Motor Gliding

Last week's friday was a day off from school so I decided to take advantage of the long weekend and finally take the necessary flying lessons to get a motor glider pilot's licence. I travelled to Turku airport where Turku Flying Club has two motor gliders. On saturday we flew one school flight with the flight instructor I booked, and on sunday morning I practised flying in the traffic circuit with the instructor. Right after that I had my check ride which went really well and after returning to the ground I found out that my instructor had already made the necessary arrangements for me to go solo. So one quick chat and a handshake later I climbed back to the cockpit and started the engine. I went flying over the coastal islands and it was totally fantastic!

The Fournier RF-5 at Jämi airfield, right after "Tuulia Team's" aerobatics show

The plane I flew was the Fournier RF-5, nicknamed "Tuulia II" in Finland. It is a very beautiful and elegant airplane with a certain vintage feel to it. A true gentleman's aircraft. Here's some technical information:

A simple and comfortable cockpit. Even an articificial horizon is present..!

General

Seats: 2
Lenght: 7,80m
Wingspan: 13.74m
Empty Weight: 420kg
Useful Load: 230kg
Maximum Take-off Weight: 650kg
Engine: 1x Limbach 1700E, 63hp

Performance

Vcruise: 175km/h
Vno: 210km/h
Vne: 250km/h
Vs: 75km/h
Range: 760km
Service Ceiling: 16400ft

Rate of Climb: 590ft/min
L/D Ratio: 22:1