PIK 20 sailplane information
Kari Kemppi
>and asked information.
PIK 20 was designed in early 70's by a group of soaring
enthusiastics in the Helsinki University of Technology,
Finland. It's first international debute was in 1974
world championship which was held in Australia. Two years
later, 1976, the next championship contest was in
Rayskala (EFRY), Finland. The first and third places in
15m class were flown by PIK20's.
Undoubtly PIK 20 was the best 15 meter class glider in the
world at that moment.
There are 4 versions of PIK 20:
PIK 20A flaps and ailerons uncoupled,
all glass fiber
PIK 20B no spoilers,
coupled ailerons and flaps
PIK 20D Schempp-Hirth spoilers
carbon-fibre struts
PIK 20E like D but equipped with a small
motor that can be wounded inside
fuselage. Capable to self start.
There is no version C. Total of 416 was built.
Prototype had it's virgin flight October 10 1973, and is
now in museum at Helsinki-Vantaa airport (EFHK).
Model D production started 1978(?). The production was
stopped 1980. A French company bought the dies and rights
of the E model, the motor glider. It may still be in
production under name PIK-30. (They actually do not have
any right to use the name PIK, but you know Frenchmen).
I am a member of Polyteknikkojen Ilmailukerho (PIK!!!) at
the HUT. The designers are still club members.
We had the prototype in service until a couple of years.
We still have one PIK 20D in our fleet.
Model D is very fun to fly. The controls are nice, not too
heavy or light. The performance is still quite good
compared to any new flap design and beat the standard
class planes. The stall and spin characteristics are
logical and safe. Cabin section of the fuselage is very
strong and protects pilot in accidents.
I personally like PIK 20 more than LS-4 or LS-7. PIK has
some personality when LS-4 is impersonal, like a japanese
car, and LS-7 is a little bit like trimmed F1 racer,
stricly made for competition. With PIK you can also fly
aerobatics, which is forbidden in all the new German
sailplanes.
The biggest drawback in PIK 20 is that it doesn't fly when
wet. The gliding ratio decreases from 40 to roughly 7
(!!!!) when the wing is wet. That is because of the early
laminar profile of the wing. So KEEP OUT SHOWERS. If you
happen to get wet after all, get out quick, start looking
for a field to land and fly about 105 - 115 km/h with some
positive flaps (6-8 degrees). If it is only some drops the
wings will dry soon, and you may avoid field landing.
In the start it pays to have some negative flaps (-4 degrees),
since it increases aileron power. When you have speed
enough (~60-70km/h), move the flaps positive, and the plane hovers
gently from the ground. In D model flaps are operated by a
lever, but in B model you may have to wound, so it is not
that easy.
The B model is very similar to D, except when landing. The
ailerons are not very effective especially when you have
positive flaps and low speed. I haven't myself flown a B
model but I've been told the ailerons are a little bit
more effective in D model. Lazy ailerons are not any
safety hazard, but the plane just banks slower when you
make rounds in updraught. In landing flaps are used
instead of spoilers, so the attitude is a little stange
(nose down). But you said you won't mind.
As a conclusion I would say PIK 20 (B/D/E) is a very good
glider with nice handling characteristics. So if the price
is right, go for it.
I would like to see more postings on soaring in
rec.avionics as well as more comments from Europe. I plan
to write and post a travel report from our annual wave
soaring camp in Northern Sweden near Kiruna next March,
and another report on third (!!!) soaring camp in Estonia
next spring.
Also, if there is somebody in the networld, who knows
something about wave soaring outside Scandinavia, I would
greatly appreciate your comments on how it is done, what
is the weather like (winds, clouds), how high you go, what
kind of planes you have etc. etc.
So this became a little bit longer I first thought,
thanks for reading.
Kari Kemppi
member
Polyteknikkojen Ilmailukerho ry
(Polytechnical Flying Club)
Espoo, Finland
ka...@ray.fi