czech gliders

[victor45]

does anyone have photos of some early sixties czech gliders or indeed any czech gliders,as i was involved with the recovery of one some years past,it was very well constructed, beautifully rounded form in heavy gauge alloy with a multi paned canopy,unfortunately the organisation i recovered the aircraft for decided to scrap it with no thought to preservation at all nor was i informed of their action until the deed had been done, therefore ive always felt responsible that i didnt prevent this happening as i assured its owner the aircraft would be saved (how many people have been placed in that position ) gliders are very interesting and often overlooked aircraft with a long history of development etc thanks

[cypherus]

Hi Victor, sorry too read about your problems with the glider salvage, sounds a lot like a T13 but a little more detail and I may have been able too ID the bird for you, however all may not be lost.

Two avenues of information I can offer for you are the secteretary of the aeroclub Zbraslavice you can email the question here:

aeroklub.zbraslavice@worldonline.cz.

or the secretary of the VGC 'Vintage Glider Club' Nel Dijkstra at:

knvvlpda@xs4all.nl.

hope this helps.

Regards Jim.

[victor45]

czech gliders

hi thanks for the responses further to the description of type,it was similar (only similar) to the glider flown in the original Thomas Crown Affair, similar but not the same as that glider had a clear canopy whereas mine was multi paned or had been as perspex missing sorry i cant be more specific but its over twenty years past

[galdri]

Is it possible that your glider might have been the Let-Kunovitce Blanik?

It was czech made in the sixties, and very popular world wide.

[bazv]

Hi Victor
Do you remember if it was a 2 seat or single seat glider ?
which country was it registered/based in ?

[victor45]

Hi Victor
Do you remember if it was a 2 seat or single seat glider ?
which country was it registered/based in ?

good afternoon bazv
i think it was a single seater,although the canopy was quite large there wasnt chance to consider its registration status etc as the speed by which it was disposed outflanked me totally,i just remember that it looked very air correct ,it looked right, old sayimg if it looks right it flys right certainly proved correct in this instance all it needed was the canopy reglazed and it would have looked top shelf ,i remember it wasnt painted just bare burnished alloy i still feel so annoyed about its demise theres too much of this practice goes on in some organisations because certain people arent happy with an aitcraft type ,out it goes to either scrap,or now ebay to await its fate,not good at all people in the movement should be more responsible with their charges and consider futre generations may just want too see the aircraft thats upsetting their various karmas etc.in other words DONT PLAY GOD

[cypherus]

Sorry to correct you, but the glider used in the Thomas Crown Affair remake was a Shempp-Hirth Duo Discus and was flown by Tom Knauff, the shots were filmed at Ridge Soaring Glider port and Eagle field and were not actually flown by Brosnan at all who in cockpt shots were filmed in the studio with the rear cockpit instrument panel removed and the aft cockpit CGI'd away so that Brosnan could give his girl a good ole cuddle while soaring, somthing that is totally impossible in the Discus, magic anit it. The original film I believe used a Schweizr 2 single seat competition glider and this was flown by the lead actor McQueen himself who was a qualified glider pilot.

Clips here.

(Original) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON53xkNYFj8

(Remake) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA9sn...elated&search=

The Glider you appear to be describing though sound very much like an early L13 Blanik, a two seat Czech trainer sold world wide and a very good soaring/training machine and still in regular service with many clubs and owners today, later versions had a two piece canopy unit that fitted flush with the centre wing fillet and flowed into the forward screen, early version had a multi piece canopy looking a lot like leaded glass windows but most were quickly converted too the two piece unit which gave far better visibility.

[bazv]

If it was a Blanik it would have looked like this....
sorry about the quality but it was taken 24 years ago by somebody with a box brownie !!

[victor45]

If it was a Blanik it would have looked like this....
sorry about the quality but it was taken 24 years ago by somebody with a box brownie !!

it looks right to me many thanks ,they are a beautiful looking glider

[bazv]

it looks right to me many thanks ,they are a beautiful looking glider

Yes they are!! and very comfy in the front cockpit,a bit cramped in the rear cpit if you were tall.They handle very nicely,not that I got much flying in them - they were much too valuable in zimbabwe to risk on early solo pilots so it was 1 or 2 solo flights then on to a single seater.

[G-ASEA]

Here's some more of a Blanik taken at Bicester taken in the late 60's. Blanik's had a limited service life.

[Newforest]

Here's some more of a Blanik taken at Bicester taken in the late 60's. Blanik's had a limited service life.

Why was this? The modern gliders are of aluminium semi-monocoque construction which would seem to prolong life.

[bazv]

Here's some more of a Blanik taken at Bicester taken in the late 60's. Blanik's had a limited service life.

They did originally have a finite fatigue life,I think it was the aussies that started life extension programmes (too long ago to remember any exact figures) .The blanik airframe certainly used to 'Oilcan' most impressively in African thermals

[SadOleGit]

Just indulging some memories, as I logged a lot of hours in 'Blankets' during my 30 odd years of memebrship at the Cornish Gliding (and Flying) Club at Perranporth. I remember we used one on my Instructor's course at Culdrose, along with the RNGSA Capstan and SZD Pucsaz(sp?).

At Perranporth, our first Blanik was originally privately-owned by a caring syndicate of Club members in the 70's, before passing into Club ownership. The original owners kept it very well, and I remember helping to treat the metal (alclad?) surfaces with WD40 against the corrosive Cornish maritime climate. However, the airframe did have a shelf-life (I seem to remember 3000 hours but I could be wrong.) For a 2 seater, it didn't seem too much of a beast to rig and de-rig and so it was popular for cross-country flying.

I am sure to the T21 generation of pilots, the Blanik had an upholstered palace of a cockpit, and was a dream to fly, as it seemed to 'go round on rails', with well-harmonised controls. The airbrakes were pleasant to use, and I could fly an accurate approach much more easily than in a K13. I think it had fowler flaps, but I am not quite sure why, we never used them.

The Blanik is probably not regarded, yet, as a 'collectable' aircraft. Please don't feel too upset over the issue. There are many good people preserving classic and vintage gliders, and restoring many to flyable condition, and the Blanik will be with us for many years yet.

SoG

[Propstrike]

As I recall, there were fatigue issues, and the well-known RAFGA display pilot Any Gough was lost when the wing failed on his Blanik. I saw it being aero-towed out of the Halton display in mid 1980's, to its next, and fatal venue.

[pogno]

The Blanik airframe life was as a result of their use in Australia where the weather was soarable virtually all year round, consequently the aircraft built up considerable flying time. Unfortunately this let to a couple of accidents where the wings folded due to fatigue failure of the structure.

Richard

[G-ASEA]

As I recall, there were fatigue issues, and the well-known RAFGA display pilot Any Gough was lost when the wing failed on his Blanik. I saw it being aero-towed out of the Halton display in mid 1980's, to its next, and fatal venue.

I thought that Andy Gough had a loose spanner jam his controls during one of his aerobatic displays.

[victor45]

czech glider

thankyou all for the brilliant ,informative responses and photos of the Blanik its great getting such good feedback

[bazv]

The Blanik airframe life was as a result of their use in Australia where the weather was soarable virtually all year round, consequently the aircraft built up considerable flying time. Unfortunately this let to a couple of accidents where the wings folded due to fatigue failure of the structure.

Richard

As I said in my earlier post the Aussies were the first to extend the fatigue life of the blanik,as you say because of their high utilization in oz they probably reached the original limit first.
It is quite normal for any stressed skin metal a/c to have a finite fatigue life and then gradually have it extended by modification/strengthening of certain structural parts and fasteners.
The original life would be set by the manufacturer but could be reduced by airworthiness authorities if structural failure occurred or if signs of fatigue were found during servicing etc

[bazv]

Hi Sadolegit
Yes blaniks were a revelation to me !I had only flown T31/T21's before,although that did help in zimbabwe when one went from the tin armchair to a slingsby swallow (wot no nose !!)for solo... a bit of a culture shock that for some.Never did understand why it had those flaps,although you could use a little for weak thermals and some people might have used full flap for a rapid descent.
But to return to fatigue,a quick look on www.caa.govt.nz gives original life as 3000 hrs but through a combination of inspections/repair at certain intervals and replacement of the Lower Fuselage Carry Through Member the wings could be relifed to 5000 and then 10,000 hrs when they would be removed from service.This relife would have been based on the Aussie programme.

regards to all Baz