T-65 Vega
N77TP
handle, climb, run and general quality of manufacture. Are there many
active in GB?
Thanks
TP
Peter Deane
I had a partnership in a T65 A model for 3 years, flying in the Sierras.
It is something of a novelty in these parts..... If you find a good
one with a concientious owner they are very good value for money.
In the air it was quite pretty. Looked ungainly on the ground due to
the high gear.
Here are my opinions on this glider;
a) Build quality; OK, not as good as Schleicher or S.Hirth
In particular I had terrible problems with the water bags. They were
quite flimsy and prone to leaking.
With all the AD's done this is a sturdy reliable ship of respectable
performance.
b) The original Vega had a bad reputation due to a poor spar design
which was corrected by a major AD and should have been fixed for
free by the factory. Check this out. The reputation remained with
the glider even after the AD's were done, unfortunately.
There are many 'armchair experts' who claim to know something about
these gliders but in reality are only familiar with the mother-goose
'gossip' surrounding the glider.
Also, make sure that the controls have been mass balanced.
In particular there was a factory technical note issued in the UK for
re-fitting a beefed up spoiler/flap rod anchor joint (in the cockpit)
that was not issued in the States. Guess what; one day, ours failed
prompting an uneventful but exciting landing.
New assemblies can be obtained from Maclean Aviation in Yorkshire (they
advertise in Sailplane & Gliding). Drawings from Slingsby are available but
you need to get to talk to the staff who were originally involved
in the design of the Vega.
Slingsby are no longer 'officially' supporting the gliders. Maclean
Aviation bought all Slingsby's spare parts and are the people to
contact about stocked items. The carried the flap rods and water bags
when I last talked to them some years ago.
c) Spoilers (trailing edge air brakes) can only be extended with full
negative or full positive flap (+/- 8 degrees). The flaps have no
external hinge; the top surface of the glass actually flexes.
d) Performance; Pretty good; somewhere between a Mosquito and a ASW-20
Its very strong; Thermals well but not like a ASW-20 or a Discus.
e) Handling; Generally good; there are several things here;
i) The gear is VERY tall which is GREAT for off-field landings
but can make take-off runs at high field elevations a bit tricky...
At density altitudes of 6-8 thousand feet the tips are still easily
stalled by the time you go barging through the tow plane prop wash.
This caused some excitement occasionally as the wing would drop a
long way due to the high gear and it would be difficult to get back
up again. Requesting strong acceleration from the tuggie seemed to
ease the problem significantly.
ii) At lower altitudes this was never a problem and the glider
was a real peach. Getting the tail off the ground early was key
to good aileron control.
iii) Once in the air handling was good.
iv) Roll rate was a bit ponderous; narrow ailerons?? ASW-20
and Discus are more rapid, better coordinated.
f) Visibility; Superb; it has a really long canopy. It also takes
tall pilots.
g) Wierd stuff; It has a retractable tail wheel; never gave any problems
and causes a few raised eyebrows but otherwise seems a bit eccentric.
h) Finish is acrylic, not gel-coat; easier refinishing???
i) It is type certified in the US if memory serves.
j) I believe the D model with a higher wing-loading and kevlar bits
would be a preferable purchase. I don't know which AD's are pertinent
to the D model. I advise checking with your local A&P who will have a
database of AD's by aircraft type.
I eventually decided I wanted my own ship and bought an ASW-20; :-))
Hope this helps. The above are my personal experiences with the glider. I
can't vouch for the absolute correctness of the info since I haven't owned
one for a while. I'd be interested in hearing the experiences of others
since it is an unusual glider in the US.....
2T (whoever I am...)
(just me talking)
Raul Blacksten
1/2 owner in a Vega. He was on crutches. I asked what happened
and he said he was flying the Vega one day, straight and level,
when the glider suffered massive spar failure. He had to bail
out and broke his pelvis. I have not seen either him, his
partner, nor the Vega since. It is the only glider I ever
heard of which broke up in air which was not in a cloud. I
have heard since that it was not uncommon for the Vega.
Peter Deane
> I asked what happened and he said he was flying the Vega one
> day, straight and level, when the glider suffered massive spar
> failure.
Do you know the circumstances of the breakup?? Was it pilot induced?
How fast was he flying?? Were the AD's complied with??(see my earlier
post)
> I have not seen either him, his partner, nor the Vega since.
Was this due to the bailout?? the Vega?? Was this explained
specifically to you?? Do you actually KNOW why you didn't see him
again??
> It is the only glider I ever heard of which broke up in air which
> was not in a cloud.
There are many instances of gliders breaking up in clear air due to being
flown too fast or overstressed by a pilot who didn't observe placarded
limits.
>I have heard since that it was not uncommon for the Vega.
Please state your sources and specific occurrences. My understanding
of "not uncommon" is "common". This seems a complete exageration to me.
My understanding is that Baer Salen ripped the wings off his early model
Vega in a contest, after which an AD was issued and the spar issue was
resolved. (See my earlier post)
As I said in my previous post, the AD's were issued and to my knowledge
(and experience) Vega's havent had any problems since. I would be
interested to hear of any post-AD problems.
I would ask that if you are going to post NEGATIVE connotations about
an aircraft on the net, that you please make your sources explicit
and stick to verifiable facts or personal experience of a glider
that you can vouch for. Carte blanche negative connotations are no
service to anyone.
There are Vega owners who posess perfectly good gliders that I'm sure
would challenge your statements, or at least appreciate seeing them
put them in a factual context.
In the UK, there are many servicable Vegas still flying. Indeed, several
pilots have put 17m tips on them and they're still going strong.
Peter Deane (ASW-20 2T)
(just me talking)