I was a typical aspiring glider pilot who had worked his way up through my home club's fleet and wanted to advance to the next stage. I began searching for my own entry level "high" performance glass ship and asked others for advice. The suggestions were wide and varied. Luckily I ran into my good friend Burt Compton at the 2003 SSA convention and mentioned that I was looking for my own glider. By shear luck he spotted a few days later a DG-101 for sale on the SSA web site. Better yet it was located close by in Michigan (I am from the Chicago area) at the Sandhill Soaring Club located in Gregory. As an aside, the sandhill crane is an magnificent soaring bird which I see over the Chicago suburbs during their migration. Their migration flocks can consist of gaggles of 100's of birds and I have seen them create an outline of a thermal with their bodies. A truly magnificient site. But I digress.

I called up the owner and arranged to fly out to see the ship in a few weeks time. A day later he called back to say that a west coast club had called to say they were going to make a cash deposit sight unseen to hold the ship for them and were leaving for Michigan that day. The owner was good enough to offer me right of first refusal so I quickly flew out (thanks Bob!) to see if the ship was what I wanted. We dug the hangar out of the snow and found the glider was in great condition (as DG's almost always are). It was low time ship with only two owners, the first hardly flew and the second only flew one year before moving to Europe. It was a done deal and the rest was history. A few weeks later I returned to Michigan and pulled my first glider back home for a new life with me.

Since that time I have made over 200 flights in this ship, flown in contests (want to do more), traveled with it to Knauff's Ridge Soaring Glider port and captured my silver badge (IGC log files can be found here).

"Soaring" Magazine - May 1985
Includes: Dick Johnson's DG-101 Technical Review

History of the DG-100

The DG-100 all-fiberglass Standard Class DG-100 was based on the Akaflieg Darmstadt D-38 which Wilhelm Dirks designed before forming Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau GmbH (now DG Flugzeugbau GmbH). It has Schemmpp-Hirth type top-surface airbrakes, an all-flying T-tail and water ballast. Options offered included both retractable and fixed landing gear, and a fixed horizontal stabilizer. After more than 100 DG-100 sailplanes were built, it was succeeded by the DG-101, offering a front-hinged canopy, two part horizontal stabilizer/elevator, automatic trim and a cockpit of improved impact-resistant design. A CG (center of gravity) hook is standard for use with aero or winch towing (though a nose hook can be retrofitted). Some DG-101 sailplanes were constructed by ELAN in Slovenia.

(click image to enlarge)

Technical Data

• Wing span: 49.2 feet (15 meter)
• Wing area: 118.4 square feet (11 sq.m)
• Aspect ratio: 20.5
• Length: 23 feet
• Weight: approx. 510 lbs (230 kg)
• Loading plan: pilot max. 258 lbs (117kg), min. 165 lbs (75kg)
• L/D: 39:1
• Water ballast: 21 US gal (176 lb, 80 kg) or 26 US gal (220 lb, 100kg)
• Airspeed limits
  • never exceed: 140 kts (260 km/h)
  • maximum speed in rough air: 140 kts (260 km/h)
  • maneuvering and aero tow: 89 kts (165 km/h)
  • spoilers: 140 kts (260 km/h)

The DG-100 line is considered by many to be a wonderful first time glass glider with decent performance for cross country and sports class competition. It is a very safe and benign ship with clear stall and spin indications. The large canopy allows greater visibility than other brands. It is also a "cold weather" ship, keeping your feet warm due to its large canopy extending to your feet and allowing the sun to warm the interior (and your toes), as compared to most other ships in which your feet are buried deep under the console. At the same time the good ventilation of the ship prevents overheating during summer flying.

DG-101G ELAN (N101RP) "67" Information

• FAA US Registration Number: N101RP
• FAA US Airworthiness Certificate: Standard
• Contest ID: 67R (but only 67 on the tail)
• Glaser Dirks DG-101G ELAN
• Date manufactured: June 1982
• Purchased Feb 18, 2004
• Serial Number: E.102.G.72
• Instruments Installed
  • Airspeed: Winter 6423
  • Altimeter: ???
  • Compass: ???
  • Vario (Mechanical): Winter ???
  • Flight Computer: Cambridge 302
  • PDA: HP iPaq Pocket PC 2215
  • Transceiver: MicroAire 760
• Modifications & Repairs
  • Fitted with Wedekind Sleeves in 2006 for quick, and secure, assembly of the control linkages.
  • Replaced all cloth gap seals with mylar (2007)
  • All AD's are complied with - including TN 301-23 (Lower Rudder Mount) which added the required securing washer (in lieu of daily inspections).
  • Cockpit Pressure Relief - Items completed or to be completed to prevent cockpit pressure (from open vents) exiting in places it shouldn't like airbrake boxes and tail.
    • Replaced Airbrake Cap Springs (2009) - This was due to the caps floating above the wing at high air speeds. The replacement springs (from DG) are about 2x stronger. Installing the springs was a bit tricky as you had to compress them and, at the same time, install a cotter pin. I made a cool tool out of two brass tubes which slid one inside the other (see the pictures). The inner tube has the same diameter as the shaft the spring goes on. I can then compress the spring and fit the cotter pin through a slot cut into the outer tube. I tested the new springs up to about red-line and the caps do not float any longer. Note that I always keep my hand on the airbrake handle to prevent the entire brake from popping out (very bad) at high air speeds.
    • Seal push rods at wing root (future) - The real problem mentioned in the spring repair above has to do with the pressurization of the cockpit at high speeds from vents. The only exit point for the air is out the wing roots and then the airbrake caps. Sealing the push rods openings should help this and increase performance a bit (see here for details).
    • Cockpit Air Exit (future) - Another solution to the above problem is to give an easy exit point for the air coming into the cockpit from the vents. This is generally along the top of the turtledeck. This has the advantage of allow more air into the cockpit which can be useful in desert regions. The DG-101 has a removable hatch on the turtledeck to access the aileron and airbrake hookups which could be fairly easily replaced to facilitate this modification. [need links to RAS articles].
• Hours: [some number of hours - I don't have my log book right now]