DG200 Comments
Peter Temple
G'day
I'm looking at buying a DG200 (15m) and any comments on the glider
type would be very useful.
In particular:
Are there any significant problems with the design or construction?
e.g leaking water ballast, collapsing undercarriage, cracking canopy,
difficult access for maintenance
What is the difference between the DG200 and DG202?
Apart form the span in what way are the 17m versions different?
How does it compare to the Mosquito?
Where is(are) the release(s) and what does the glider handle like on
winch and aerotow?
How well does the cockpit accommodate different height pilots
(particularly average height and short pilots)?
What does it handle like at max AUW?
When were the first and last of type manufactured?
...this is beginning to look like an exam question :-)
Anyway if you have any comments (even unrelated to the above)
they would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.
Pete
Richard Brisbourne
In article <33A63D...@dsto.defence.gov.au>, Peter Temple <Peter.Temp
l...@dsto.defence.gov.au> writes
>G'day
>
>I'm looking at buying a DG200 (15m) and any comments on the glider
>type would be very useful.
>
Having owned a half share in one for 17 years from new I'll do what I
can.
>In particular:
>
>Are there any significant problems with the design or construction?
>e.g leaking water ballast, collapsing undercarriage, cracking canopy,
>difficult access for maintenance
>
The water ballast set up is none too clever. The dump valves are
connected to the levers in the cockpit by tatty choke cables which tend
to come adrift, occasionally in flight. I have had the interesting
experience of landing with one wing full and the other empty,
fortunately on a runway.
From about 10 years onwards we've had a tendency for the dump valves
themselves to stick, they need a bit of persuasion to keep moving
easily. At 17 years old we still have the original valves, you can push
them shut but they tend to stick partly open once opened, so you can't
do a partial dump. Bad news is you can't now buy replacements, so they
have to be fabricated; I'm advised a realistic cost would be around
GBP1000 a time.
Not much apart from that. It suffers from gel coat cracks building from
the corners of the brakeboxes which needs going over every few years.
The split canopy means instrument access is a bit fiddly by modern
standards, but tolerably so. Main problem in this department is size of
the panel (more of a problem here as we fit blind flying instruments:
you can have a T & S or a horizon, not both. The GPS is on a thigh
strap because it won't fit anywhere else.
>What is the difference between the DG200 and DG202?
>
I remember the DG 202 being advertised when it came out, AFAIR around
1982/3. The listed "new features" was a list of the things that annoyed
DG 200 owners, now fixed. Top of the list was the water ballast system.
Also a one-piece canopy. Aerodynamically it was the same, except that
most people bought the 17 metre (see below). A carbon fibre spar option
was advertised on both versions, I think it only actually shipped on the
202 (if I'm wrong here doubtless someone will correct me).
The 200 canopy has one nice feature, the perspex goes forward right to
your toes, so you don't get cold feet in wave.
>Apart form the span in what way are the 17m versions different?
>
Apart from the span they weren't. The 17 was of course a 15/17 with
detachable tips. In the UK I never saw a 17m 200 or a 15m 202, although
both were certainly offered.
>How does it compare to the Mosquito?
Performance, very similar, maybe a little better. I only flew the
Mosquito once, so I can't comment on other aspects, except for a
personal preference for the DG conventional airbrakes over the trailing
edge brakes on the Mossie.
>Where is(are) the release(s) and what does the glider handle like on
>winch and aerotow?
>
There's a single release hook, just in front of the wheel. Handling on
aerotow and winch fine. Heights on winch launch not exactly K8 standard
but still pretty reasonable.
>How well does the cockpit accommodate different height pilots
>(particularly average height and short pilots)?
>
Well, I'm average, and adjust pedals etc to around the middle. Should be
OK to 6 ft plus, apart from that don't know, and don't know anyone tall
who flies one. Not so good if you're fat, the cockpit is rather narrow.
I am 190 lb, 5ft 8 and feel distinctly cramped if flying in full wave
kit.
>What does it handle like at max AUW?
This is England :-) Heaviest I've ever flown it is 42 Kg/sq m. against
a max of 45. Handling is pretty good. It helps the landing if you
succeed in getting rid of the water (see above).
>When were the first and last of type manufactured?
>
First, 1979. (Ours is 1980). Not sure about the last, guess around '84.
>...this is beginning to look like an exam question :-)
>Anyway if you have any comments (even unrelated to the above)
>they would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.
>
Above comments notwithstanding a great little machine. Performance with
the ASW20 generation, excellent handling, good brakes for the small
fields.
>Pete
>
>Peter....@dsto.defence.gov.au
--
Richard Brisbourne | | |
+--+- -Soar the big sky- +--+- +--+-
Bury, Lancs,UK | | |
Karl-Friedrich Weber
Peter Temple wrote:
>
> G'day
>
> I'm looking at buying a DG200 (15m) and any comments on the glider
> type would be very useful.
>
Well, the DG-202 in 17 m wingspan was the basic model for the very
successful motorized DG-400, which was built till 1992 or so.
The ship was very well and competitive over the years.
Always happy landings
K.-F. Weber
Karl-Friedrich Weber DG Flugzeugbau GmbH
Florastrasse 5 Im Schollengarten 20
D-33729 Bielefeld D-76646 Bruchsal
eM: k-f-...@t-online.de eM: dg-flug...@t-online.de
web-site http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de
DG Flugzeugbau - Manufacturer of DG Gliders