DG Flugzeugbau GmbH / Passion, Power + Performance

DG-1000S Flight Impressions

by Lee Edling
published in "Southern California Soaring"

The first DG-1000S on the West Coast was owned by Charlie and Rosemary Hayes at Scenic Glider Rides in South Lake Tahoe. I worked with Charlie as a tow pilot and ride pilot, and have been fortunate to log a few months of flying in the DG-1000. It is a beautiful sailplane (love those winglets!) and a pleasure to fly.

I previously had time in the Duo at Hollister as an instructor. The Duo and '1000 both have fine handling. In many respects, however, the DG-1000 is superior. Why? First, it has much more effective dive brakes than the Duo. With the Duo, the pilot must fly a lower, wider traffic pattern, and must nail the airspeed. By contrast, if you are high and fast in the DG-1000S, you just add more dive brake. Charlie has found that when flying with a Duo pilot in the '1000, you've got to guard the dive brake over the fence on landing because going to full dive brake won't do much in the Duo, but it will produce a solid arrival in the '1000.

Second, in the '1000 (but not in the Duo) you can retract the landing gear from the back seat as well as from the front. Third, the DG has more room in both cockpits. It is much easier to find a place for drinks and snacks in the front cockpit of the '1000. Fourth, the aero tow speed on the DG-1000S, is higher (100 knots versus 80 knots). Fifth, the rear seat rudder controls are covered in the DG. In the Duo, they are open to the front seat - and that is the first place a passenger tries to store things. Sixth, steep turns are prohibited in the Duo Discus, while the DG-1000S is aerobatic.

Seventh, when ordering a '1000 you have a choice of landing gear configurations. The normal configuration has a single wheel that flips forward so it is partially underneath the rear seat pilot. The Hayes' DG-1000S has the optional "Duo" style landing gear. This keeps the retractable main gear farther aft, and adds a fixed nose gear. This version makes passenger loading and ground handling very easy. A normal adult can lift the tail boom without back injury. A fixed gear club model is also available.

If I fly the '1000 solo at my weight of 190 pounds, the tail wheel is on the ground. If I wear a parachute, the nose wheel is on the ground. On dual flights, we start with the nose wheel on the ground. We have found that we can turn off the runway at low speeds with the outboard wing down and the nose gear on the ground, just as in an ASK-21. If you are ballasted properly, it is easy to remain balanced on the main gear and turn off the runway onto high speed exits.

Duo pilots are used to the sickening feeling of the tail falling heavily to the ground after too much braking has put them up on the nose gear. This doesn't happen in the '1000.

To be fair, the '1000 also has some weaknesses. First, I quickly discovered a bothersome reflection in the canopy from the compass and compass correction card. It would be better to mount the compass in the panel, Second, with my 73 inch height, I have to move my elbow inboard a little to operate the landing gear. Otherwise, my elbow bumps the seat pan in both seats. That is not really a problem, and the gear operates easily. Third, the pitch trim must be reset with every speed change. There is a green trim trigger in front of each stick. In the front cockpit the trim release is in the way of my normal grip because, after resting my arm on my leg, my hand is not at the top of the stick, but the rear stick is very comfortable. As on the DG-300 I've flown, sometimes you feel the need to use the trim indicator on the left sidewall to assist in fine tuning the trim setting.

My conclusion? I like it! If somebody gave me a Duo Discus, I'd sell it and buy a DG-1000S. For private flying, I would go with the single main gear and opt for the flapped wing if available.

Bring on the Stemme S, 2, the next 20 meter ship that I'm aware of. The 20 meter machines provide realistic performance for dual cross country training and their quiet, well sealed cockpits are great ambassadors for silent flight.

Update, 10/15/03: Charlie is selling his DG-1000S to Bay Area Soaring Associates (BASA) at the end of October. We flew it for a few days with the 18 meter tips and were happy to put the 20 meter tips back on. Adverse yaw is less with the 18 meter tips at thermalling speeds, but give me 20 meters and 47 to 1 L/D, anytime! The bronze weight ballast system is easy to use. I finally had a chance to practice a few loops and had a ball!

Lee has been a civilian pilot, military pilot, air line captain, and is an SSA life member.

Other Articles of Interest:

 


DG-1000 - the development

 

DG-1000 - Impressions and Comments

 

Derek Piggott flies the DG-1000

 

DG-1000 Trim Box

 

Aerobatic Test flights of the DG-1000S/18m

 

DG-1000 T - the sustainer version

 

DG-1000 hums

 

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