304CZ Gatherings
I believe this is a first. Four 304 CZs in one place at the same time. The attached
photo was taken on Thursday, May 17, at Jean Nevada, on the first day of a four day
fly-in. Left to right are serial #23 (Parke Byron/ Walt Konecny), #5 (Tom Wescott)
with Tom standing in front, #14 (Jedi Master Ted Grussing), and behind Ted's glider is #6
(Doug Robinson). The Goldstrike Casino is in the background. The cloud street
in the photo ran about 50
miles northwest out beyond Mt. Charleston to within about ten miles of Mercury, Nevada.
Cloud bases were about 12,500 to 13,900 feet. I believe everyone got in at
least a three hour flight on this day.
Parke Byron
Click on image to enlarge
Here's a shot of Doug Robinson leading the CZ parade to Mt Charleston.
Click on image to enlarge
Here's Romeo Fox over Nevada again. Late afternoon. This one is might be
a candidate for replacing those Microsoft background clouds on your desktop...
Not quite the Alps, but not bad either.304CZ get together at Jean Nevada
Tom Wescott
FOLKS! First flight in N304AM today!
YEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAA
The ship is perfect!
Armand Medeiros Ser# 22
Hollister, CA
But first things first...We got to the airport at about 2PM after I delivered the trailer
there from the FAA biz...new CofA in hand of course. Assembly of the ship took 30 minutes
from open trailer to final tape. No problems! The one-man-rigging works good! Also,
all the hints from TIM and TED were right on the mark! Very easy assembly! After I waited
45 minutes, I finally got the cockpit checkout and was ready to go! First takeoff
was okay with just a hint of over-control on the pitch after tail liftoff...no problem.
The tow proceeded to 5000' AGL where I let go and did a turn out. After trimming,
moving the seat up one notch and adjusting the pedals slightly, I began my first training
exercises. I did many turns at different banks with different flap settings, stall
practice with and without spoilers and flaps, and just generally got a feel for this
most beautiful bird. This has to be the most responsive ship I have ever flown! It
took me a little while to get the rudder coordination going correctly and will take a few
more hours of flying to get it right, but all and all a very nice ship. I also tried 2
loops and some lazy eights with no surprises! Everything worked as stated in the manual
and on the placards.
The spoilers are a pleasure to use!
They show no real tendency to open by themselves or do anything weird! The stick forces
are very light and the ship grooves in the turns hands off! What a magnificent ship!
Landing was no surprise either, other than I had to be light on the stick! First touchdown
done okay and rollout was easy! The new brakes work with the lightest finger
touch! Excellent! I love this bird...this is the BEST airplane I have ever flown!
Better than the Duo Discus even! A lot better than anything I previously owned. It
will take some more flying hours to get tuned in on this wonderful superb aircraft, but
that will come soon now! Jaroslav, Tim, Ted, Rex, all of you who helped me get this bird
in the air safely,
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Armand <------ Very Happy Dude! 8-)) YEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAA
Mark Malmros
YES! YES! YES!
The wait was excruciating! But the ship is fantastic!
FAA'er stopped by VanSant and issued a Standard Airworthiness Certificate for #25-17
this afternoon. Painless. No problems at all. He was amazed all those
placards found their way into the cockpit! With a cloud deck moving in from the south, the
good looking thermals began to dissipate once we had the stomach jitters under control -
but there was still enough to play with...
Simply fantastic.
I must commend a very new flugster - Bud Bauder (Tim, have you got a serial # for him
yet?) - who came bye to help me rig for the FAA inspection - calm my jitters - took the
"standard" cockpit photo (attached) - and ran the
wing! I cannot tell you all how much his patient help meant for the
"first" flight. While my flight was kept short on purpose as the
clouds cut off the sun - I wanted to offer the "second" ride to Bud for all his
efforts. He declined! Preferring to wait and test the mettle of the 304CZ-17
against his Lak-12! Back pat - while I had done a few flights at VanSant - today
they switched operations to the south which I hadn't yet flown - so my first landing was
on a strange approach - no problem at all. Sucker lands itself.
Mark #25
Follow up
Bud has been so very helpful that I was glad to let him fly the 304CZ.
And while my experience in various sailplanes is limited... I can' imagine anything
that flies so well - so easily - so responsive. Bud confirmed that impression.
I think he's very sure he made a good decision.
Mark #25
Bill
Kenyon
Ridgefield, CT
Ser#31 arrives at the Baltimore Port
Bruce Stein and I picked up S/N 31 in Baltimore today. We just gave 2Q a quick look-over
today, but everything seems to beabsolutely perfect and lovely. So thank you
very much for your efforts.
John Daly Ser#30
Bainbridge Island, WA
Last Wednesday, Pierre & I picked up N304JD at the Port of
Tacoma. It took us 2 hrs flat from the time we pulled into the parking lot of the
Willenius Line to pay the freight (8miles from the docks) until we went out the gate with
the trailer in tow. This after clearing with Wallenius, clearing customs by ourselves,
clearing the Port of Tacoma and retreiving the glider from the longshoremen. Also included
in that time was about a 1/2 hour operation by Pierre to try and hook up the trailer
lights without reading Walt's instructions. "Piece of cake" said Pierre.
"Then how come it doesn't work"? I asked. I recall making other comments
regarding how hard it was getting to find good help these days and something to the effect
that free help was turning out to be worth exactly what it cost but, Pierre said it didn't
make any difference because when his glider comes in next month he will know exactly how
to hook it up. He read the instructions on the way home! After reading all of the
comments on trailer sway etc. we were both watching like hawks to catch any undue motion.
I have to tell you guys that in the 70 miles from Tacoma to Arlington at 65 mph it towed
straight as an arrow and even when I deliberately passed a couple semi's to get in their
air gusts, it still towed great.
This as it came off the dock with no added weights or adjustments in the trailer loading.
John Daly #30
Bruce Stein
Ser# 27 Stratford, CT
My first impression of the ship was WOW!!! The finish is perfect
and the workmanship is outstanding. The wings are absolutely straight without any
detectable surface waviness. The interior is very well done and the wooden control
stick handle and gear handle are a handsome addition, much better than black
plastic. The canopy is a
perfect fit and it closes and latches like a Mercedes door. Everyone from my club
who saw it commented on the fantastic fit, finish and control sealing...and these are guys
who fly Schleicher, Schempp Hirth and other high-end ships.
HPH must be commended for all of the "little" things they add to the 304CZ that
make it so nice of a ship to own. All of the wires (and there are plenty of spares)
are labeled. The tubing for static, pitot, and TE are labeled and have dust / bug
filters on them. The cruise / climb switch and PPT on the stick along with panel
cutting are no cost items that save a great deal of work. Everywhere you look there
are many small details that show all of the hard work and effort and pride HPH puts into
each ship.
I would like to thank everyone in this group (even Walt) for their observations,
suggestions and experience. There was nothing in the process from purchasing to
assembly I found to be a surprise due to the great information given out in this group.
Bruce 304BS
Ser#24 Renny Rozzoni
New Mexico
Renny Rozzoni pictured with #24 shortly after arrival at Moriarty NM
Jaroslav, I just wanted to let you know that #24 (N304NM) arrived safely at its new home
in Moriarty, NM yesterday (8/26) afternoon! It was a long 2000 mile drive to Galveston and
back to NM, but was well worth it!! Even a flat tire on the Cobra trailer (it was a nail)
did not slow me down!!! The ship is absolutely beautiful and I look forward to flying it
in the blue skies of New Mexico in the near future! I would like to thank you and all the
personnel at HPH for their outstanding efforts in producing such a beautiful flying
machine!
Many members of the Albuquerque Soaring Club saw the ship in the past two days and they
also love it!!!
Renny Rozzoni
Hello All,
I just wanted to let you know that # 24, N304NM flew today for the first time in the USA!
I made two flights at Moriarty and all went very well! The ship handled "as
advertised" and it was a real pleasure to fly! A few weak thermals kept it
interesting and thermaling with + 1 and then + 2 was great! Its thermaling and handling
characteristics were far superior to other glass ships that I have owned. I even joined a
hawk for a short time and we both enjoyed the view! The landings ended up fairly routine
and the effectiveness of the trailing edge dive brakes was very impressive (as you
had all told me...).Thanks AGAIN go to Jaroslav and the many skilled employees at the HPH
factory. They are building a great ship! I also want to personally thank both Tim and Ted!
Your help and guidance over the past few months make the transition to the 304CZ very
smooth!!!
I'm looking forward to next season (although we might still have a few good flights
this year)!
Thanks again, Renny
(see
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