mid 1980's gliders seem ok, but I'm a novice and just learning the market. The flight hours seem high, but there are vintage planes still going. Anything with a fibreglass body/wings and a T tail and 40 -45:1. I remember your vi flying with the mega bucks Ventus [ I could be wrong ], you were a bit lower, but still keeping with it, very impressive Tim. Sustainers - A very small hydrogn peroxide rocket would produce the equivelent to 30hp, be the diameter of a salt shaker and the bottle and piping for something that small would not take up much room. It's basically steam, no where the heat of a turbine, old tech. and well proven. There's a young kiwi uni guy 3d printing fuel cells. If you google that motor and go kart, then imagine the resulting scaled down application for a glider sustainer. A bicycle did 300kph, it's a very safe, reliable and old school thing and a glider only needs a really little one with an on/off valve www.google.com.au/search?q=hydrogen+peroxide+rocket+go+kart&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji9qDR1vP5AhWGwzgGHb1NBI0Q_AUoA3oECAEQBQ&biw=1920&bih=966&dpr=1 Nasa used them in space, so altitude is no problem. All chemical, no combustion.
@@PureGlide The DG-500/DG-1000 are good and are bad. The trim is awful. The only way to trim is to put your left hand on the green knob and your right hand on the trigger. The set-up is a sector gear with coarse teeth and a paw, which lock the position. To trim, apply gentle pressure, in the direction required (with the left hand), and squeeze the trigger until the trim just moves, one tooth at a time, the result is at best plus or minus 3 - 4 knots. Student pilots pull the trigger too much and select a random trim setting.
I have flown a DG505 for years at my club. Nice aircraft, plenty of room and easy to fly. Exceptional wiew all around and docile... but that fixed wheel in a DG1000 .... nooooo!
Sigh. 120kg dripping wet. Flew at Taupo with a ‘slightly’ forward CoG. Interesting. 😳 Flew a Blanik once without checking ‘ballast’,; MORE INTERESTING.
The usual 110 kg max weight in gliders is set by what the seat belts and attachment points will hold in a 40 G crash. If you try to keep your crashes down to 20 or 30 G then you'll be fine a lot heavier. It takes a *lot* to get a DG1000 to the forward CG limit.With an average sized instructor and full tail weights you can be at optimum CG position with at least 120-125 KG in the front seat.
Yes it does, we went with relatively basic instruments and options. That price includes roll on/roll off shipping to NZ, most instruments (ex transponder) and trailer.
It's hi tech and hand built. I'm sure DG are paying their workers a good living wage, but glider manufacturers are demonstrably *not* getting rich. There are still many gliders such as Grob Twin Astir ZK-GWZ (which my club had before the DG1000) which are 45+ years old and still in the front line of glider training and cross country flying at many clubs, with no sign of them being retired. In fact most members of the public who come for a trial flight or first lessons would see no difference between the old Grob and the new DG. There is no reason why this DG-1001 won't still be flying in 2070 or 2080, with minimal maintenance expense between now and then.
Yeah when you see how much work goes into making a single glider I don't think you'd think it's too far fetched. We also had to ship it across the world, and buy a trailer etc.
Most are struggling to stay in business -you obviously have no insight into the economics of aircraft construction. Go and try it yourself see how you get on. Actually I'm surprised its that cheap........
Very expensive glider , I don't know how the club can afford that . Hopefully , here in Europe, we can buy a used two seater at between one fourth to one half of that price .
Yes indeed, same in our club. We fly two ASK-21 and a Duo Discus from the 80's and after considering replacing an old ASK-13 and evaluating the costs, the club finally decided to bring it back. No money for a new glider. I only see such expensive gliders among private owners. It would be nice to fly on something like that, although I don't really see a problem with the ASK-21.
Yeah it is expensive, but should last at least 20 years, so the cost is spread out over time. Also it's almost impossible to buy good second hand training gliders, especially in New Zealand. If a good second hand option came up we would have grabbed it.
@@PureGlide Of course you don't have a big second hand market like here in Europe . I know a glider can last 3,000 , 6,000 , 9,000 flight hours but I wonder how you can pay the insurances that must be in the vicinity of 7,000 euros per year . What's the length of the gliding season ? Here it's 7 months and mostly week-end . Our two seaters fly between 100 and 200 hours per year . In the mountains of southern France that could be 600 to 900 hours per year .
It’s a beautiful glider but I do fear that the huge cost of the new generation gliders will start to make gliding an elitist sport enjoyed by the well off.
Yes, they are very expensive but being in a club makes the cost more bearable. There are plenty of used gliders on the market with good performance with prices less than the average new car.
That's one main reason we have a club, to spread the costs out amongst the membership. And the lifespan of these is massive, so it'll be around for a LONG time. 25-50 years or so likely. So a bit of an investment, but it'll pay for itself over time.
@@NWA320DRVR when I started gliding in the mid 70s the cost of gliding generally seemed to be cheaper than it is now , taking into account inflation. A lot of it is probably down to the problems in the world. In Britain a tow to 2000 feet is in the £30 plus bracket , everything is escalating in cost unfortunately which it has to. Will this kill gliding , who knows ?
@@julianday Then again ~ The cost of powered flight is climbing at a similar sort of rate Whilst the tab for an Electric aeroplane is eyewatering, the batteries are heavy and range whilst improving ..........
Smart choice! Our’s is working a treat. You will all especially enjoy the factory canopy seals. Perhaps the quietest glider I’ve ever flown. :)
Great to hear! that is actually very useful when instructing
Tell me more about the factory canopy seals. My 505 (same fuse) has a horrendous buzzing noise above 72kts.
@@TheProPilot was your 505 built by DG or AMS?
@@CirrusC2 Elan
Loving the nose LED think you need to call the plane Rudolph
I fly at Portmoak in Scotland (I was the full time all year around instructor for decades until I retired last year.) We are a ridge site and have most gliders equipped with FLARM and some with nose strobes. These devises do not replace a good lookout but are a great aid, and improve safety.
The thought crossed my mind!
Oooo , very exciting! Congrats on the beautiful new Sailplane.
If I may quote the words of QE2: *“May God bless her and all who sail in her."*
Thank you!
Exactly what I want.......with a retractable jet!!!!!😀 Maybe I get lucky on Christmas 🤪
A flashing beacon in the nose of a glider is a great idea! I see these in the mountains, they are very noticeable
Yeah we fly on our ridge a lot in gloomy weather sometimes, so it'll be a great on those days in particular. Great to hear they work in the mountains
We've refitted all of our club gliders with these and it's remarkable how much more visible they are.
Even on the ground with gliders on final it makes a big difference for safety IMO.
Interesting, thanks Ulrich!
DG-1000 is my favorite 2-seater by a long measure!
I just watched an anime movie about a you girl college student joining her school's glider club. The title of the movie in English is "Blue Thermal". The scene when she gets her first flight will remind everyone about how they felt on their first flight.
My favorite part about it is the pilot wearing a Flyers shirt. I'm from Philly btw 😂
Meanwhile we're still rocking Ka-13's 😅 Works like a charm!
Congratulations to your new trainer! I am excited for you. Your club is doing the right thing by updating and upgrading the equipment to train with.
Thank you!
ive flown quite a bit n the 20m retract version, now that rocks.
hah the redhead lady wearing Philadelphia Flyers hockey sweatshirt. Thats the city where I am from!
Well! Can you Say Jealous!!… i’m retiring next year so i need to come visit (or move) to come for a guest ride in this gorgeous ship (v.s. our aging Grob 103 twin). You guys rock in NZ.!!
I love flying our club's DG-1000s, they're brilliant to learn in. No fancy nose lights though! A trip in Rudolph over that beautiful NZ countryside would be a wonderful experience.
Our club has one DG-1000S and one DG-1001S and they're both working great after some starting difficulties... We have both the 18m small winglets for teaching students and aerobatics and the long 20m winglets for cross country flights and with the retractable undercarriage and 20m wingspan it has a 46:1glide ratio which is great! And the versatily with the winglets is really great, but the controls are a bit stiff... But overall a great glider I was taught on how to fly gliders!
Awesome, that sounds like our end goal of 2 of them too. Out of interest, do you think it's worth having a separate cross country version for your club?
@@PureGlide Both the DG-1000S and the 1001S have the long and short wingtips so we can just put them on whatever is better for what we want to do. Especially the 1001S gets used very often for cross-country flights because it has the LX9000 instead of the LX8000 in the older DG-1000. I think it really adds to the versatility and when we're in our camp flying in the Alps for two weeks the long wingtips come in very handy and so normally both fly with the long wingtips! So we don't have a seperate cross-country version we can just change the wingtips and beside the cockpit interior, both planes are exactly the same. Cheers!
I agree with the stiff controls. I’ve flown 4 different versions of the 2 seat DG and have never been that impressed with their handling qualities, especially the rudder coordination. They certainly perform well and nothing wrong with the engineering etc.
Congratulations to the club on the new glider, Tim. Looking forward to the next video. Cheers.
Thanks 👍
Great looking bird. Congratulations
Fantastic plane! I am flying the DG-1001S now for several years as a PAX-Pilot. Great!
Great to hear you like it :)
Nicest club glider I have ever flown is the DG1000S 18m/20m. Does everything, schooling, aerobatics and cross country. And it is more than good enough for x-country for you to have nothing to complain about, unlike my club's Twin Astir. Prefer the 20m tips to give me DuoDiscus performance, but even the 18m tips are more than good enough. My gliding club are also getting a DG1001 Club Neo soon. Looking forward to that. Congratulations with your new DG!!!
We finally have some soaing weather here in south Sweden so I am leaving early for a flight in our dg1000.
Congratulations to your club, Tim. Beautiful ship! The club I belong to has a DG1000S and a DG505. I've flown the DG1000 once, and it reminds me a lot of a very high end German car! Especially when compared with my Std Cirrus :) The weighted flight controls have a great feel, and oh my is the cockpit quiet. May you all get many years of great service and enjoyment out of that gorgeous airplane.
Sounds great! Looking forward to flying it tomorrow. Cheers
Look at the red one flying witch she is gorgeous 😍 Glider is very nice but you will see maneuvering it on the ground could be challenging during initial training.🙂
Well done Piako Club! Thanks for the video Tim! Look forward to a visit...
Yeah we'll see you down here soon no doubt!
Congratulations. Enjoy it, it's a very nice Glider.
Thanks, will do!
Congratulations! In Wellington club we've had a DG1000 Club glider since May 2007, though I personally kept flying the Janus (as it is even better performance, but a pig in handling, so almost no one else wanted it!) until we sold that when the 2nd DG1000 arrived in December 2009. They're really been superb for everything from trial flights and initial training to cross country to aerobatics. The only real quirk is that the fixed undercarriage is lower than a retractable one. That makes passenger access a LOT easier, but it also lowers the AoA on the ground with resultant higher lift-off and touch-down speeds than with the retractable undercarriage. The touch-down attitude is actually nowhere near the stall so you learn the correct attitude and hold off until it reaches that attitude rather than holding off until it won't fly at all -- if you do that then the main will be a foot off the ground when the tail touches down, which is not good. You quickly get used to that though.
This configuration results in a slam dunk. Fully held-off landings are not possible.
@@christopherrobinson7541 you still get the main benefit of a fully held-off landing. If you touch down at the speed/AoA where both wheels touch together (or tail very slightly first) then you can't bounce because although you are not stalled the wings can not generate enough lift at that AoA to sustain further flight. You would still be able to fly if you could generate a higher AoA, but you can't because the tail wheel is on the ground. So it doesn't cause any problem in practice, it's just a quirk for transitioning pilots.
Thanks for the comments, I look forward to trying it!
Congratulations! Enjoy!!!
Thank you! Will do!
Hi Tim, Bowland Forest are a year into our purchase/wait. This is probably the first time we will have seen one up close. Well done just for hanging in there and getting it done. Fixed undercarriage deffo a good idea for a club glider. reduces maintenance and initial costs. Looking forward to more vids. Its a tad far to come and try her out me thinks :-(
Yip, it took a while to ship it here too :)
The general financing and typical cost of ownership of both new and 2nd hand gliders would make an interesting video sometime.
Yeah absolutely, that would be a great video. I'll add it to the list! Cheers
@@PureGlide aka "Dig a hole in the garden; fill it with whatever spare money you have, then add 10% and fill the hole in".
@@lautoka63 I’ll dig the hole with a teaspoon.
What a beauty! May it give you all several decades of pleasurable and trouble-free service. It seems a fair step up in performance from a K-21, which is the only fixed-gear glass two-seater I'm familiar with, yet while maintaining operational simplicity and hopefully low maintenance requirements
Yeah actually the long service life, and reliable factory are some of the reasons we went for the DG.
Wonderful Tim. Looking forward to flying GPK!
Won't be long now!
Very cool, Congratulations Piako GC!
Thank you!
👍👍👍Good luck and happy landings Sir ! 👌👌👌
Thank you!
well how sweet is that, very nice and a big congrats. hope to see some video from it soon - no pressure. cheers.
Oh yes, we'll do a flight test asap! Cheers
Congrats! Great glider 😃
Thanks! 😀
I finally made it into a Pure Glide video, even if only as an extra. Has my gliding career peaked? 🤔
Haha yip that's as good as it gets, all down hill from there lol
And the award for best acting on a Gliding Airfield goes to ....................
*Will* for the most convincing impersonation of a Wing Support Wheel 💫
First time as a private pilot the other day interacting with gliders. Was in the circuit of a major glider clubs airport Benalla, was thankful for the ground crew being on the radio keeping me alerted of local procedures (found the ERSA entry confusing) and also alerting me to the glider traffic in the area.
Oh awesome, I've flown at Benalla quite a few times. If you land on the sealed strip you'll usually avoid gliders :) although I have a feeling they had to operate off it recently due to the field being too muddy... anyway fun stuff! You're getting closer...
@@PureGlide yeah all sealed. They were bringing a glider back when I was ready to take off as well and I wasn't quite sure the procedures. I was glad when they did a radio call to say they were clear there as well since I think they saw me waiting at the holding point.
Our club has a dg1001 too, it is a very nice plane to fly. Perfect for gliding clubs, as it is easy to use and maintain... In tournaments however you dont really stand a chance agains the higher class gliders like the arcus. Still a ton of fun to compete in though. All the best to your club, and enjoy the flying.
Thanks, great to hear! All our comps are handicapped here anyway, and light conditions usually, so almost any glider can win :)
Sweet, enjoy! Keep the blue side up!
Thanks! Will do! Unless deliberate :O
@@PureGlide Indeed! New ship certified for aerobatic no doubt. I know that our ASK 21 is because I've watched her perform from below. Check out Michael Goulian hand flying a Dessault Falcon 8x on RUclips
Congratulations on your new trainer. Our club has two DG1000Ss ( one 18m and one in 20m ). Great trainers 👍
Good to hear! Cheers
Ooh very nice, I recently got to take a flight in our DG 1001 with the short wing tips and it is a very different beast compared to the long tips.
Yeah I bet - maybe one day we'll order the long tips for it too! But more likely we'll buy a more dedicated cross country machine. Cheers
In my club we have a DG505 elan and a DG1001 both with retractable landing gear(and bot in 20 meter configuration)...we use them for cross country flights...and I agree with the other comments about the stiffness of the controls...the overall performance are very good...but the duo discus is another planet for the controls(a lot more softer) and comfort in the cockpit...DGs are more suitable for basic training and easier machines
Gorgeous!
Thank you! 😊
Your pronunciation of Puchacz is hilarious! :D
yeah I know, I suspect we never heard it before, it was only written down! I'm sure I say it poohatz sometimes too haha
@@PureGlide Here's a video (about a different glider) where a polish guy says Puchacz at the time stamp. I don't speak polish but in germany we pronunce it the same way. ruclips.net/video/bC8H-IASho0/видео.html
Love it!
Also, it was really cool to see the girl with the Flyers jersey! (My local pro team.)
Small world eh!
Looks like fun.
I think we'll have a blast with it
Had the pleasure to head to Matamata and fly this new glider yesterday. Thanks everyone at the Piako gliding club!
Hey great to meet you Ali, glad you enjoyed it. Lucky we didn't have the old glider out instead haha. Cheers, Tim
Great Choice. We got a DG-1001S in 2020 as a replacement for a written off ASK13 and it's really good. We have the manually retractable gear fitted which makes the glider perfectly suited for circuit training as well as for going cross country with either the 18 or 20m Winglets. Hope you will have as much fun with yours as we do with ours.
Thanks very much! Have you actually had any problems with people forgetting to put the gear down? or do you just leave it down for circuits?
@@PureGlide For Circuits we usually just leave it down. But even when we put it up we have to report a gear down and locked on base via the radio. Also our FI has to give the permission for flying gear up when you're a student. So we didn't have any problem with that
Was there a notable insurance cost difference for retractable vs non?
None of our insurance companies look at details like that when insuring gliders, that's a bit too detailed. Generally a belly landing on grass isn't a big repair anyway, so would be unlikely to use insurance.
Thanks @charlieromeoaviation that's what I figured we could do too when I argued to get retractable! But oh well, maybe next time
You lucky Sausages! 😃👍🇬🇧
Very!
Hi Tim,
Congratulations on your newest addition to your club fleet. At the GoZC in the Netherlands we also use DG1000s for training and we're very happy with them.
Unfortunately the DG1000 has a flaw. Here in the Netherlands, between multiple clubs, we seem to loose ballast weights from the trim box once a year. The aviation authorities are investigating this issue.
I thought you should be aware of this when you put your new pride and joy into use.
Have fun and enjoy the ease of flying the DG1000 gives you! Congratulations 😉
Best, Marcel
Hi thanks for the information! Do you mean you loose them from the tail while flying?! Maybe some extra tape might be good...
@@PureGlide Yes indeed, the ballast weights were lost while flying. You do need to tape the plexiglas, otherwise it'll vibrate and the plexiglas will break. At the moment we aren't using the trim box, unless we want to train for spins. By then we do tape it up and make sure its really properly locked.
So far, this seems to work :-)
OK awesome thanks for the reply, I'll pass that onto our instructors
@@PureGlide I concur with Marcel. I absolutely have to recommend you pass on to your instructors that you tape with FRESH tape every time you change the ballast blocks. Other clubs in Australia have lost the whole clear panel and weights (not a cheap replacement) but after taping no one’s had any issues.
We always put tape around the weight box on ours in Wellington/Greytown. It's a great great thing. As a fat bastard instructor I just fill the weight box to maximum at the start of the day unless I end up with some 40 kg woman or kid in the front seat. (and even then it's better to add some weight in the front, not remove it in the back)
As someone who used to fly at a club with no home-base, where we rigged and de-rigged our gliders in the trailer every single day (unless we happened to have the luxury of putting the Puchacz in a hanger) I'd say that unless you're using an extremely crappy trailer, if you need 8 people to rig or de-rig a glider you're probably doing something wrong. It really shouldn't take that many people. (With out cobra trailers we did it with 4 people, 5 in very windy conditions. We could manage with 3 on the DG-300, 2 if we used a wing stand) Took about 5 to 10 minutes per plane. The only planes I've ever encountered where more people were required were odd-ball old wood ships like a Slingsby Sedbergh or a K-7 on an old open trailer where you needed some extra hands just to hold the fuselage upright until the wings were on. Having too many people present during rigging and de-rigging was actually more of a cause for damages and arguments.
In this case there were so many people because everyone wanted to see the new glider!
I was going to say that!
@@PureGlide other people being around is fine, but it's my experience it always works best and safest if one person takes charge, appoints 3 aids and bluntly tells everyone else to shut up. Anyone not involved in rigging the glider should be hands off, get out of the way and keep quiet (unless it's to avoid imminent damage). The assistants ignore anyone other than the leader (again, unless to avoid damage). That way things happen much smoother than 8 people all getting in each others way and 3 people trying coordinate things in different ways
Agreed, too many cooks spoil the broth as they say
Very nice and a lot smarter than my first solo glider, a Schleicher K4
:)
I have flown a K4, surprisingly hands-off on aerotow, dynamically stable, perhaps due to the high drag.
Didn't expect to see a Philadelphia Flyers shirt half way around the world
Small world eh!
I sincerely congratulate you))
Thank you!
Another reason to visit New Zealand Another reason to visit New Zealand
Yes absolutely! See you soon :)
i've been flying a DG-500 elan trainer during the first part of my glider training and it was amazing. i'm pretty sure the DG-1001 will be an awesome club glider and i'm honestly a bit jealous ;-) we got 2 300s, a 500 and an 800 - so we're kinda missing that 1000 in our collection ^^
and i have to add: i love that lady's flyers sweater
Some say it's just over twice as good as a DG-500 lol I'll see myself out...
@@PureGlide hehe ;-)
Wow that's pretty sweet
It is indeed!
@@PureGlide for that much money I want 60to1 ld and water balast🤣
A brand new sailplane and yet the shoulder straps are allowed to dangle on the side of the fuselage.
congrats, have fun with your brand new glider! i also have an ACD57 in my Libelle, it's an amazing instrument if you know how to use it, but it is on the pricy side :) btw, are you required to have a transponder or was it an optional choice?
We only are required a transponder for entering airspace, which if we want to fly above 6500 feet here we need to do. And this is a wave site, so reasonably common to do so. So most gliders in NZ do have one. ADSB is required from the end of this year.
I will be interested to hear your opinion on the DG at the end of the season and if any alternatives may have been better. Please give us a report in March/April.
Yeah absolutely will give an update after flying it more. Everyone loves it so far. L
We'll be down as soon as the Kaimais are working to give it a thrash.
What a lovely machine, I hope it will be make your life as an instructor easier and more fun. Did you have to sign a Service Agreement with DG? Some years ago a mate and I bought a DG202/17 and DG wouldn't sell us any spares unless we paid for several years SA.
Hi, no that's only for older gliders sold before the DG company went bankrupt and was restarted as a new company. People complained about that fee, but it did enable the new company to continue support for those older gliders. Which is critical to keep them flying. So not ideal, but could be worse!
Hey it’s me!
Awesome video Tim 👏
Haha thanks for being a superb glider model, glad it fits so well!
@@PureGlide anytime!
Puchacz is to be pronounced more like Poo-hatch :)
Yeah sometimes I say it like that too! Usually we say 'pooch' as a nickname
How much more expensive is the retractable gear?
Nice -seems very good value - the ASK21B has a similar compartment in the fin for weights - so not unique to the DG1001neo..... bet it doesn't spin as well as a Puchacz though.............
Not sure yet, I'm sure spinning it will end up in a video at some stage!
I never flew a Puchacz but the DG actually does spin quite nicely.
Have you removed the wheel fairing yet. Although you done appear to have that much mud. We are expecting ours next April.
Not yet! Our field has been a bit wet but seems ok so far
Like an Irish accent :D
What drove this choice over other available trainers?
I would absolutely not recommend putting "extra" weight in the back for spinning. Ours is spinning like its in a flat spin when we apply the normal balancing.
Bet that nose hook strobe doesn’t last long!
It's pretty encased in resin! I think it'll be fine
I am surprised new gliders dont come fitted with solid state digital gyros. Compared to the aircrafts price, they are inexpensive, and they have much lower power requirements (4W nominal) than old timey mechanical gyros. I am aware that gliders are not supposed to IMC, and that to fly IMC needs special training. Though every now and then a glider finds themselves in IMC and it is always really bad…
Hi Tim, we are 4 months off getting our Club Neo here in Chipping. Do you have any feedback that would be useful for us. Daily operating, rigging and general daily use please
- Make sure you tape up the weight box at the back, incase it's not shut properly.
- Don't leave the weights on the ground for a lawn mower to mow them. The lawn mower will not win!
- Make sure the weight chart is very clear, and well understood. It can be a bit confusing.
- Be aware it has a weird pin in the middle of the wing which is unusual for rigging/de-rigging. We found that out in the middle of a field the first time we de-rigged it. The manual is worth reading of course...
- Make sure the TE system is compensated properly. (applies to any new glider...)
Cheers!
Why is the light on the nose red? I’m used to aircraft having a white light at the front.
Yeah I checked the rules but we can have any colour as far as I can tell, for New Zealand at least. Red is meant to be good in lots of conditions. Seems to work well from what I’ve seen.
That’s pretty cool, share the cost in the club.
Yeah exactly right, that's the point of a gliding club!
A small suggestion - when talking about "dollars" - which is used in 20+ countries around the world from Canada to Chile to Namibian to New Zealand - I think that it's important to add the country code before the $ to remove some potential confusion. So US$, NZ$, etc. Many Thanks. My $0.02
Noted!
Is that 2 NZ cents or Namibian cents?
@@Will-ui7dv GREAT point. Hmmmm. Let's be inclusive and make it every country's cent that has one. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_two_cents
Its there now
Do all gliders have to be fitted with transponder in NZ?
No, but without one you can't fly in controlled airspace. Most clubs in NZ are not in controlled airspace. 2 are at airports that are controlled, so all their gliders have to. There is also Taupo which is right next to a transponder mandatory zone, so they generally do. Then if you want to go wave flying in most places, you'll need to talk to control at some height. And we have a lot more airspace in the top half of the North Island to deal with. So generally most do have a transponder installed. Not many have ADSB yet, but they're mandatory end of the year. Cheers
@@PureGlide thanks for your reply. It’s a similar case up in the UK. A transponder is only required in controlled airspace. (Though I have heard that you can go into controlled airspace without a transponder but will be required to radio your position and height every minute or so). I don’t know if any clubs that are at controlled airports though. We are lucky to have a decent amount of free space to play with so most people don’t bother with transponders.
So when are you taking me up for my first flight Tim? I'm 5 mins away.
Very soon Craig! We'll be converting instructors over to it for the next couple of weekends I suspect, but it'll be open to the public after that :)
Great stream, why don’t all gliders run lights? As standard safety req
My understanding is that the technology is just catching up. Most gliders built before 2000s were all only certified to carry lead-acid batteries, and aviation lights were all bulbs because LEDs were dimmer and a less mature technology. There's a lot to be said about viewing angles and things there too, you should never swap factory incandescent bulbs for LEDs (see ruclips.net/video/2z5A-COlDPk/видео.html). This all meant past gliders didn't have the battery capacity to run extra electronics like lights on top of their existing avionics, which was often just a radio. Everything else (compass, altimeter, ASI, variometer) used to be purely mechanical.
It's only newer gliders that were certified with Lithium Phosphate batteries that have extra capacity, where it makes sense to start adding on after market LED glare shield flashers (ruclips.net/video/qyzd4n1TKL8/видео.html), or for manufacturers to start building them into the aircraft (like you see in this video).
@@Will-ui7dv Useful & sensible (given LEDs are pretty 'directional')
Even a good big blob of Flourescent Paint *might* be of use too?
[Think white-ish glider coming straight at you with white-ish cloud behind].
@@babboon5764 yep, it's very common for wingtips, noses, and portions of fuselages to be painted bright red for visibility.
@@Will-ui7dv True enough
I was thinking something even more 'blow your retinas out' 'though, because even with the 'Rudolph' noses folk still collide.
Love your videos. What’s the max weight that a glider pilot can be (is there a max)? And also, what’s the eyesight requirements for glider pilot licensing? Thanks!
Hi most gliders are 110Kg max, and eyesight requirements in NZ are similar to driving a car.
@@PureGlide awesome. I should come for a flight out at Matamata. I’m in Cambridge. And I’m 100kg with a drivers licence.
@@garthedwards3089 The 110kg limit is including clothes and the parachute. I usually suggest your weight (just out of the bath, in the buff) and add 10kg. Most people grossly under estimate their weight.
The maximum weight for the front seat is determined by three calculations:-
1) The maximum all up weight of the glider
2) The centre of gravity position (C of G).
3) The max load of the seat pan.
In the UK an extra 5% can be available if the glider is flown as utility rather than as aerobatic.
@@christopherrobinson7541 thanks for implying I’ve over 100kg. Cheers.
@@christopherrobinson7541 very sensible to allow increased load if you're not doing aerobatics (and maybe knock 5 knots off the rough air speed too), but 20% or more would be fine, not just 5%. Here in NZ ag aircraft are routinely allowed to fly 40% over the manufacturer's maximum gross weight (that's all-up weight, not pilot weight!) provided they can dump the excess weight in something like 5 seconds.
I'm very interested in gliding, but can you give me any insight you have into this aspect. Repair and maintenance costs. In the past 3 to 5 years how much have you or people you know, had to spend on repairs and maintenance etc to stay airworthy. I ask because a woman said she had to spend $8k to have cracks around her airbrake boxes repaired and that's a lot to me.
Stay tuned for a video on costs to own and maintain a glider!
@@PureGlide There's an old Kestral on this side of the channel with trailer etc. I think it's 45:1 and $16.5k, so they'd take 16k, with a fresh Form 2. I'd like to spend around 25k AUD and because of ipad and skybean etc options, the speciallised electronics are not required - nor wanted, some of the apps are brilliant. So for newbie pilots/owners in the under AUD 30k range it would be great to know. A lot of mid 1980's gliders seem ok, but I'm a novice and just learning the market. The flight hours seem high, but there are vintage planes still going. Anything with a fibreglass body/wings and a T tail and 40 -45:1. I remember your vi flying with the mega bucks Ventus [ I could be wrong ], you were a bit lower, but still keeping with it, very impressive Tim. Sustainers - A very small hydrogn peroxide rocket would produce the equivelent to 30hp, be the diameter of a salt shaker and the bottle and piping for something that small would not take up much room. It's basically steam, no where the heat of a turbine, old tech. and well proven. There's a young kiwi uni guy 3d printing fuel cells. If you google that motor and go kart, then imagine the resulting scaled down application for a glider sustainer. A bicycle did 300kph, it's a very safe, reliable and old school thing and a glider only needs a really little one with an on/off valve www.google.com.au/search?q=hydrogen+peroxide+rocket+go+kart&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji9qDR1vP5AhWGwzgGHb1NBI0Q_AUoA3oECAEQBQ&biw=1920&bih=966&dpr=1 Nasa used them in space, so altitude is no problem. All chemical, no combustion.
oooooo!! nice one. Flown it yet?
Not yet! Saturday...
@@PureGlide The DG-500/DG-1000 are good and are bad. The trim is awful. The only way to trim is to put your left hand on the green knob and your right hand on the trigger. The set-up is a sector gear with coarse teeth and a paw, which lock the position. To trim, apply gentle pressure, in the direction required (with the left hand), and squeeze the trigger until the trim just moves, one tooth at a time, the result is at best plus or minus 3 - 4 knots. Student pilots pull the trigger too much and select a random trim setting.
Why are your Varios going to 10? Whats going on in NZ.
It's always amazing in NZ
I have flown a DG505 for years at my club. Nice aircraft, plenty of room and easy to fly. Exceptional wiew all around and docile... but that fixed wheel in a DG1000 .... nooooo!
Haha yeah, we'll get a proper cross country machine in the future...
Oh hai youtube
Oh hai!
What’s the maximum weight for for front pilot? I want to fly it! 😳
Hi I think it's 110Kg, same as most others
Sigh. 120kg dripping wet. Flew at Taupo with a ‘slightly’ forward CoG. Interesting. 😳
Flew a Blanik once without checking ‘ballast’,; MORE INTERESTING.
Still?! What happened to Keto?!!
@@PureGlide Keto ?
The usual 110 kg max weight in gliders is set by what the seat belts and attachment points will hold in a 40 G crash. If you try to keep your crashes down to 20 or 30 G then you'll be fine a lot heavier. It takes a *lot* to get a DG1000 to the forward CG limit.With an average sized instructor and full tail weights you can be at optimum CG position with at least 120-125 KG in the front seat.
Seems cheap after hearing that a new Cessna 172 runs almost $USD500, 000 right now!
True! Stick an engine in it and some more options and we'd be getting closer to that :)
Powered?
Unfortunately not
Does the price include instruments, equipment and trailer and taxes? Seems cheap...
Yes it does, we went with relatively basic instruments and options. That price includes roll on/roll off shipping to NZ, most instruments (ex transponder) and trailer.
@@PureGlide Good value for a basic G/F trainer these days....
Are these club gliders insured?
Sure are! One of our biggest costs
How can you afford a quarter million dollar glider? What do you do for a living?
Hi not me, it’s our gliding club! Which has a lot of members. And we took out a loan. And we expect it to pay for itself over the next 10 years or so.
250k for this is insane. These glider manufactures are making a killing.
It's hi tech and hand built. I'm sure DG are paying their workers a good living wage, but glider manufacturers are demonstrably *not* getting rich. There are still many gliders such as Grob Twin Astir ZK-GWZ (which my club had before the DG1000) which are 45+ years old and still in the front line of glider training and cross country flying at many clubs, with no sign of them being retired. In fact most members of the public who come for a trial flight or first lessons would see no difference between the old Grob and the new DG. There is no reason why this DG-1001 won't still be flying in 2070 or 2080, with minimal maintenance expense between now and then.
Yeah when you see how much work goes into making a single glider I don't think you'd think it's too far fetched. We also had to ship it across the world, and buy a trailer etc.
Most are struggling to stay in business -you obviously have no insight into the economics of aircraft construction. Go and try it yourself see how you get on. Actually I'm surprised its that cheap........
Flew it in Germany, it was absolutely shitty🤣
Please explain why?
Haha don't worry I understand your sarcasm
Pha! I don't want one.
(ANYONE believe that?)
ha
Very expensive glider , I don't know how the club can afford that . Hopefully , here in Europe, we can buy a used two seater at between one fourth to one half of that price .
Yes indeed, same in our club. We fly two ASK-21 and a Duo Discus from the 80's and after considering replacing an old ASK-13 and evaluating the costs, the club finally decided to bring it back. No money for a new glider.
I only see such expensive gliders among private owners.
It would be nice to fly on something like that, although I don't really see a problem with the ASK-21.
Yeah it is expensive, but should last at least 20 years, so the cost is spread out over time. Also it's almost impossible to buy good second hand training gliders, especially in New Zealand. If a good second hand option came up we would have grabbed it.
@@PureGlide Of course you don't have a big second hand market like here in Europe . I know a glider can last 3,000 , 6,000 , 9,000 flight hours but I wonder how you can pay the insurances that must be in the vicinity of 7,000 euros per year . What's the length of the gliding season ? Here it's 7 months and mostly week-end . Our two seaters fly between 100 and 200 hours per year . In the mountains of southern France that could be 600 to 900 hours per year .
And……..best of all….it doesn’t have a motor!!!!!
:P
It’s a beautiful glider but I do fear that the huge cost of the new generation gliders will start to make gliding an elitist sport enjoyed by the well off.
Yes, they are very expensive but being in a club makes the cost more bearable. There are plenty of used gliders on the market with good performance with prices less than the average new car.
That's one main reason we have a club, to spread the costs out amongst the membership. And the lifespan of these is massive, so it'll be around for a LONG time. 25-50 years or so likely. So a bit of an investment, but it'll pay for itself over time.
@@NWA320DRVR when I started gliding in the mid 70s the cost of gliding generally seemed to be cheaper than it is now , taking into account inflation. A lot of it is probably down to the problems in the world. In Britain a tow to 2000 feet is in the £30 plus bracket , everything is escalating in cost unfortunately which it has to. Will this kill gliding , who knows ?
@@julianday Then again ~
The cost of powered flight is climbing at a similar sort of rate
Whilst the tab for an Electric aeroplane is eyewatering, the batteries are heavy and range whilst improving ..........
@@babboon5764 yes , it’s all a bit sad. Oh for the care free days of the 70s , unfortunately everybody walks about stressed out , in England anyway.
Waaaaaaaaay to expensive. Anything above 100K Euro is not reasonable for a glider.