|
|
The Open Cirrus Association Newsletter Volume I, Issue 3 August 1, 1996 The Current Fleet There hasn’t been much action in the last few months in finding
"new" Cirruses, although a couple have changed hands. I’m
attaching the Status List as I know it as of August 1. Self-Assembly
Rigs Gary Nelson (Cirrus No.70, N8145) is interested in the systems people
have devised for easing the Cirrus assembly process. He’d like to come up
with a system that would let him do it all himself. Jim Kellett’s been using the rig from Micro Dimensions, LTD, 7 Dunham
Drive, New Fairfield, CT 06812, phone (203) 746-6506. It’s frequently
advertised in SOARING. It is horribly overpriced (over a thousand dollars!)
but certainly does the job well. This system holds a wing at about it’s
center of gravity, and permits one person to easily remove the wing from the
trailer, roll it around, flip-flop the wing from vertical to horizontal, and
position it for insertion into the fuselage. It can be obtained with a little
electric motor that slowly raises and lowers it to make it easier to insert
the wing pins. You still have to have a single, fixed wingstand to hold the
first wing up while you move the rig to the second wing. A couple of people in our club have, using the same concept, fabricated
their own self-assembly rigs at much less price…. One for a LAK-12, and
another for a homebuilt RS-15. Our
Expatriate Cirrus… Steve Veness (Cirrus No. 23 ID-FXG (UK), Originally N1216) reports that this
ship has done 3 x 300kms so far this year plus syndicate partner Mike Weston
has completed his silver duration. There's life in the old bird yet! (No.23
not Mike!) Performance
Data? In Response to Query from Steve Veness, who was looking for
"hard" data on Cirrus performance, Jim Kellett found Paul Bickle’s
article, "Polars of Eight" in the June, 1970 issue of SOARING. In
that article, he reported on the test flying of eight machines, including the
Cirrus, under carefully controlled conditions. The Cirrus tested in that The tested dry and wet best L/D as measured was 37. Comparable data for
the other seven ships were Kestrel, 38; 16.5 meter Diamant, 38.5; Phoebus C,
37.5; T-6, 36.3; Phoebus A, 34; BG-12, 31, and SGS 1-26, 21.5. I'm not aware of any other rigorous tests (e.g., like Johnson's) on the
Cirrus, but there may well have been. DuPont Regatta Welcomes Cirruses! The Richard C. DuPont Memorial Sailplane Regatta will be hosted by the
Skyline Soaring Club, with the cooperation of the Mid-Atlantic Soaring
Association, at New Market Airport in New Market, VA on September 13-15. This
is an annual event, initiated by the Vintage Sailplane Association,
commemorates a record-setting flight back in the thirties by DuPont. It is
traditionally a very low-key social meet, involving lots of "fun
flying", and occasionally sports-class short contest flights and/or
around-the-airport events (like spot landings or bomb drops, etc.) depending
on the weather. There’s also an attempt to roughly re-create DuPont’s
original flight (from Big Meadows, VA to Frederick, MD). Now that Cirruses that are over 25 years old are legitimate
"Classic" sailplanes according to the Vintage Sailplane
Association’s criteria, a special invitation to them is hereby made to come
play at the DuPont Regatta! (More modern sailplanes are, of course, welcome…
in fact, Tom Knauff is planning to come and bring his Duo-Discus!) All you
need to do is show up. Registration will be $10 per plane ($20 for
"modern" gliders). For more information, give Jim Kellett [(540)
678-4798, <jkellett@shentel.net>] or Linn Buell [(703) 698-0542, <LBuellvsa@aol.com>]
a call. See also Skyline Soaring Club’s website at http://www.ssl.umd.edu/skyline/.
It includes directions to the New Market Airport. |