ES Glider Fleet Changes

from Tony Puglisi

At the February 9 board of directors meeting a partial fleet rationalization plan was discussed.  Three motions were passed:

1) The board voted to enter into negotiations with Tony Wiederkehr with the object of purchasing the Twin Astir and trailer that was leased to us last year.

2) The board voted to sell the 1-34.  This is due to the fact that it has flown only 16 hours in the last two years.

3) The board voted to sell the Apis after the 1-34 is sold.  The reason for this is the low maximum payload for the ship, so even if we got more pilots flying it (9 pilots in the last two years), the weight limitation would exclude many club members from legally flying it.

Although not a motion, the board will further review the final two steps for fleet rationalization.  Those two steps are to sell the single Astir and buy a higher performing ship, with increased payload and automatic control connections.  The board will monitor fleet utilization as each one of the motions are executed and may elect to change or cancel the plan at anytime it feels that the objectives are not being met.

For those of you who thrive on data, here are the reasons the board is taking these steps.

You will note that no L-23s or L-33s are mentioned for any action.  This is because these four ships are the work horses of the fleet.  Flown by students and licensed pilots.  These ships will remain the core of our fleet.

For justification of motion 1: the data showed that the ship was flown 59 flights in nine months.  Pilots ranged from licensed pilots to instructors to students.  It was a much broader cross section of the club than any single placed ship.  In short, if people want it, we try to give it to them.  The ship has a 485 # pilot weight limit and an L/D of 38.  This matches the single Astir, the best performer in the club.  The glider committee is also mindful that the L-13 may never fly again.  The committee has not considered the fate of the L-13 to date, but there is a strong chance that it will be stripped and scrapped.  Although students can fly the Twin Astir with an instructor, we do not intend that the ship will be used for primary instruction.  On the other had, it can be used for cross country instruction by advanced solo students and by licensed pilots.  We believe this will expand the capability of the club and widen the flying experience for many members.

The justification for motion 2: the ship is flown only 16 hours a year.  11 pilots over the last 2 years flew this ship.  Of those 11, 10 of them also use the L-33s.  We expect higher utilization for the L-33, but not a saturation of the fleet availability by an extra 16 hours a year.  If anyone is interested in buying it, please let me know.

Justification for motion 3: as mentioned earlier, the Apis can not lift heavy people.  It performs well, goes together easily and has an L/D of 37.  It is a bit of a floater which has its benefits in Western Washington.  The real problem is that pilot weight (pilot and chute) must be between 169 and 204.  This is without O2 capability.  We would loose more if we had a tank installed.  Utilization between this ship and the Astir CS is about the same, about 27 hours a year.  It is flown by 9 pilots in the last two years.  All Apis pilots can fly the Astir, but not all Astir pilots can fly the Apis.  There are 9 Apis pilots and 6 Astir pilots over the last two years.  There are 3 pilots that fly both.

Some words about the Astir.  It can lift a 217# pilot.  If an O2 bottle is installed, we are down to 205#.  (Back to the Apis problem) It is 38 to 1.  It is heavier than the Apis with good penetration and has water ballast.  It has older technology so controls are not automatically hooked up.  There are currently two AD’s on the ship that need to be addressed one in the next 14 months and one immediately.  This is clearly not the ideal ship for a club.  However, the hope is that the progression form G103 to 102 will be easier and utilization will increase from pilot migration from the Apis and Twin to the Astir.

Eventually, we will need to replace the Astir.  The replacement has not been identified, but it must have increased pilot weight, built after the 1970’s, auto control hook-ups, better than 38 to 1 and fit into our budget.

If all this comes to pass, the final fleet composition will be:

2 L-23s
2 L-33s
1 Astir G103
1 High performance ship.

As for the L-13, the current assumptions is, that it will not fly again.