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Upcoming 2009 Schweizer 1-26 Nationals in Moriarty, NM
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The ASC's 1-26 on tow at Moriarty, NM
The 2009 1-26 Championships will take place June 24 through July 2 at the Moriarty Airport in Moriarty, New Mexico. The Albuquerque Soaring Club (ASC) and Sundance Aviation are pairing up to host this event. ASC’s own Mitch Hudson will be the contest director.
Moriarty last hosted this event in 2005 and it was a rousing success. Twenty-three 1-26s and twenty-seven pilots (some flew as a team) participated. Average speeds of 55 miles an hour (around a three hour race task), ground speeds of over 120 miles per hour on selected legs, and altitudes of eighteen thousand feet were achieved. The 1-26 pilots are all still talking about the great weather and soaring conditions here in New Mexico.
The 1-26 Championship is a one-design competition. Competitors are restricted to using identical or very similar models of equipment, in this case the Schweizer 1-26. Open to any 1-26 in the world, it is the culmination of many local and regional contests that take place throughout the year. The emphasis is on fun, camaraderie, and head-to-head competition.
What exactly is a Schweizer 1-26? Think of it as the Volkswagen Beetle of the glider world. Built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York, the 1-26 was conceived as a simple, inexpensive, one-design class sailplane. It enjoyed a very long production run from its first flight in 1954 until 1979. Seven hundred of these cute, friendly looking sailplanes were ultimately produced. As of May 2009, 523 of them are still listed in the FAA Registry making it the most numerous glider in the U.S.
The 1-26 was available either as a kit or factory built. The original 1-26 was completely fabric covered. Later models incorporated a monocoque fuselage and metal-covered wings. Performance testing verified that there was very little performance difference between the models and that the one-design concept was maintained throughout production.
The 1-26 is used by many soaring clubs in the United States and is often the first single place glider that a student flies. It is a fun little plane to fly; quick and responsive on the controls without being twitchy. With its tight turning radius and low minimum sink it will easily out climb most high-performance glass ships. Although its relatively low glide performance makes distance flights challenging, pilots have made some remarkable flights in the 1-26. In April of this year Ron Schwartz completed a 600 mile flight. At an average speed of 50 mph, this distance represents a butt-numbing 12 hrs of ridge soaring along the Kittatinny Mountains in northwestern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. Many soaring pilots, including the ASC’s own Carl Ekdahl, have earned all three of their diamond badges in a 1-26.
The PW-5 U.S. Nationals World Class Association will be held concurrent with the 1-26 Championship this year.
For more information:
Federal Aviation Administration
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