Aspen for part time acro?

by Nick N

hello all,
I want it all - one wing for everything! Is it possible?

Currently I do a lot of travelling and mountain vol biv trips, for this my Gradient Montana has been great. Lightweight, easy/safe to fly, super fun.
Back in Australia I have been flying a second hand dhv2 (nova ra), basically to trash and keep my Montana nice. This is xc flying (landing out in prickles), general ground handling (kiting), coastal flying (sand), and the odd competition although I am not really competitive both in preparation and my head for flying good xc. The Ra has been a good choice for these uses as it is solidly built, and also it hopefully teaches me good habits as it is supposed to be an active wing for its class.

On both wings I have been a little heavy on the weight range which is not ideal for Australian conditions.

Regarding acro, it is not a primary aim but I do want to have complete control over my wing and be happy and confident to yank on the strings. I have done several dozen full stalls, some backflying and parachutal stalls, several spins, wingovers of course and a few SATs. I'd like to master these and also learn the heli as it is a very sensitive tricky manoeuvre and one worth mastering. However I don't intend to learn all the acro tricks. Anyway it is very difficult to practice in Australia but I did spend a couple of days in Organya last month which was heaps of fun and now and then I have height to burn, say in New Zealand over a valley, and it's nice to play with your wing.

So basically I'm trying to be a well rounded pilot and am wondering whether I can do that with one well rounded wing.

- xc in a variety of conditions including light conditions
- ease of launching, lightweight
- some basic acro
- I am willing to care for my wing a little more (not fill it with sand or drag it through bushes kiting)

I've heard the Aspen2 is a great option for this.
What about the Aspen3?
And apparently the Aspen4 is out in a month?

Any other comments?

cheers
Nick

Latest Comments

by shitname

I have a similar question - I'm looking into a Swing Mistral 6.24 (it's perhaps similar to Mentor 2 ???) for XC and part time acro to fly with my supair acro 3. Any experience here with the wing? I was able to test in on a small hill - I really liked the handling but I couldn't test it properly with only 100m below me. Has anyone experience with this wing? many thanks

by Nick N

I flew the freestyle2 (size 22) today - awesome! :)
Surprisingly effective with scratching around (thermalling) as it turns so easily. Very sensitive and it would definitely teach me some good habits, giving more precise inputs. And it flies fast (probably loaded at about 100kg). I think if I lived in a mountainous country, it would be the wing for me.

Kiting on the ground, it sits in parachutal so easily! And a joy to move around as it is nice and light.

Would like to try the Aspen next!

by Nick N

thanks for that link qiv, excellent video, and good info in the comments too:
My favourite for acro is the Aspen3. It does SAT, helico and wingovers very well. For XC-Flying I think the aspen 3 is too lively but has a great handling. The delta is very slow for an EN-C glider. I didn't like the mentor, for me it is a too boring glider. Just for XC it's ok, but for an allround glider not. As allround-wing I would choose the gradient.

Cool thanks for the feedback on the Mentor2 Janek.

cheers

by janek

Hi Nick.
I did only wingowers with all up weight 122kg (wing 100-130kg). 4th wingower was above the wing - dynamic enough - the best 1-2 ever flown. You pull brakes and wings turns the same time - no delay, pull hard and dives and turn. Wish to try smaller size.

Greeting
Janek
p.s.
Mentor 2 Large (100-130kg)

by Nick N

thanks mikesm08,
I was having thoughts about the freestyle2 as well - I think it would double well as a vol biv wing, especially as I have had some trouble with small knots on my thin Montana lines. Also it can be good to be heavy for vol biv to handle a wider range of conditions (stronger winds etc).

by mikesm08

hey Nick
Seen French guys a few years ago busting mitys and helicos/ twisters on Aspen 1 in a small size, probably just enough wing loading for freestyle fun and Xc glide. Never seen an Aspen2 doing stuff and wouldn't bother with the 3 or 4 for freestyle as they are more focussed on Xc with micro lines etc etc.
Aspen Freestyle2 looks the business though! She has some tiny rigis in her nose and the Gradient team was in Organya doing their photo shoot in May/June making freestlye2 in all sizes look incredible, no doubt you can Xc the freestyle2 well at a certain wingloading. Aslo Aramid lines with a UV coating on, quite good for that southern sun.
:D
Mentor is pure Xc, even RR Rolling does a few weird things in helico and she's based off a xs Nova wing of some kind...