When I got to the Florida Ridge this morning there was a red, white, and black Wills Wing T2c tied down right in front of our parking spot. It looked spectacular! When I met up with the Jeff's I found out it was my new glider, they had already set it up for me. I couldn't believe it. What a stunning piece of art and machine!
Brand New Wills Wing T2C 154 in Phoenix Multisport Colors
I spent the first half of the day reuniting with the community, trading stories, and generally catching up. The wind was strong out of the south and not much flying was going on. There is no shortage of personalities in this sport and catching up with everyone made up for any lost airtime. It was all I could do not to gush thank you's at the Jeff's all day for all of their help.
Bobby and Rett in the Dragonfly's
Wet and Happy Cosmo
After breakfast Shapiro and O'Brien helped me get my harness sorted and put my decals on. I got a wrinkle in the P that took a few tries to smooth out. After that I was happy to stay out of the way and let their experience hands finish the job. Seeing the Phoenix Logo next to the glider it because obvious that it was way to big. My plan of cropping in down to a half circle still takes up a ton of sail space and will weigh quite a bit. I'm about 95% certain I'm not going to try it, but we'll see tomorrow.
Applying the Lettering
The Logo is Too Big
In the early evening the winds calmed and Jeff took the new glider up for a test flight. On the first tow the tug engine quit at about 50 feet and Dustin (flying the tug) and Jeff both pulled off excellent landings. The second tow was uneventful and I was amazed at how good the glider looked in the air. Jeff pinned off and did a few maneuvers before strafing cabins in a high speed pass. I was putting my camera away and missed it, but the sound of the T2C at speed was music to my hears.
Jeff's Test Flight
After he landing I hooked in and readied for my first flight. I was nervous flying a brand new glider and not having aerotowed since last November, but my excitement quickly shut it down. On tow the glider was docile and predictable. It is so much easier to turn than my Talon and I had no fatigue when I pinned off. I zipped up and did turns, stalls, explored the VG range, and rocked upright to practiced my flare. The speed range was amazing, with full VG I was going so fast I was scared to do any wing overs. I opted to bleed off some speed in the first one and do them at 3/4 VG. The landing was a piece of cake, even after I carried too much speed (easy to do) and ballooned a little transitioning to my down tubes. Rocking upright quickly was my only trouble, but I'll sort that out with a few more flights. Overall the glider is amazing! It truly does everything - it goes fast, is easy to fly, and even easier to land. A simple pleasure to fly!
A Few Tips
My First Flight
Hero Cam
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