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DG-1001M - Flight Report by Mario Wichmann
Spring 2011
It was a huge success, bringing the club’s new glider DG-1001M Serial #2 to Bitterwasser/Namibia. 200 flight hours in less than 2 months and more than 20.000 kilometers brought lots of fun to us. The average speed was always above 100km/h!
Some people think it might be a bad idea to bring a brand new glider all the way down to Africa, especially a glider with the early serial number 2.
On the one hand Africa is very far away, and on the other hand what technical problems might come up and how do we solve them!? Only a few days before shipping we got the emergency system for the engine installed. So the whole equipment was brand new and not tested for a longer period.
But in any case, we would have the possibility to do a aero-tow in Bitterwasser.
We already have experience with brand new types from DG-Flugzeugbau. We were one of the first customers of the DG-600M and later on had to fly our DG-800B even without an engine for one season until the new Solo power plant was available. So we knew for sure what we’re doing.
Before we started our trip, we had to order spare parts that would eventually be necessary to be well equipped for Africa. Dust and heat can be very hard to handle. So, what will we need? What can we leave at home?
After we had finished our list, we handed it over to Mr. Götze, DG’s man for inspections on all DG aircraft. But he rejected and told us that Mr. Dirks had already prepared a huge box with spare parts! What a service! In the end we only needed a new water pump.
Of course, we were really excited how the glider would manage the extreme weather conditions in Namibia. Take-off in 1250 meters MSL with an air temperature of 40°C. That’s not what we’re used to in Europe.
Whereas Tom, who was the first to depart to Namibia likes to take-off early in lower heat, my intention of flying in Bitterwasser was more enjoying the Pool in the morning, take-off at 1:00 pm and then a “short” flight. But with the DG-1001M I was able to fly 700km with an average speed of 133km/h although I started very late.
For the DG-1001M the conditions in Namibia were not a problem at all. Even on the short runways the power was more than enough to perform a safe self launch. At the end of the runway, we always had about 150 meters. So there was no problem even for our unpracticed pilots.
We totally enjoyed our flights with the DG-1001M! Especially the flights along the Namib were very impressive. We did flights up to 950km which in our eyes is very good for “hobby” pilots like us.
There is only one thing that was refused to us this year. A Cross Country Safari around South Africa! The glider’s permit to fly would have caused too much paperwork. Since the glider is now certified I’m sure we’ll catch up on that during our next visit in Namibia.
About 500h within one year bring us to the conclusion: It was the right decision to buy this marvelous glider.
We’d like to spend much more time with it. But there is one "small" problem, - the job!
Kind Regards to all People at DG:
“Well done!!!”
Mario Wichmann „Q2“
Technical Data Sheet
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