Mini-Nimbus experiences
du.nw.schule.de
110kg) and have acceptable performance.
In Germany, there are a couple of Mini-Nimbus for sale at acceptable prices.
T
Has anybody some experience with the Mini-Nimbus?
Handling on ground, in the air, performance Maintenance / repair Problems?
It would be great to get some feedback
-martin-
Bill Berle
the LS-3, AS-W20, etc. that were its contemporaries. However it is a good XC
sailplane, roomy, and has reasonably good flight characteristics. The early
versions had an all-flying tail, which is a slight concern when flying at high
speeds because you cannot release the stick. The Mini-Nimbus has excellent and
powerful dive brakes like the Mosquito and early Ventus. It seemed to be a
robust and capable glider, but for competition it needs to be prepared very
carefully, and you will still not equal the competition. At anything below than
80% of the cost of an LS-3, AS-W20, etc. it would be a good buy in my opinion.
With a re-profiling of the airfoil, good sealing, and high performance
preparations, it is capable of excellent performance in "club class" or "sport
class" competition.The possibility of winglets, tip extensions, and
experimentation with turbulator strips might yield very good improvements.
However, it is simply not of equal value to the AS-W20, Ventus, or perhaps the
LS-3.
Bill Berle
former owner s/n 50 N824T
VNE
don't think he even has to stop and circle anymore.
Fun, easy to fly ship. Reasonable 15m performance. If everything else
about the deal is good except the all flying tail, I might live with it.
But I would get the "other" elevator If I could . Hard to take a leak
with one hand.
VNE
Michael and Karen Steckner
the light stick feel quite nicely.
Many pilots find that circling with thermalling flaps the roll
authority is not particularly good.
M
pc
Is it a retrofit on existing ships or was it an addition at build time
before they got the 2 parts elevator.
Cheers.
Pierre
Michael and Karen Steckner <m...@gwis.com> a écrit dans le message :
381c00ca...@news.gwis.com...
Bill Berle
the flying tail had the servo tab but I am not certain. If there were a few
that did not, I'm sure it was only the very early models.
The Mini-Nimbus is a perfectly good sailplane, and the sensitive elevator is
simply one minor quirk that the pilot must be aware of. In every other
sailpalne there are quirks too. From a safety standpoint for a beginner, I
think it equals itself out. The elevator is sensitive and must be respected
more than other types. But the dive brakes are so powerful as to allow vertical
dives from clouds without damage to the glider, which many other gliders would
not survive.
The roll authority at low speed is perhaps not as good as some other gliders.
But the Mini-Nimbus will probably benefit greatly in this area with some
modern "tricks" that have become common in newer ships. I have never seen a
Mini with a complete and functional set of upper and lower mylar seal strips.
This alone might improve the handling considerably. I would think that adding
the turbulator strips to the top surface of the wing at perhaps .50 chord would
make a noticable difference. I installed vortex generators on the wing root of
my Mini-Nimbus and it lowered the stall speeds by 3 or 4 mph. I understand that
the Mini-Nimbus wing was built in molds that themselves were inaccurate molds
from an old Glasflugel 604's outer panel. I have heard that a properly profiled
Mini-Nimbus with an accurate airfoil (FX-67-K-150/170) makes a substantial
improvement in performance as well.
My point is simply that with the same care and preparation as newer competition
gliders receive, the Mini-Nimbus will achieve equally valuable performance and
handling improvements. It will of course not ever reach the performance of it's
descendant the Ventus, but at half the cost it will surely provide 90% of the
capability.
If anyone is interested in discussing the improvements and ideas I have
mentioned, please e-mail me at as-w20 (at) westworld.com
Bill Berle
pc
My club in Belgium owns the 54 IIRC. So it should have this "servo tap" too.
I can't figure out how it is implemented and where to locate it. Is it an
adjustable device?
I agree with your opinion of a "perfectly good sailplane". I appreciate very
much the dive brakes and the safety they bring when an outlanding can't be
avoided
If this elevetor sensitivity could be reduced though I'm sure some stress
could be avoided for the pilots.
Cheers.
Pierre
Bill Berle <see_signature_file_on....@westworld.com> a
écrit dans le message : 382071FC...@westworld.com...
> I owned s/n 50 and it had the servo tab on it. I suspect that all Minis
with
> the flying tail had the servo tab but I am not certain. If there were a
few
> that did not, I'm sure it was only the very early models.
>
> The Mini-Nimbus is a perfectly good sailplane, and the sensitive elevator
is
> simply one minor quirk that the pilot must be aware of. In every other
> sailpalne there are quirks too. From a safety standpoint for a beginner, I
> think it equals itself out. The elevator is sensitive and must be
respected
> more than other types. But the dive brakes are so powerful as to allow
vertical
> dives from clouds without damage to the glider, which many other gliders
would
> not survive.
>
[cut]
Gil Alexander
like night and day .... high speed flight without two hands on the stick
is now possible, and comfortable.
I believe the mod. was required by the British Gliding Association, and
drawings were difficult to track down in the US. I finally got a kit from
Southern Sailplanes in the UK.
The linkage is quite clever, totally passive, and just relies on a pin
sliding in a slot that yis cut in the side of the fin, just below the
top. A Stanley brand hinge is required, along with a simple weldment,
all sizes given.
I have a set of factory drawing I might be able to find (just moved house
to Tucson, and haven't sorted out all of the boxes yet) if any other owner
would like to perform the mod. I presume that there should be no
copyright problem, since the US distributor reported that the factory
said that these drawings don't exist...:^)
Gil Alexander (ACE) Mini-Nimbus S/N 16
Gil Alexander
Michael and Karen Steckner
and 4-5" long. It was on the elevator trailing edge just right of
midline. There is a rigid connect to a 1-2" long slot on the vertical
stabilizer. You pull back on the stick, elevator goes up but rigid
connect to servo tab pulls it down to counteract.
According to the factory, the wing is not suited for tubulators.
Masak, in his Performance Enhancement book (a great book for anyone
wanting to clean up their glider) does not list any turbulator
positions either.
I would be most interested to hear more about your vortex generators.
I have a full set of seals on my Mini (conventional tail) and I really
did not experience any improvement in the low speed roll rate. I do
not have an internal seal on the one aileron, but the other aileron
and all flaps are internally sealed. All control surfaces (except
elevator) do have mylar seals. The tolerances on the gaps there were
so tight I could not manage it. There is still some more sealing I am
attempting, but I dont think that is going to magically improve my
handling. I find it interesting that one pilot I know with one of the
earlier Ventus tells me that they have poor low speed handling as
well. Apparently there were wing filet mods out there which helped a
lot.
Any Mosquito pilots out there want to comment on their low speed
handling characteristics? It is the identical wing out of the same
molds, save for apparently minor internal construction differences.
I have also heard that winglets definately help the Mini handling.
For the price, the Mini has exceptional value.
M
Bill Berle
<see_signature_file_on....@westworld.com> wrote:
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>I owned s/n 50 and it had the servo tab on it. I suspect that all Minis with
>the flying tail had the servo tab but I am not certain. If there were a few
>that did not, I'm sure it was only the very early models.
>
>The Mini-Nimbus is a perfectly good sailplane, and the sensitive elevator is
>simply one minor quirk that the pilot must be aware of. In every other
>sailpalne there are quirks too. From a safety standpoint for a beginner, I
>think it equals itself out. The elevator is sensitive and must be respected
>more than other types. But the dive brakes are so powerful as to allow vertical
>dives from clouds without damage to the glider, which many other gliders would
>not survive.
>
>> Michael and Karen Steckner <m...@gwis.com> a écrit dans le message :
>> 381c00ca...@news.gwis.com...
>> > Some all flying tail Mini have an anti-servo tab which reputedly tames
>> > the light stick feel quite nicely.
>> >
>> > Many pilots find that circling with thermalling flaps the roll
>> > authority is not particularly good.
>> >
>> > M
>> >
>> > VNE <v...@gte.net> wrote:
>> >
>> > >Bob Semans kicked butt in one for years, but with his new Ventus, I
>> > >don't think he even has to stop and circle anymore.
>> > >Fun, easy to fly ship. Reasonable 15m performance. If everything else
>> > >about the deal is good except the all flying tail, I might live with it.
>> > >But I would get the "other" elevator If I could . Hard to take a leak
>> > >with one hand.
>> > >VNE
>> > >
>> >
>
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michael_...@yahoo.com
Can those mini pilots that have experienced full multi rotation spins in the mini describe what caused the spin, the glider's configuration, the glider's behavior in a spin, and the steps they took to recover...
I've never spun my mini, N171XX, SN 103. Our club is about to initiate spin tramping in our new ASK 21s, so I would like to spin the mini if safe to do so.
Mike
Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot)
Hope you get a reply from the "OP's"......,
John Wells
the wing drop stage. (A fully developed spin for me may be difficult
anyway as I'm right at the forward C of G limit).
I don't see why the standard recovery, as covered in the manual
wouldn't work -- just be prepared to push the flap level forward as
you recover so you don't exceed the max flaps speed.
I find the mushing stall quite strange in mine -- other than losing
elevator authority and the change in airflow sound, mine doesn't
give much away... the speed just bleeds off, and I haven't felt any
pre-stall buffet. Mine just seems to "hang there, " before suddenly
dropping a wing.
John
Han Vos
New co-owner of a mini werknummer 54.
Han Vos
han...@outlook.com