SZ-9D Bocian at Glastonbury

I am sure the firework manufacturers would if they could!

St Guyfawkes day. . .

He’ll be pleased to have been sainted!

I recollect an apparently tidy Bocian lingering at Bicester a couple of years ago, offered to a new owner for free. Hopefully it is now receiving the tlc it needed.

The Bocian at Bicester ended up on a bonfire on St Guyfawkes day. . .

Twas that not a Jag????

john

OOPs typo XX375…..

Regarding the open canopy, was that by design, or an interesting post-launch discovery? 🙂

A bit of both. It slides backwards (by design) and may be opened in-flight. Very nice. There is however an SB to periodically check the endstop for wear, as the canopies had a habit of going full-stop-and-beyond when opened. There’s a very nice story in ‘Delta Papa’ by Derek Piggott where he lost a canopy in-flight that took out the tail as well. His student and himself bailed out at circuit height and the Bocian landed upside-down in a field of cows (it was repaired). Personally I have been a bit suspect of the endstops on any Bocian I fly ever since I read the story…

You sure? That sounds awfully like the LET L-13 Blanik that was grounded in November 2011, for which an STC became available in 2012, a fix that is a lot more expensive. The Bocians main problem is its factory-imposed service life and TBO, combined with a history of poor glue joints. Shame, a lovely aircraft to fly, even with open canopy.

Doh. You are right. I got my Baltic ‘B’s mixed up, even though one is tin and the other timber!

As, sadly with many older wooden gliders, the time or cost of reglueing suspect joints and the perceived low value of the airframes sometimes simply doesn’t add up. I recollect an apparently tidy Bocian lingering at Bicester a couple of years ago, offered to a new owner for free. Hopefully it is now receiving the tlc it needed.

Regarding the open canopy, was that by design, or an interesting post-launch discovery? 🙂

There’s two Gazelles pictured as well !

XZ375 which has been seen with ‘Mutoid’ before and one of the ex St Mary Bourne scrapyard examples which is now the ‘head’ of the Grasshopper sculpture.

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Twas that not a Jag????

john

Sadly almost all Bocians were grounded due to an issue with cracked wing spar mounts about a year ago. The ‘fix’ which costs the best part of £2,000 per aeroplane was deemed beyond economic repair in most cases, hence their ready availability for sculptures, garden ornaments etc!

You sure? That sounds awfully like the LET L-13 Blanik that was grounded in November 2011, for which an STC became available in 2012, a fix that is a lot more expensive. The Bocians main problem is its factory-imposed service life and TBO, combined with a history of poor glue joints. Shame, a lovely aircraft to fly, even with open canopy.

Sadly almost all Bocians were grounded due to an issue with cracked wing spar mounts about a year ago. The ‘fix’ which costs the best part of £2,000 per aeroplane was deemed beyond economic repair in most cases, hence their ready availability for sculptures, garden ornaments etc!

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Near-complete Westland Whirlwind found in a field near Yeovil!!!

Oh, hang on…

There’s two Gazelles pictured as well !

XZ375 which has been seen with ‘Mutoid’ before and one of the ex St Mary Bourne scrapyard examples which is now the ‘head’ of the Grasshopper sculpture.

When I visited the scrapyard in 2010 we were told they had been sold to an ‘ artist’ for use in an installation at Glastonbury – but this is the first time I have seen one of them since.

The Andover looks like the machine that has been a number of times -the Bocian looks a little like one of the examples formerly with Spilsby Gliding Trust that was auctioned last year.

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Every year they have interesting airframes at Glastonbury – I’d love to know the source, but it’s a secret..