purchasing a glider

[studentpilotmcuk]

Hi all, i posted this in the spectators balcony and was advised i would get better results if i posted here.

I am wanting to purchase a glider for myself. a low hour glider pilot.

What i am looking looking for, is information on the following:-

How much is a C of A for a glider.

How much would the insurance cost roughly.

I am thinking of getting a standard cirrus as my first glider.

what other costs would i have to consider and roughly how much would it cost overall.

Thanks for reading this thread

stude

[kevkdg]

Have you also posted on:

gliderpilot.net

?

Cheers

[Mechta]

For a low hours pilot on a Standard Cirrus worth say, £10000, you are likely to be looking at a premium of around £700 to £1000 if you are including the hull value. It is likely to have a £500 excess. Expect a loading of around 10% if anyone who will be flying the glider has made a claim. Having 50 hours+ brings the insurance cost down, so consider staying on club gliders until then. Having your Bronze C is even better.

The cost of hull value cover is very closely related to what you value the glider at.

It is worth shopping around, and if you have any hours (even P2) on light aircraft, hang gliders or paragliders, it is worth mentioning them, as some insurers will take these in to account.

If there are other members in your club who you would be happy to fly your glider, particularly if they are more experienced, consider offering insurance shares. You retain ownership of the glider and they have an alternative to the club gliders. Make sure anyone you consider is aware of, and able to pay, the excess in the event of a claim.

It is worth checking what else is included. My policy covers the trailer, parachute, radio, rigging aids and driving my car airside. The latter can be very expensive to buy separately, so well worth having.

Mechta (who has just reinsured his glider)

[ProfChrisReed]

ARC renewal will probably average £3-400, unless something nasty turns up in the inspection or there is an A/D requiring pricy work. Other costs are pretty much as others have said.

In other words, budget for something over £1k per year before you fly it.

One other thing - have you discussed this with your CFI? Merely because you own a glider doesn't mean you'll be allowed to fly it from your club, because the CFI is the one who has to write the accident reports!

The Standard Cirrus's all-flying tailplane gives it some handling characteristics which you probably won't have encountered, and is generally not recommended for brand new pilots unless of above average handling skills. You might find, for example, that your CFI would like you have more solo hours before buying one.

[cats_five]

The first thing to do is to discuss it with your CFI and see what sort of glider he / she is willing for you to own - if any. One presumes you have Bronze plus XC endoresement and have trained on glass gliders.

My ARC renewal was £100 plus the BGA fee, but it was done by an inspector at my club. It saved a lot on travel as well.

Whatever you buy, make sure the trailer is sound and roadworth. If it isn't you could have an epic trailing it and you will also find a shortage of people willing to collect you from fields.

[astir 8]

I assume that you already belong to a gliding club. Talk to the other members and as previously recommended, the CFI in particular!

Most gliders belong to syndicates of 2 or 3 people. There may be already a syndicate at your club looking for a new member. Syndication splits the costs and guarantees that someone will come to haul you out of fields!

p.s. by choice I fly a wooden "vintage" glider (Slingsby Skylark 4). It's Annex II so has lower CofA costs (BGA fee is £89/year. Inspectors costs would be on top but then I've got an inspectors rating so only have to buy myself the beers!) The hull value is so low that I only have 3rd party insurance of £2 million which is £195/year. Again it probably helps that I've also got an instructor rating.

In reality you can spend as much or as little as you want on gliding, depending on the kind of gliding you want to do. Club membership costs vary enormously so do shop around if money is tight.

[studentpilotmcuk]

thank you to all who responded. I have begun to shop around. I have hours in the Janus Puchaz K13 K21 K7 and Bocian but only a few for the Bocian. I am used to flying gliders with flaps along with the workload that goes with flying gliders with flaps.

Thanks once again for posting the information has helped me greatly.

All the very best

Stude
:)

[cats_five]

ASW19 is much nicer anyway

Pegase is better again.

[ProfChrisReed]

I have begun to shop around. I have hours in the Janus Puchaz K13 K21 K7 and Bocian

No single-seater hours, so definitely talk to your CFI. He or she will assuredly have views on what's appropriate as a next step.

Bear in mind that gliders don't sell like cars -it might take months or more to sell one if you decide that it doesn't suit you. A season flying your club's single seater(s) might be a good investment. (a) It will help you discover what you want in your own glider, and (b) the experience will help convince your CFI that you'll be safe in whatever you finally decide to buy.

I'm guessing you have around £10k to invest, so not enough for a 2nd generation glass glider. The first generation have a much wider range of handling characteristics. I'd predict that most CFIs would consider, say, an Astir as fine for a first single-seater, but might have concerns about a Standard Cirrus or a Libelle. With a season in single seaters, if you're competent, the range of acceptable gliders would be bigger.

[India Four Two]

The Standard Cirrus's all-flying tailplane gives it some handling characteristics which you probably won't have encounteredThat is a masterful understatement from PCR. ;)

The Standard Cirrus is very sensitive in pitch and it is easy to start a PIO, particularly on takeoff. My way of handling this (applicable to many other gliders too, particularly ones with tall sticks) is to hold the stick a little lower and brace my forearm on my thigh.

In the club that I used to belong to, pilots had to fly many hours in a more conventional single-seater, before being allowed to fly the Standard Cirrus. Having said that, it is a lovely aircraft to fly.

The other issue with the Standard Cirrus is the problem of not properly connecting the tailplane pitch-control link, which is easy to do and has probably fatal consequences.