Seeking input on Glasflugel/Slingsby Kestrel
Bill Jackson
T59D 19m model. I have no familiarity with them and would like to hear
from pilots/owners in two main areas:
1) suitability of this ship for a relatively low time pilot, handling
etc
and
2) maintanance and upkeep etc.
I have about 200 glider hours total, most of it in a Russia AC-4 after
initial training and flying in Schweizers. I love the look of the
Kestrel and like the specifications. I have flown a Lark with flaps and
decided I would like my next ship to have them, hence my interest in the
Kestrel! How is this ship to assemble? I know its going to be a lot
more hassle than my Russia - does it have automatic control hookups?
I am also interested to hear if their are any maintenance issues owners
may have come across since I gather Slingsby is no longer in business.
Are parts available? Can parts be acquired from Glasflugel?
Any comments much apprecaited, either to the newsgroup or by email to me
at bjac...@analogy.com
thanks
Bill Jackson
Al
It is a great machine, a classic in its own right.
Gives 43:1 on a good day which is not bad for a 1969 design at 18M
The Slingsby Kestrels were built to 19M and approached 45:1 LD
Handling is real nice the Kestrel has a fully mixed wing so you get flaperon
movement across the whole wing.
It will thermal down to 40knots and climbs real well.
On a run it will keep up with ASW20's up to about 70-80knots then the 20's
will pull away from you.
Kestrels after Serial # 26 are build from foam core as opposed to Balsa
cored wings plus the later ones have a better aerofoil on the horizontal
stabilzer.
Rigging is very easy with practise you can have one toegether and taped in
20Mins.
The stick uses a parralogram movement and seams wierd to start with then
once you fly with it for a little while is really nice and you miss it when
you fly other ships.
Trim is on a push button on the bottom of the stick grip which is a real joy
to use.
The nose being all glazed keeps your toes warm in the wave!!
the cockpit is a real XL size loads of head, shoulder and leg room.
The plane is equiped with 3 different kinds of lift reducing devices.
Top surface Airbrake's
40degree landing flaps
and if thats not enough a tail chute.
Only drawback with it is the gross weight is 835Lbs (if my memory serves me
right) which means that with most pilots you are always at Max Gross less
10-15Lbs.
All in all Kestrel is a great machine well worth hunting down a nice one.
Regards
Al
GF O'Neill
I have not flown the 19 m version but I have talked to those that have and
the
longer wings slow its turn rate down quite a bit so a little more work is
needed
to thermal, more ruddering etc
One big note about drag chutes ,do not deploy below 60 knots as you cannot
gain speed once its out but apart from that it is fantastic coming over the
gliding site at 1000ft nosing over to near vertical, deploy do 3/4 of a turn
flare and land,
or as a previous owner did 30ft ,120 knots 100metres short of clubhouse
deploy
and stop short of the clubhouse.
Great gadgets but very potent!
One last point make sure drag chute stays dry as the weight of water makes
it rotate behind and give an almost pio effect of 10-15 degree pitching,
alarming but stable.
In all a great a aircraft but lots to do so work out all landing control
sequences
and just remember they are early fibreglass so they can be a bit of a
floater
so speed control is vital .
I did an almost unheard thing for a 1000 hr pilot when I first flew GGW ,
I did 8 circuits to get the feel of the ship till I felt happy about landing
short.
I did some very long and happy flights
I would say go for it ,do some practise and have a good time.
I believe Streifenader does supply parts ,but check for yourself,he has a
net site
and his service is excellent and fast.IMHO
gary
Bill Jackson <bjac...@analogy.com> wrote in message
news:372CD125...@NOSPAM.analogy.com...
Al
never needed it!!
Nice update Gary.
Al
DRBDANIELI
The Kestrel 19 was my first glass expeirence after flying a 1-34 for 100 hrs.
or so. I was a 17 year old kid at the time and had no problems flying the
glider ever. I have owned several gliders over the years but the Kesterl has
long been one of my favorites. It was a little weak on rudder for the increase
span by todays standards and the wings were pretty heavy, however, if you are a
strong person it is just a big heavy Libelle as fara as ease of assemembly.
You only have to connect up the airlerons. Made several uneventful landings in
tight places with the 40 degree flaps, spoilers, and a drag chute to save your
butt. We had a bit of a rudder flutter problem but the factory sent us a new
universal actuator to tighten the thing up. I believe newer ships had a
larger fabric coverd rudder but I never saw a ship with one of those. I may
still have the drawings for that modification someplace. Also the divebrake
springs were a little weak and the brakes would suck out at high speeds and
"flutter". All in all, it was really a nice ship. It was great for me to get
my full diamond badge in, several state records, and cut my teeth on the
contest scene. The Nimbus II and ASW 17 were a little better performing but I
feel the Kestrel 19 was a little easier to fly and more forgiving on the ground
by fact of having a nose hook for aerotowing and a tail wheel instead of a skid
to help in those cross winds. I'm sure if you purchase one of these fine birds
you will be quite happy with it.
Barry
Steve Koerner
the ship - of course like most of us here, I would probably love any glider
that does what a 19 meter sailplane does. I think the remarks made so far
have been accurate and fitting but here's a couple counter-considerations
for you:
First, a drag chute is a mixed blessing. You need to be very carful about
relying on it to get you in. The problem is that deployment is not 100%
reliable. You need to think carefully about what your stratetgy is going
to be for deployment of the tail chute. Having this additional option can
complicate the landing process. I experienced cases of no deployment when
the deploy was pulled and I also experienced cases of premature chute
release (deployed and gone). All in all, a ship with stronger dive brakes
is much preferable over one with a drag chute. That wasn't known when the
Kestrel 19 was on the drawing board.
Second, the Kestrel 19 has a tendency to ground loop on landing. There were
way too many ocassions that I cringed to get unbuckled so I could look back
and see which way the tail feathers were pointed. Fortunately she's built
tough, so I never actually broke her boom - but it could happen. I didn't
fully sort out why the ship has this tendency; its not simply a matter of
dragging a wing tip. The ground loops can be induced if the ship is landed
slightly askew. I remember this problem mostly in connection with off-field
and crosswind scenarios. I think it has to do with the mass distribution
relative to the longitudinal placement of the main wheel (too far forward?).
At any rate, this is a problem worth knowing about in advance.
I might also observe that the standard issue Kestrel 19 trailer is not
entirely up to the rigors of intensive western US contest and record flying.
We had a lot of minor and not so minor problems with the trailer's
integrity. You might want to look at the trailer carefully too.
These aren't fatal flaws. If the price is right and your mechanic says
she's good, grab the Kestrel.
Steve Koerner (GW)
Mesa, AZ
Peter A Hearne
I had a Kestrel 19 for about 10 years 74 to 84 after an SHK-I It was a
revalation and they are still popular in the UK but a little rare these
days. In fact the UK out and return record to a declared goal of sme 800
odd kms was set in a Kestrel some 20 years ago and hasn't yet been
beaten although an ASH 25 has done a yo yo 1000.
Some points that havent been raised are
Good News 1. The gel coat on the Slingsby Kestrels was superb; far
better than the (dis)graceful degradation stuff we have had to get used
to these days
2 There was a further I metre span mod available in UK which
improved performance but at the expense of directional stability in
turns. I found it a gain rather than a loss.
Bad news. At least two Kestrels have lost their rudder in flight due to
a welding failure in the HTS integrated hinge actuator fitting at the
bottom of the rudder.One pilot got out successfully and the aircraft was
subsequently repaired THe other guy carried on with the 300 km flight he
was making from Tocumal and completed his task!! It is a difficult
fitting to inspect visually and I believe that to check the weld
penetration properly that the fitting has to be X rayed.
Secondly the wheel brake is difficult to keep at a reasonable
level of effectiveness which is a pain because you definitely need it in
short fields.
That said I would be very glad to have a Kestrel 19 as my introduction
to high performance gliding and I hope you have a great life together.
PETER HEARNE
In article <7B44BF074E6319C6.D605938E6E04ACC8.562AC5209708C072@library-
proxy.airnews.net>, Steve Koerner <koe...@dancris.com> writes
Peter A Hearne
The Limes
Wateringbury
Kent ME18 5NY
U.K
tel. 44 (0) 1622 812 385
fax. 44 (0) 1622 813 073
Walter Kahn
ships, I immediately ordered one of them, cost £3000 ex works. She was
a joy to fly and own, easy to rig - one friend to help was ample, great
fun to thermal and take cross-country - a real classic. One year
Slingsbys later brought out the 19 metre version and again I immediately
ordered one. Happily a syndicate at Dunstable offered me £4000 for my
17 and so even more happily I paid the £4000 Sling wanted for the new 19
metre! A few years later John Delafield added another metre to my span.
So 17, 19 and 20 metres of sheer bliss.
Treat your Kestrel right and she will not bite! Fly her hard and she
will reward you with Diamonds and satisfy most of your daytime dreams.
Go to it and have fun
Wally Kahn (I fly from Lasham in little old England).
In article <TsTfJDAx...@aeroex.demon.co.uk>, Peter A Hearne
<peter....@aeroex.demon.co.uk> writes
--
Walter Kahn
mben...@gmail.com
> I am thinking about purchasing one of these ships if I can, the Sligsby
> T59D 19m model. I have no familiarity with them and would like to hear
> from pilots/owners in two main areas:
>
> 1) suitability of this ship for a relatively low time pilot, handling
> etc
> and
> 2) maintanance and upkeep etc.
>
> I have about 200 glider hours total, most of it in a Russia AC-4 after
> initial training and flying in Schweizers. I love the look of the
> Kestrel and like the specifications. I have flown a Lark with flaps and
> decided I would like my next ship to have them, hence my interest in the
> Kestrel! How is this ship to assemble? I know its going to be a lot
> more hassle than my Russia - does it have automatic control hookups?
>
> I am also interested to hear if their are any maintenance issues owners
> may have come across since I gather Slingsby is no longer in business.
> Are parts available? Can parts be acquired from Glasflugel?
>
> Any comments much apprecaited, either to the newsgroup or by email to me
> at bjac...@analogy.com
>
> thanks
>
> Bill Jackson
Mike B
C-FFKQ (42)
> Does anyone reading this post know where I can get a forward canopy section for my Kestrel in the USA?
>
> Mike B
Keith Andrews
club glider. They did a very good job.
Keith A.