To demo or not to demo
My winter goal for this trip was to demo T2C. Now, however, I was a bit overwhelmed with the new harness. By that point, I had 3 flights on it - one "crash", 2 good landings, and about 4 hours of flight time. There was no way I would fly in my old harness again, but I should have probably gotten more practice with this new one.
While I was waffling, Crystal and Ilya were doing the demos.
Crystal was absolutely perfect with that shiny T2C
Crystal towing T2C
T2C afterglow
WW guys reasonably asked Ilya to fly U2C first. He's done great. A perfect landing, too.
Taxi to launch
Ilya in a U2C
I couldn't resist. I figured, U2C was close enough to Sport2, and I was feeling confident with the new harness on my Sport... Time to play with new toys!
I talked to Steve Pearson about trying U2C. He set me up with proper hang loop extension, and off I went.
Ready for U2 (photo courtesy of Crystal)
The tow was pretty easy. Not more difficult than towing a Sport. When I got off tow... OMG, what a nice glider. Comparing to Sport2, it was so much easier to fly. Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that new pilots should skip Sport2 and go directly to U2. U2 is more sensitive to input, so it requires light touch. Sport 2 definitely helped me to develop it. But after a year on Sport, I could feel and appreciate the difference - so little bar pressure on U2, especially at higher VG settings. Gliding fast and true was a breeze! Thermalling was pretty easy as well.
The day was very active, and I had plenty of opportunities to test U2C's at different settings - thermalling capabilities, fast glides, best glides, stalls. I loved it. I started doing very fast glides from cloudbase to other side of the ranch. When I was getting to 2K, I would search for another climb and repeat. In one thermal I climbed to cloudbase with Steve Pearson who was test-flying Sport2C. He dived super fast from the top of the climb, and I tried to out-glide him. Difference in performance between those two gliders wasn't that dramatic, so I couldn't glide noticeably faster than him, but it was a lot of fun nevertheless.
After a few fast runs like that, I finally failed to find another ride up top. I landed. Landing wasn't hard, but I missed flare window and ran it out. I had a huge grin on my face. I was so glad I put my worries aside, and tried it out. Confidence building experience for sure. I wish I had cash now to buy this glider... Oh, wait, I had to try what I came for - T2C.
The same day, after lunch at Wallaby, I set up to test fly T2C 144. My expectations were set too high for this glider. Ilya and Crystal were raving about it, and U2C set my expectations high as well.
I had no problem with the glider on tow. It felt heavier to handle, but nothing unexpected. In flight, it responded well to all inputs. It thermalled well in very weak lift. And most impressive - it glided at 30+ mph while going down only 200-250 fpm. It certainly was a machine to take me places. And yet, it left me cold. I am not sure what it was, handling maybe, or simply my expectations were too high, but it didn't feel like I was having as much fun as I had on U2C. Maybe I need to try again later.
The landing wasn't harder than on U2C. I ran this one out as well. Considering that there were at least 4 cameras running - it was a very good landing :-)
In any case, I don't have resources to buy a new glider any time soon. Plus, I think, my Sport can still teach me a thing or two before I switch. I do recognize that if I want to go long(er) distance, I need something like T2C, but I am having plenty of fun on what I already have... Will re-evaluate some time later.
Drifting back North
Week at Wallaby Ranch was excellent. Food, entertainment, company of old friends, and of course, excellent flying. It is definitely one of my favorite places to relax and fly.
I achieved everything I came here for and then some. I loved the way my new harness felt, and I was ready for new adventures. Tennessee Treetoppers Team Challenge event was starting on Sunday, and I couldn't wait to fly different time of year in Sequatchie Valley.
We left Wallaby on Saturday morning to get to Henson Gap the same day. ~600 miles - whole day of driving, but we should get there before dark.
More awesome flying is expected ahead.
Photo album from the trip : Wills Wing Demo Days 2016 at Wallaby Ranch
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