Grob G115A - any good as a trainer?

[Bendo]

Hey guys
We are looking at using Grobs as our primary trainer at the Aero Club and I was wondering if any of you gurus have likes, dislikes you can share about the type.
The examples we are looking at are 1988 models with 4000-6500 hours TT. Will this cause maintenance or airworthiness issues?
Your thoughts gratefully received...
Cheers

[UAV689]

UAS's use the grob 115 (maybe a 'd' variant not sure) and it works very well. I imagine the maintence costs to be high with a wobly prop but it is a lovely airframe to fly, and quite good at aeros, being nice to spin and flick and with a 120 knts cruise it goes well to. Fuel burn at 120 knts is about 43 litres an hr if i remember right.

i loved it.

[Whopity]

Talk to a couple of Grob operators. Lancs Aero Club at Barton have operated the 115 for a number of years. The basic model is short of cockpit space!

Tayside Aviation at Dundee have some Ex RN Grobs, built to a higher spec, better machine, but probably more expensive to operate.

Overall, the basic 115 has not been operated by many schools.

[Say again s l o w l y]

We used the 115A at BAe in Adelaide. They are underpowered green houses that float forever if you are more than 2kts out on landing and the nose wheel is very, very springy! It does teach you to land properly!

They were well built and they didn't seem to have many maintenance issues, but these were alot newer than the ones you are now describing. (It was a few years ago as well.)

Not a bad machine, but not great either.

[DB6]

Tayside and UAS Grobs are D-2 (Heron) and E (Tutor) respectively, very different to the A model. Barton I think have the A so worth talking to them .Tayside had A's many years ago and I quite liked them but I seem to remember they weren't very popular. Very sensitive trimmer and good view are my main recollections.

[Bendo]

G'day lads

I might be in Scone but it ain't in Perthshire... in fact although I am only 10nm north of Aberdeen I am 1778nm east of Perth! :8

Thanks for your advice, we get a taste-test this weekend and will be interesting to see.

Cheers :ok:

[crap pilot]

Do not confuse the A model with the D or E models. The A model is very underpowered and usefull load is not great so unless your instructors are all pygmies then you had better pray for light students.

[Hot Charlie]

UAS's use the grob 115 (maybe a 'd' variant not sure)

I'd hope with a UAV callsign that you'd know it was an "E"...;) :)

[UAV689]

mis-type on the keyboard, they are very close to each other!

[Hot Charlie]

mis-type on the keyboard, they are very close to each other!

Lol!:) :O

Check your PMs...;)

[ComJam]

I flew the original Grob 115A models at Tayside Aviation in a previous life (circa 1990)

Brand new aircraft, just out of the box back then. Totally underpowered, tricky to land, too damn hot on sunny days, not a good idea to leave them un-hangered in the winter, we had several that suffered from cracking of the Gelcoat on the leading edges. Not to mention the afternoon when a mate and I were racking one around a few 3G steeps turns only to have a foot long, 5 inch wide piece of laminate detach loudly from the top of a wing, exposing the honeycomb underneath........that got my attentiion! :\

Having said all that, it was actually quite a nice bit of kit to fly. Proper throttle, decent trimmer, low wing visibility.. And it had a Lycoming making it far better than that other piece of plastic crap...the Katana (hateful winged thing that will never replace the aeroplane!)

Not sure I'd buy old ones though.....:eek: