What glider will fit a 6' 7" giant?

[Scott Alexander]

I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

[Mark]

Probably worth his time to try sitting in a Genesis. It has a large
cockpit.

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

[Chris Bessent]

Try this:
Loading Image...

Not sure there are many about.......

[Westbender]

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

I've heard a lot of people say the Grob Astir is very roomy.

[toad]

Post by Westbender

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

I've heard a lot of people say the Grob Astir is very roomy.

I am 6'3 and I just fit into my Grob 102. I could be a lot heavier,
but no taller.

[cernauta]

If I can do math correctly, he's 2m tall. Well, in my opinion (I'm
1.87m and I have some friends over 2m) it very much depends on his
body shape, the leg-torso proportion, and how fat or slim he is.

Being slim helps a lot, and he might fit into an LS4 or LS1f, maybe a
DG202. Astir cockpits also come in different variants, some of them
are quite roomy and comfortable. You should investigate further.

At a higher price, the "C" variants of Ventus2 / Discus 2 sailplanes
are the best for tall pilots.

aldo cernezzi

[cernauta]

Being slim helps a lot, and he might fit into an..

I just recalled of a friend of mine, who at 190cm flies an "A"
fuselage: he has a special parachute. He wears only a body harness,
while the canopy is located inside the luggage compartment.

a very thin parachute may be enough, anyway.


aldo

[a***@socal.rr.com]

If he is slim, he might fit into an Open Cirrus. I have heard of
folks 6' 4" fitting in with no problem

aerodyne

[Nigel Cottrell]

It might be worth trying a Mosquito if that is the sort of price range
he is looking at, it has a pretty roomy cockpit. I doubt the DG 200
would work and it certainly wouldn't with a parachute particularly if
his feet are in proportion to his height!
The ASW 20 might be worth trying with the seat back removed and
a back pack chute but it isn't very wide.( the 19 / Pegase are very
similar if he doesn't fancy flaps.)

Post by cernauta

Being slim helps a lot, and he might fit into an..

I just recalled of a friend of mine, who at 190cm flies an "A"
fuselage: he has a special parachute. He wears only a body

harness,

Post by cernauta
while the canopy is located inside the luggage compartment.
a very thin parachute may be enough, anyway.
aldo

[Martin Gregorie]

Post by Nigel Cottrell
It might be worth trying a Mosquito if that is the sort of price range
he is looking at, it has a pretty roomy cockpit. I doubt the DG 200
would work and it certainly wouldn't with a parachute particularly if
his feet are in proportion to his height! The ASW 20 might be worth
trying with the seat back removed and a back pack chute but it isn't
very wide.( the 19 / Pegase are very similar if he doesn't fancy flaps.)

If he fits one of those he'll fit them all: the cockpits are essentially
identical: if you sight along the Pegase fuselage under the wing you can
see where the 20's NASA style ventilation inlet was plugged with filler
when the revised moulds for the Pegase fuselage were being made.

I'd suggest he also looks at a Standard Cirrus or a Mini-Nimbus - the
fuselages are identical. I've not flown either, but have sat in a Cirrus
75 (the Std Cirrus derivative with elevators in place of the all-moving
elevator). Its the biggest single seat cockpit I've been in. Its almost
too wide: the width of the turtledeck restricts rear vision. I don't know
if it would be long enough, but there looked to be plenty of room down
there.

[ProfChrisReed]

I don't think the Open Cirrus is a runner. I'm 6ft 1in and in mine I
needed to remove the seat hammock fitting to stop my head hitting the
canopy. It might work without a chute, but I wouldn't recommend that.

I used to own an Astir CS and that had a lot of headroom, so would be
worth checking out. Standard Cirrus is said to be equally roomy..

[Tim Mara]

at 6' 7" he's have room to swim in the new 304S!
I'm just shy of 5' 11" and 190 pounds, if I put the pedals forward and the
seatback all the way to the rear I am "FULLY" reclined and my head is down
with the "BOTTOM" of the canopy! look at the image (thumbnail) on my index
page http://www.wingsandwheels.com/textindex.htm
I have never been in any glider with this kind of room to spare!
granted the 304S is not a "club class" glider my anyone's imagination, but
one beautiful and well engineered ship!
I do know of several other very tall pilots flying 304CZ's..they also made a
special smaller instrument panel for these gliders to allow a bit extra leg
room with bent knees..just depends on not only how tall but the body
make-up...some people have not only height and girth to contend with but
also long or short legs or torso's on tall bodies..
tim
Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?
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[jsbrake]

Glasfulgel or Slingsby Kestrel is a good possibility. The Glasflugel
604 is even bigger, but only 10 of those were built.

[BruceGreeff]

Maybe not - I am only 6'3" + 240lb - relatively long legs relative to
total height.
Std Cirrus is comfortable.
Kestrel T59D is more than big enough for legs and torso length - but
that 44" chest...

The Kestrel is narrow at elbow height - so if you are barrel chested
like me, or the chest has slipped a little, like me, it can be somewhat
tight.

On the Cirrus the width is OK, and the leg length good, but I have
relatively little head clearance with a parachute on.

YMMV - the geometry is too complex to make generalisations - there is
simply no substitute for getting in and doing some hangar flying.

Bruce

Post by jsbrake
Glasfulgel or Slingsby Kestrel is a good possibility. The Glasflugel
604 is even bigger, but only 10 of those were built.

[flyingmr2]

I am 6'3" but I have a very long back and sit like I am 6'5" or 6". I
have tried many sailplanes only to be very disappointed. From
previous comments I have found that the common recommendations like
the Mosquito or the Standard cirrus, discus, ventus, Pegusus, were too
small. The Genesis was OK but the canopy catch hook in the back was
pushing right in the back of my head so it was a no go. The SZD-59
Acro/48-3 Jantar Std3 (same cockpit) I have consistently heard and
believe to be the biggest around. I curently fly a Grob Twin II which
works quite well or a DG 1001. I have heard that the Grob 102 single
place fits just like a 103 and for club class, that might be his best
option. My personal ship is a DG-303 which would work if he has long
legs because you can arc your legs around the instrument panel. My
legs are short for my body, I have a 32" pant inseam. Pilots with
long legs, (34"-36") seem to do better than long backs like me. Best
of luck. Anything by Schleicher will probably not fit as it has not
for me. I can not even fit in a ASK-21. Yes, it was a very sad day
of soaring lessons as i pushed the ASK-21 back to the hanger because I
did not fit, only to trade if for the very humble 2-33.

[sisu1a]

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

SZD-59 Acro/48-3 Jantar Std3 (same cockpit) are good for the the very
tall, so long as he's kinda skinny...

-Paul

[77]

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

A guy at our club is 6 feet 7 inches and can fit into an LS4 but
without parachute....he did fly the Grob to get hours for his Pvt
rating

[Andreas Maurer]

On Thu, 25 Nov 2010 05:26:56 -0800 (PST), Scott Alexander

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

Ok... I'm the same size. Here's a list of potential candidates:

ASW-19/20/Pegase very good
DG-300/800 very good
LS-3/4 very good
LS-6/7/8 length ok, but narrow fuselage
Dicus-2b very good
Nimbus-2 very good
Mistral-C very good
Discus/Ventus b ok
PW-5 ok
Glasfluegel 304 good


My advice: ASW-19 or ASW-20.

Andreas

[Andy]

Post by Andreas Maurer
My advice: ASW-19 or ASW-20.

You must have long legs and a relatively short torso. I'm only 6ft 1
inch and needed the seat all the way back and the pedals all the way
forward in my 19b. Taking the seat back out would not have helped as I
needed the reclined back to get head clearance.

It's hopeless giving advice on glider fit just based on total height.
Torso length (seated height) is critical in many gliders. I got tired
of people my height telling me I could get into the SH "A" series.
Just not possible for me.

On the other hand the 28 fits me perfectly with pedal travel to spare.

Andy

[Andreas Maurer]

Post by Andy

Post by Andreas Maurer
My advice: ASW-19 or ASW-20.

You must have long legs and a relatively short torso. I'm only 6ft 1
inch and needed the seat all the way back and the pedals all the way
forward in my 19b. Taking the seat back out would not have helped as I
needed the reclined back to get head clearance.

Taking the seat out makes a huge difference in the 19/20 cockpit
(putting a cushion as a head rest into the baggage compartment).
I think that anyone over 6'3'' is flying the 19/20 this way.

The advantage of the 19/20 is that with the seat taken out, you don't
have a wheel well pushing into the cockpit (as in the 24/27/28
cockpits).

Post by Andy
It's hopeless giving advice on glider fit just based on total height.
Torso length (seated height) is critical in many gliders. I got tired
of people my height telling me I could get into the SH "A" series.
Just not possible for me.

You are correct - but general consensus is that the ASW-19/20 and the
Schempp-Hirth Discus2b/Ventus2b serie offer cockpits most people will
fit into.

Post by Andy
On the other hand the 28 fits me perfectly with pedal travel to spare.

... which is an extremely tight fit for me.


Andreas

[lynn]

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

Astir CS is quite roomy and I believe meets the club class
requirement. One is listed for sale in Wings and Wheels.

[JJ Sinclair]

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

Recommend your friend try a test-sit in a Genesis 2. With the rudder
pedals full forward, seat back removed I have seen a 6' 4" (250#'er)
fit in OK. With the ballistic chute option, the roger latch could be
removed. With the nose down, It is very easy to get into with a low
canopy rail. I have owned my Genesis for 7 years and 800+ hours and
just love the old girl. I added leg support padding to make it sit
like an LS-3/4 and it is comfortable for 7+ hour flights.
JJ

[rkh986]

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

It is surprising that the Schempp-Hirth XL cockpit design has not been
mentioned in this thread, as I believe that it may be the choice for
those of us who are tall and/or over 220 pounds. The XL (extra large)
cockpit is featured in the new Duo Discus, and this advanced design
fuselage is used in the new Arcus design. From personal experience
flying in this cockpit and many others for pilots at least 6'3" tall,
I can highly recommend this strategy. The design spec is apparently
at least for pilots 6'10" tall and should be comfortable, even with
warm clothes for high altitude flying.

As I understood my hosts on visiting S-H at Kirchheim Teck, the XL
fuselage is also available as an option for the Nimbus as well as the
Discus series. Although these ships are not among the lowest cost
investments, they do in my opinion offer top level value for soaring
enthusiasts. Sailplanes of interest might also include some of the
DG, LS, and Lange series that are popular with tall pilots.

[Mike]

Post by rkh986

Post by Scott Alexander
I am trying to help a friend find a glider that he can fit into. He is
looking for a club class glider  or slighty higher cost. What gliders
would he be able to fit into?

It is surprising that the Schempp-Hirth XL cockpit design has not been
mentioned in this thread, as I believe that it may be the choice for
those of us who are tall and/or over 220 pounds.  The XL (extra large)
cockpit is featured in the new Duo Discus, and this advanced design
fuselage is used in the new Arcus design.  From personal experience
flying in this cockpit and many others for pilots at least 6'3" tall,
I can highly recommend this strategy.  The design spec is apparently
at least for pilots 6'10" tall and should be comfortable, even with
warm clothes for high altitude flying.
As I understood my hosts on visiting S-H at Kirchheim Teck, the XL
fuselage is also available as an option for the Nimbus as well as the
Discus series.  Although these ships are not among the lowest cost
investments, they do in my opinion offer top level value for soaring
enthusiasts.  Sailplanes of interest might also include some of the
DG, LS, and Lange series that are popular with tall pilots.

I think the key phrase was "Club class glider or slightly higher" to
define the price being considered.