The runs at low level down the reservoir were quite sporty in VR. It made me appreciate a little what the crews experienced while preparing and then actually flying the mission…without the being shot at part of course, or any possibility of actually dying. If you have the GB True Earth Central terrain, I highly recommend grabbing the freeware Lanc and then go fly a few runs at night.
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So how is it to fly? I have been holding off, but this one keeps catching my eye every time I go window shopping at the Org Store.
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I’ve only flown it a couple of times, but my initial impressions are good and I want to keep flying it. This is the type of GA airplane that fits me well. It’s fast enough that I don’t get bored and not so fast that I get behind on the radios. Ground handling is good and it’s very sporty as you can see in the shots above.
I’m still getting used to the Avidyne electronics. Currently I’m a little fumble fingered with it. I’ve enabled the RXP GTN750 and I’m still learning the inter-operation between the two. Flew a Tec route from Orange county to Santa Barbara and screwed it up in a few places.
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Well, I of course folded, and had to have it. This airplane is getting nothing but great reviews, and now I know why.
My first flight was a bit embarrassing all things considered, but at the same time, it gave me a sim experience I have never had before. These screenshots are from a subsequent flight where I purposely recreated my mistake…
First things first…it’s a great looking airplane…
The panel is great. Clear and easy to read. The aircraft supports the Reality XP GTN750 which is a big plus IMHO.
Lined up and ready to roll
Just as I am starting to pull back on the stick, the canopy popped open ! Somebody didn’t latch it properly
I decided to continue the takeoff as I was unsure if I had enough runway to stop.
What a static screenshot can’t show here is that canopy is flapping about in the slipstream.
A little high as I turn final, but that’s ok as I want the nose lower on final so that I can see what I’m doing…
Down in one piece…the only damage being a bruised ego.
So, securing the canopy requires 3 steps…
1: Shut it.
2: Latch the canopy (big lever between the seats).
3: Once the engine is started, you seal the canopy.
It was quite startling the first time when it was unexpected (in VR)!
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Don’t feel bad, I did the exact same thing! 
It even happened at a point where I didn’t feel like an abort was going to work.
So, I went ahead with the flight to see if it would eventually come off. It didn’t.
Flew a lot more flights this weekend and I’m definitely happy with the purchase.
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Well at least I’m not the only one! 
It was a very neat thing though that I wasn’t expecting.
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This is what came to my mind when that happened:
(canopy comes open on glider take off)
How do I embed the video here?
Edit: Jeez, that was easy. 
Thanks guys.
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Usually I just copy the orig link (with that watch? in it) and just paste it here
“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0I75OZmA-0”
…or you have your link part of the previous sentence (‘sentence’‘space’‘link’). Just make it ‘new line’ in your post, it should be recognized then.
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On the YouTube web site, I click SHARE, then Copy, and just paste it here in a post. Seems to work well enough and easier than trying to clean from the web URL.
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@PaulRix can probably join me in almost hearing the snickering from our non-American Condor2 friends who take every opportunity to make fun of the uniquely American 1-26.
I might also add that a canopy opening in flight in a glider is often expensive, but not an emergency. Last year our club had an accident whereby a member’s canopy opened on tow. His concern was saving the $$$ canopy, which was probably worth more than the entire glider in the video above. In his attempt to retrieve it he broke the tow-rope, landed in a parking lot and broke his foot in the resulting collision with a fence. (He still lost the canopy.)
Eric, what are your thoughts on that video? First thing I noticed is that he allowed the glider to climb above the tow plane… isn’t that a big No-No when something like this happens?
He did get high but not enough for the tow-pilot to notice, I don’t think. “Really high” would have been to loose sight of the towplane under the nose. Many years ago at Blairstown (where my club is based) we lost a tow-pilot that way. The glider eventually released (or the rope broke) but the tow pilot was hanging for dear life and when the glider released, his full aft stick caused an instant snap-roll with no altitude to recover. Back to the video: I didn’t listen to the audio but I think he handled it very well.
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So, as long as you keep the tow plane in sight then you should be ok…good to know.
Well I wouldn’t go that far. If you lose the towplane under the nose you must release immediately. I’m not sure if that’s a written rule by knowledgeable pilots but it is what I tell myself. You were right that he was too high. He just wasn’t quite yet dangerously so. If I see more than a sliver of horizon above the towplane I push a touch. The 1-26 is unique in that at typical tow speeds (which are very fast for the 1-26), it has a nose-low attitude which I think makes the video look more egregious than it is. The other characteristic about the 1-26 (all Schweitzers really) is that even with full nose-down trim, it takes about 5-10 pounds of forward stick pressure just to keep position.
@PaulRix PS and way off topic: You missed a great task tonight. It was easy, beautiful and very fast.
Great info, thanks Eric. Yes, I saw the brief and it looked good, but unfortunately I didn’t get all my ducks in a row by 8pm. I might fly it offline tomorrow though.
Slowly taking a “Cactus” -300 Classic across the country. KABQ-KHOU. Enjoying the Orthos along the way.
VATSIM traffic 12 o’clock. 1,000 ft below, opposite direction. SWA 737 My TCAS was barking at me to “climb!, climb.!”… yeahhh, no. 
Descent into Houston
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Alright, screenshot dump coming up. In no particular order:
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A relaxing 3.5 hour flight: 
Hawaii-Japan 
/ PHNL-RJAA. Capped off with a 21 DME arc arrival to an ILS in low vis and cloud deck.
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