S5,M3,AS

From: Benson
Activity_Date: 12.16.01
Remote Name: 208.3.185.36

Comments

Fun day of flying at Skyport. For the first flight I flew my Matrix L. I got up at launch, transitioned and hung on at the R&R below Kristi for some time, took the glide to RH and, after some time at the Ant F, I did an easy glide to Parma.

Dan kindly offered his Advance Sigma 5 for my second flight; I jumped at the offer. I have had the opportunity to fly Rons' Mistral 2 and Bob's Airwave Sport previously. They are all quite different in the way they fly.

To be light enough to fly Bob's Sport I flew in a light harness w/o reserve, running shoes and a light shirt. That still put me just a few pounds under the top of the weight (100kg). On Dan's S5 I was probably about 10 lbs. below max (107kg). On Ron's M2 I was about 20 lbs. under the max of 110 kg. If I were to purchase either an S5 or an AS I would get the next size up.

On those extremely turbulent days at Pine or Topa I would choose the S5 easily. It feels the most solid and reassuring of all four (including my Matrix). You feel the air but there is always the sense that the wing will take care of you. It feels planted overhead, but cranks into turns willingly. It retains energy thru the turns, which would be an advantage when flown properly. My close second choice for such days would be the Airwave Sport. It also feels extremely solid (although I flew in light conditions). My last choice on these days would be the Mistral 2. It is more dynamic, the canopy is far from planted and I imagine it would be interesting to try and keep it overhead in difficult conditions.

On days like today when conditions are moderate and you really have to work to get high I would say the Mistral 2 would be my first choice. It is very quick to react to pilot input and it is easy to fly and get high. The second time I flew the Mistral 2 there were some decent thermals on the RH spine and at the AF. Ron flew my wing and I found that we could stay up as long as we wanted.

The day I first flew the M2 I was stunned at how well it turned, like my former Arcus but better. Shortly after, when I flew the Sport, I was again impressed by the fluid turning available with light input. It felt more reactive than the M2. The S5 doesn't blow me away with its turning ability, but it is very respectable. After a few turns I was comfortable turning into the hill at Skyport launch.

In the real world we don't really what the day is like until it is over. Knowing that the S5 seems like a real possibility, but the Sport might be more fun. I need to fly these two gliders in the next size up.

Thanks to Ron, Bob and Dan for the use of their new wings.