2 years ago
XC pilot flying EN C and D gliders, I would like to purchase a glider and harness more to play with.
I will be happy with Wing-over, SAT, Heli, maybe Misty flip and will prefer easiness more than speed and energy.
I also need a glider able to take some thermals because I live in Belgium and need to take altitude before making tricks.
I was thinking about a Gradient Golden 5 size 26 (85-105 kg). A friend of mine is selling a recent one.
My XC glider is a 95-115 kg and I'm at +/- 110-112 kg
Do you think it's a good choice ?
Thank you in advance
Latest Comments
i did -and am doing- my acro-initiation on a 2009 swift. so a high-b but without shark nose. i heard the current high-b gliders are so much made to fly forward it's not nice to get them negative. actually the stalls on new high-b gliders that i saw on a SIV were pretty messy so i can +1 that point. but i don't know if that's the shark nose or any other difference between "new high-B" and "12 year old high-B"
the point i want to make is the swift 1 is a decent company for me during my first couple hundred stalls, mistys and some heli-attempts. sat as well, it sats nicely. it's also the only glider on which i attempted these maneuvers - i'm happy and feel safe under it, makes me think it's easy and benign to stall and fly backwards
cheers
Almost every glider will go easily in wing over and SAT, while misty and heli are advanced trick that might be more touchy to learn. the ptv range is good and should not be an issue for an experienced pilot like you. Nevertheless, i would recommend definitely BGD Epic, Niviuk Hook 5 or eventually Advance Epsilon 8 to start as they are pure magic when you're looking for fun in the first tricks.
Also i don't know your experience at all, but while SAT and wing over are really easy to learn, heli can take months and might be the most difficult trick ever, much more than tumbling for example.
Take care, cheers from the french border.