I appreciate that much of your Gliding was in the wood and fabric days, and no, there is nothing wrong with such aircraft. However time has simply moved on. Nobody is going to build a T31 these days, to suggest otherwise is madness. I’m not disputing that they were perfectly competent at doing the job that they were required to do, but times have changed and technology has moved on. Should we have just stopped at the making hops on the Primary?
Grob Twin IIs are not expensive aircraft. A reasonable one on the second-hand market would set you back maybe £30-40k. Adjust that figure as necessary if you want to make them into a military aircraft.
Neither are they difficult to fly. Yes, in a K13 everything might happen 5-10kts slower, but they are very competent basic trainers with no vices. In fact it is far more forgiving of sloppy handling than the K13.
Originally Posted by
Olympia 463
Why is it necessary to have a glider costing megabucks which is required only to do circuits? Albeit 6 minute circuits, as opposed to the T31 which usually did about 4 mins. That's a lot of money for two minutes extra in the air. How do you justify that to the taxpayer? Will pupils go solo in two thirds of the time in a Viking? I doubt it.
The ATC is not a gliding club where the solo pilots expect to be taught thermal and ridge soaring and field landings so that they can go on cross countries. Once a Cadet has had his three solos that's it for 90% of them I guess. They never fly solo again. Why not just go back to the good old T31 which was cheap as chips to make and repair? We all know that the really tricky bit of flying is landing. You would agree I think that landing a K13 is a probably lot easier than a Viking, and therefore can be taught more quickly.