Same old me, new improved glider

rottydaddy

rottydaddy

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Finally got that much-awaited first lesson of 2009 in Monday, after hanging around all day Sunday hoping the wind would behave (it never did).

Did two flights, first getting off at 3000 and spending an hour chasing very strong but narrow thermals (only got to 3800 max, but spent a lot of time in zero lift), then getting off at 2500 after boxing the wake twice.

The 2-33 sure is a lot quieter now, especially as you enter a stall... tighter fabric and probably a more-solid elevator must be the cause for that. It used to sound (to me) like the tail was going to come off as the buffeting started, now it's very gentle, but still that reliable 2-33 rumble. She's a bit lighter than before, and can be flown a bit slower. The repaired trim ratchet is a huge help there, as well. We'd also put a new axle in, so she rolls a bit quieter on the paved runway, too.

As for me, I did OK... pretty uneven on the first tow, and just awful IMHO on my first box, but by the second box I had most of the kinks out. Did the first pattern entry from the downwind side, then one with a midfield cross... pretty happy with my patterns and landings, although I crowded the runway a little on the second downwind leg for some reason.
The instructor was satisfied, and even commented that he was surprised how quickly I got back into the groove. I'm inclined to agree, although I can see how much rust removal I have yet to do before I can solo. Not surprisingly, it's the mental stuff- checklists, scanning, etc- that need the most work. But it will all gel soon enough.

It was great to just get up there and fly that old crate again... I was glad to see I hadn't completely forgotten how to do the standard things (didn't forget my "200 feet" callout, LOL), but the best parts for me were just silly things like big swooping turns and a nice deep slip into the pattern on the second flight.

I think this will be a pretty good season...:D
 
excellent!

We had a 2-22 that had a big piece of sheet metal between the wings as a fairing. Well it probably wasnt held down the tightest but it made a really good stall warning horn. when flow started to separate that metal would start flapping and make a racket! Good that the glider is quiet though. Noise is drag and a 2-33 already has enough of that.
 
tonycondon said:
excellent!

We had a 2-22 that had a big piece of sheet metal between the wings as a fairing. Well it probably wasnt held down the tightest but it made a really good stall warning horn. when flow started to separate that metal would start flapping and make a racket! Good that the glider is quiet though. Noise is drag and a 2-33 already has enough of that.
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Hadn't thunka that, but it's possible the same strip was part of the noise problem before (the 33 also has a long strip from the skylight back to the trailing edge). We actually had to re-fab that after the wind got under the old cover one winter day when it was tied down and beat the crap out of it... also put some thin foam weatherstripping on the new one; probably helps with the noise. Maybe it's not "normal", but now 94H doesn't rattle at al entering the stall- just shivers and rumbles.

Overall, though, other than the repairs and new fabric on the tail feathers, I think the main reduction in noise is due to a tighter seal around the canopy, door, and window- lots of new weatherstripping. We still have more we can do to make it tighter for cold-weather ops, including fixing the plastic panel at the right wing root, which is letting a lot of air in... great in summer for the rear-seater, but torture in the winter.:D
 
the 2-22 in my current club is the draft-master. back seat is like flying open cockpit. big gap between the back door and the wing, and along the canopy, etc. it falls out of the sky pretty quickly, even for a 2-22.

my cherokee has a pretty well sealed canopy. really quiet, I can hear train whistles, car horns, etc.

of course last saturday the first guy up in his Ventus was thermalling over the field and we could hear an odd sort of low pitch whistling noise coming from his glider. speculation was he had left his dump valves open. i figured that would hurt the performance but he ended up flying 240 miles!
 
The 2-22 and 2-33 are a hoot to fly, Tony is right, the one in Ames seemed to have a magnificent stall warning flapper! I am glad you are getting back in the groove so quickly keep up the good work.
 
Our 2-33 does not have problems with the "stall warning flapper", it stays on pretty tight. Just feel a bit a a buzz in the seat with the tail starts complaining prior to stall. Having the students doing MCA demonstrations with "a buzz on", is a good thing.

Our back seat is drafty, that's ok when it's 100F in the summer, but come winter it's not so fun. The instructor really has to bundle up. Problem with the gap seal between the front canopy hatch and the rear seat windows and bubble overhead in the back seat. We fly year round, temperature can get down to 40-50F in calm air.

Our 2-33 has been in the valley over 20yrs, since new I think. On it's 3rd fabric covering, we did it back in 2000 or so and has over 5000hrs at the last annual.
 
BillTIZ said:
Our 2-33 does not have problems with the "stall warning flapper", it stays on pretty tight. Just feel a bit a a buzz in the seat with the tail starts complaining prior to stall. Having the students doing MCA demonstrations with "a buzz on", is a good thing.

Our back seat is drafty, that's ok when it's 100F in the summer, but come winter it's not so fun. The instructor really has to bundle up. Problem with the gap seal between the front canopy hatch and the rear seat windows and bubble overhead in the back seat. We fly year round, temperature can get down to 40-50F in calm air.
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Yep- we still have the same problem with ours, as we could not find an adequate replacement for that particular rubber seal along the back edge of the canopy, and it has shrunk enough that there's a decent gap all around. On a flight today, after suspending ops for a cell to pass by with some rain, on takeoff the rear-seater got rained on when all the water sloughed off the canopy and got sucked into that gap. :D And unless we rectify that, this winter it will be pretty darn cold back there, although front-seaters will fare better with new canopy rubber up front and at the sides. Last winter flight I made in it was in January... it was above freezing at the surface, but not much. Brrr.

Our 2-33 has been in the valley over 20yrs, since new I think. On it's 3rd fabric covering, we did it back in 2000 or so and has over 5000hrs at the last annual.
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Ours is a 1975, I think... and this may have been the first re-cover. No idea how many hours it has; didn't check that when I looked at the paperwork. Probably a lot- it saw a lot of use even before this club acquired it.
 
akite said:
I am glad you are getting back in the groove so quickly keep up the good work.
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Thanks, it does feel good. Made two more solo hops today... first went perfectly, second approach was... ummm... not my best... but both times I landed well. Getting real comfy on tow now- I'll probably do some boxing on the next solo tow.
 
Our's is a SGS 2-33A, Ser Num 417.
Read all about it in this months SSA Magazine.
And no, I was not the CFIG nor the Tow Pilot.
 
Bill,

that was a hell of a story. I was very glad that everyone involved was willing to write it up.
 
BillTIZ said:
Our's is a SGS 2-33A, Ser Num 417.
Read all about it in this months SSA Magazine.
And no, I was not the CFIG nor the Tow Pilot.
Click to expand...
A very close shave... and good thing it was a 2-33, not just because of the dimensions involved, but because even the empennage is pretty damn stout. :D

The spar of the vertical stab carries right down thru the fuse and is bolted to the steel at the bottom. Another bolt secures the front of the root to the steel. Three hinges, all milled aluminum with An-4 bolts for pins. And the extended upper part that came off is mostly there for optimum balance of the rudder- they probably still had decent rudder action, unless it was deformed too much. I'll bet the steel points where the stab attaches weren't damaged at all.
 
rottydaddy said:
A very close shave... and good thing it was a 2-33, not just because of the dimensions involved, but because even the empennage is pretty damn stout. :D

The spar of the vertical stab carries right down thru the fuse and is bolted to the steel at the bottom. Another bolt secures the front of the root to the steel. Three hinges, all milled aluminum with An-4 bolts for pins. And the extended upper part that came off is mostly there for optimum balance of the rudder- they probably still had decent rudder action, unless it was deformed too much. I'll bet the steel points where the stab attaches weren't damaged at all.
Click to expand...

The vertical spar attach points were closely inspected and new bolts were used to attach the replacemnt. No damage found. The directional control issues were because the fin was twisted introducing a trun component in the direction away from the airfield.
 
tonycondon said:
Bill,

that was a hell of a story. I was very glad that everyone involved was willing to write it up.
Click to expand...


Yes indeed, lessons cannot be learned by others if we don't share.

The "new student" is progressing nicely and we have even taken her kids up.
 
Schweizer, American Iron... takes a licking and keeps on flying.
 
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