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Now that Leigh has ventured forward with his thoughts on the matter, I feel a little easier about posting my thoughts on the Balaklava K-21 history. Many, perhaps most of us in the Balaklava club were some what apprehensive about the cost of the K21 when we anguished over purchasing our first one. However, given the few other options available at the time in respect of aircraft choices we went ahead. The purchase of a second K21 just few years later to supplement the original machine shows that we were happy with the original choice. There are few, if any regrets. I think even today there would be little debate about the suitability of the design for its intended purpose. They look good; passengers are instantly impressed. Pupils seem to have no complaints, and those who have been trained in our 21's have made good progress, especially when compared to the situation we experienced in an earlier experiment with the concrete swan. Instructors are generally happy with the comfort and visibility from the back, and as a bonus, those who have aerobatic inclinations can do so knowing that it can sustain most attitudes with considerable margins. Leigh proves this to us whenever he gets the inclination and opportunity. Airworthiness and inspection considerations, rated quite highly in the original decision process have been proved to minimal and relatively straightforward. We find that they launch well on the winches, consistently getting heights in excess of anything tried earlier. They are sufficiently attractive in their pilot appeal to be quite acceptable to pilots of all ratings in our club for casual recreational flying , and there have been times when they are the only aircraft brought out for the day's activities. They can be taken cross country with reasonable confidence, and while the performance isn't savagely competitive in comparison with most club singles, they can get you there and back again in good style. Sadly perhaps, our club does not challenge itself in this area as much as it perhaps might, but it's not because the aircraft are not capable. For the most part, our singles don't venture much beyond the immediate horizon either. Spinning? Well we can probably write a book on that. Most people will know that the 'standard' 21 is difficult if not almost impossible to spin with most pilot configurations. However with the spin kit now proven and approved, we find that they do all that is needed in demonstrating all aspects of the manoeuvre and leave little to be desired in this area. In my most recent check some months ago, my first in the '21, I found that it behaved well even with my weight in the front. With one qualification to be mentioned later, there were no real surprises. I could initiate entry using straightforward methods, and standard recovery procedure brought about the desired result with no real drama beyond my usual dislike of spins. I've followed the current discussion on spinning characteristics of other aircraft with considerable interest. I will confess to having been caught napping on a couple of occasions in our glass singles over the years in a rough little narrow thermal, most memorably in our Cirrus 75 of that era. (I've since discovered a few others who have been surprised by the same aircraft). These unexpected events were always caught at the incipient stage, and I can vouch here for the requirement for adequate training for recognition of, and recovery both from incipients and more advanced stages of the manoeuvre. It must be instinctive to the degree that (correct) and immediate recovery is an automatic process which one realises later has happened without even a moment's hesitation or even conscious thought at the time. The fact that all of my initial spin training took place in a Mark 4 Kooka at levels far less than permitted today was a great enticement to get it right - and quickly at that :-/ Interestingly, the need to use a spin kit for the 21's has, in my observation, resulted in a greatly increased awareness and attentiveness at all levels of the club to the overall considerations of weight and balance. I also think that along with this has come a more professional attitude and appreciation of other aspects of flying discipline and aircraft behaviour. One somewhat unexpected secondary effect of the spin kit (the surprise mentioned earlier) has been a recognition and appreciation of the changes in aircraft handling with an altered C of G, something which had escaped me in the previous 35 years of gliding. I don't think that you would find too many regrets in our club about our decision(s) to go with the 21's. In gliding as in other areas, you get what you pay for. Too often the temporary sense of relief at buying the cheapest possible option fades as time goes on, and as the limitations and other complications which were initially thought to be only minor in nature assert themselves. By contrast, the initial higher cost of buying a quality product which is the complete package eventually justifies itself as time and experience reveal the wisdom of the investment in a trouble free and totally satisfactory operational and airworthiness regime. At the end of it all, the value of that initial investment will also be retained in a higher resale value where the aircraft retains both its integrity and appearance, and has lottsa hours still available for future purchasers. The AS-K21 experience in our club leaves us completely satisfied. Well almost - I still think the Blanik is still more enjoyable to fly, but then it wouldn't be the first time I said something which betrayed the possibility that I live in the past. And I was always crafty enough to be somewhere else when it was C of A time. ;-) Regards, Terry |
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