Our new crew person, Mathias, turned up on Saturday night, replacing Sonia who had to go back to work. Sunday night Gunnar another crew person turned up so we are awash with helpers. That makes it a bit easier for me to send these emails (also the internet connection has been broken here over the weekend).
At Klix private flying is allowed during the competition except when launching of in the heaviest part of the finish. If you can get up and stay away during the finish, this is OK. The only restrictions applied is that team members of competing gliders (like me) must take a logger some the organisers can ensure there has been no collusion between us and the competitors.
Last night after most of the gliders were back I was able to go for a half hour flight in a Zlin 42. It is a very nice aircraft, and like just about everything in Germany it has a tow hook fitted (but placarded to 500 kg max launch). It is a side by side two seater with a 6 litre, straight six engine which means the nose is long and more pointy than usual with US built flat fours and sixes. Combined with a low wing position and reasonably high seating below an almost bubble canopy, the vision out is excellent.
As a plane made in the old Czechoslovakia the first thing that I noticed getting in are the seatbelts. Exactly the same as a Blanik. The cockpit is wide with a proper electrical switchboard on the floor between the seats. Flying instruments are duplicated for both seats, but other instruments seem to be shared across both sides with engine instruments predominantly on the right side.
It has an automatic variable pitch propellor, with a strange spinner/hub arrangement. I have seen them in pictures of older aircraft (particularly German aircraft of the 1930/40s). They have a number of vanes around the spinner. The spinner moves independent of the propellor, which was a little disconcerting at first.
On climb out I noticed the vanes appeared to be spinning around slower than the prop and I put it down to some optical illusion strobing through the blades, but in the cruise the vanes (and spinner) were almost stopped.
Anyway, went for a touristy (!) look at Bautzen to the south and the Boxberg power station the the north. It cruises at about 190kph so just a little over 100knots. We weren't at full revs (or what I assumed to be manifold pressure, which we kept at 0.8 on a small gauge scaled 0 to 1.0). When we were cruising to Boxberg I tried some rolling on a point and I must say it is very impressive. Much lighter on the stick (It has a stick not a yoke) than most small Cessnas or Pipers I have flown with a roll rate I guess about twice as fast. Ziegmar, the pilot, tried to convey to me (I think) that the aircraft is not to be rolled but could be looped. It also has toe straps on the rudder pedals so I would believe him that it was partly aerobatic.
To give a bit more of an appreciation of the airfield, here is a piccy of the locals reaping the wheat. On finals at this end you can run your wheels through the wheat if you are a bit low. At the other end is a moderately busy road so low flyers have to thread their way through the traffic(!). There are no fences at either end.
And just finally, I bought an icecream. They call them "Toppy"s, but they are only Cornettos. 1.5 Euros, and I think I got one of the last ones, when Helge went to get one he complained there were none left. The shops in Germany close on Sunday, so the airfield caterers couldn't restock before Monday.