HGFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 21 March | April 2019 A fter flying EN-D wings for five years, and acro gliders for even longer, my wing is just an extension of my body, with piloting second nature, yet it is still nice to enjoy a fun, relaxing flight on a low B glider. Now, with such excellent performance, a low B is all you need for a rewarding cross-country flight. The very light NE forecast saw our small team of four XC pilots plan a southerly, open distance route. I had loaned out my XC glider, so opted for the challenge of keeping up with the high aspect ratio (6.9-7) EN-Ds – a Zeno, Klimber and Poison X-Alps – on a slightly too small for me, mid EN-B beginner XC glider, the Icaro Gravis. With bright spots and a fat looking AR of 5.2, they laughed about leaving me in their dust, and certainly there would be no sympathy if I bombed. I launched first, hoping for a headstart, but a slow 1.2m/sec climb from launch drifted me over the back to a lousy 1400m. A disappointing glide over unsuccessful trigger points yielded only sink and frustration. The second thermal was tough to find, drifting in zeros, but I just scraped in a low 68m AGL save, thanks to the glider’s unexpected excellent climbing ability and swiftly climbed out in the low scratchy thermal to 2200m! Photo: Molly McEwin