Soaring Society of Boulder members may now take advantage of a second high performance Discus CS.
Our president has memorialized some notes on the new Discus, N42CA (TR)...
- Although it is airworthy now, it still needs a few finishing touches, in particular, a cable to power the transponder and installation of some switches and wiring to install annunciators for gear down, etc. We should have all of the pieces to finish the installations by the end of next week.
- It has a fully operational LX Nav S100, like we have in N23SG (SG) and 5PB. It also has an analog Sage Vario.
- It has new covers on it and is tied down in front of the shack.
- The canopy is brand new so please be careful with it so it stays nice.
- Weight and balance is a little different than for SG. TR has a heavier tailwheel installed, so you may need ballast weights in the nose. There is a placard on the right side of the cockpit that shows the ballast required for different minimum pilot weights. There is also a W&B spreadsheet on the shack computer.
- There is an FAA Operating Limitations Letter and a Program Letter in both Discus that should be reviewed prior to your first flight.
I found the transition from the DG505 to the Discus pretty straightforward. The Discus is lighter so it gets off the ground faster and climbing on tow is much faster. In flight it feels nimble and sporty, particularly after you raise the gear. I am 6'1" with long arms and fit into the ships fine. If you are new to flying the Discus as I was, it is important to sit in it with chute on and make sure you adjust the seating so that you can reach the radio, LS100, landing gear lever, spoilers and the release knob. I was most comfortable flying it without the seat pan installed.
If you guys are thinking of getting checked out in the Discus, I encourage you to take the next step and schedule some check-out time with one of our CFIGs. Now that we have two, availability will be twice as good.
Big thanks to Al for taking the lead on getting N42CA ready to fly and for giving me a thorough Discus check out.
See you out at the field,
Gary