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Saturday, May 26, 2012

UP Trango XC 2 S/M


 
UP Trango XC 2 S/M 80-95
Swept wings,6.8 A/R glider, thin risers, unsheathed lines everywhere, aggressive look, nylon rods on the edge and more in the back, beautiful design .That’s the Trango XC 2 S/M EN-C ,lying on the take off and ready to be airborne.
I flew the glider with the Genie Lite harness size M, with a total weight of 90 kg all up.

Launching:
Pulling the inside A’s ,and the glider rises quickly without any delay. In strong breeze, it is better to stop it a bit at 75 % of the rise.
The conditions of the day were first turbulent and punchy with very small cores with an easterly wind above take off. All you need to get an uncomfortable flight, and to understand better the glider I am testing.

In the air:
I cannot say that the XC 2 is a dampened glider like the ‘C’s I was testing before. Immediately after take off the XC 2 showed a more “performance” behavior in the air, as I may say that reminded me of the old ‘D’s.
I remembered reading at the UP website that the glider is intended for D pilots not wanting to go to that class at the moment but with a ‘C’ rating for safety.
That’s exactly what the XC2 feel like in the air.
Flying the Trango XC 2,feels like a samurai solders slicing and fighting with his Katana!
Going forward “very efficiently” in an XC flight, the Trango XC 2 is the key to success. No thermal will make the XC 2 reluctant to enter it.
Going forward is the name and XC is the game  J !!
The Trango XC 2 feels very pressurized, and it feels like a solid, complete wing above your head .Its coherent and moves as a whole .It needs precise input to dissipate its energy and put it on track.

In the thermals:
The strongest point and very noticeable of the Trango XC 2 is its brilliant climb rate!  And that is a direct statement after flying nearly all the new ‘C’s even with some high aspect ratio ones…
Encountering a sudden lift or a small bubble, punchy thermals, the Trango XC 2 is the queen!  it will climb like a spring!
Immediately visible to the eye, and there’s a difference.
In very weak “smooth” stuff <0.3 m/s the glider must be lightly loaded at mid or a bit less to be as efficient.

Handling:
Surprisingly, the Trango XC 2 with its 6.8 AR is very agile. In “homogenous” thermals it’s a delight to turn! Very narrow and efficient. Just a dab on the inside break releasing completely the outside, the wing feels like a speed glider going up !!   ;-)
In a more turbulent “non-homogenous” core, it needs a more precise input to control the energy of the glider and re-put it on its path. But it is much easier that some ‘D’s.
I can describe the brake travel as short, precise with average pressure.

Performance:
Gliding with the best ‘C’s of the moment, the Trango XC 2 is well placed on the top. Gliding in calm air the difference is negligible, but when gliding on a ridge with lifts and going into wind, the Trango XC2 may have the upper hand.
The speed bar is relatively light and pulling it at the max, the glider remains very stable with speed near 56 km/h at 2500 ASL and loaded at max but with an impressive glide angle!
(Video soon)

Big ears are stable and easily doable. Coupled with the accelerator the descent rates are around 4 m/s.

Conclusion:
A new generation of UP gliders is born!
Frantisek Pavlousek designs and glider behavior is strongly implemented in the Trango XC 2! Like the Venus 2 was, efficient and dynamic.
The Trango XC 2, with its superb climb and fast reactions will be a performant tool in the competitions.
It has indeed a ‘C’ rating but it’s not for everyone!
It needs a good pilot to fly it, but I can assure you that the feeling under it is a pure joy to the educated pilot wishing to fly a high end ‘C’.
You can drive your Ferrari or your Bmw ! Everyone has a choice.

The Trango XC 2 is now the glider to beat in the ‘C’ category in terms of “climb and efficiency”.
UPDATE:The XC2 SM size with a total weight of 90 all up has a low full speed of 53 km/h at sea level .If you are loaded at max and you fly at + 2000 m altitude then it is a bit better....


https://picasaweb.google.com/110040226962521480605/UPTrangoXC2SM


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21 comments:

Unknown said...

hi Ziad,
how are you? :))
how about trango xc2 against normal D´s, like O8, peak2 and others? can you update that? thank you a lot for your effort, you are the guy !!

ronaldo japa brazil

Peter said...

Hi Ziad
Thank you for nice review.
Would you consider Trango XC2 SM with take off weight 95KG? Or do you think it would loose too much in weak stuff so in such case its better to consider something else like skywalk.

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi Peter,
At 90 all up the XC 2 is veru well pressurized.No need to go for 95.You can choose the M size at 100 and it will be fine.The climb rate is very good in punchy conditions.
The Cayenne S must be loaded above +96 all up to be on the performance and safe side in strong conditions.

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi Ronaldo,
:-)
The XC2 is in the 'C' category and could be close to the O 8 and the Peak 2 in performance,but not at top end speed.

Alex Gagarin said...

Hi Ziad,
My current glider is Venus 2 S @93kg, which glider from current EN C would be most close to it? I'm flying mostly in mountains in strong conditions.
Thanks,
Alex

Peter said...

Hi Ziad

my all up weight is about 94Kg with no hope to go down. So for me there is no chance to go to 90. Do I undestand it correctly that in such case (with such all up weight) you suggest to take same ballast and go with size M? And in case you do not want to take ballast what would be your choice?

Peter said...

Perhaps you should try AXIS polaris which is told to be based on Venus 2 but it is C and according to guys who fly it thay say it is better then Venus 2 (faster, better climb, ..)

Ziad Bassil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ziad Bassil said...

Yes the M is better for you at 100 -102 .
If you don't want to take ballast,then you have a wide variety of gliders to choose from...

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi,
The designer of the Venus 2 left Axis last year.The Polaris may be a very good glider,but unfortunately i can't get one at the moment.
The important is not having more glide or climb rather than efficiency in moving conditions and the capacity of the gliders to be able to move forward and higher.I think that's something very difficult to achieve and require years of R&D and a bit of luck also...

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi Dizzy,
The TXc2 of course. It moves in the air like a D with a C rating.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ziad

Can you please define "a bit better"? UP indicates 58km/h, which would be quite a difference. What about Trimm and first bar?

Ziad Bassil said...

It had to pass the C certification....So the max speed suffered a bit...The trim speed is around 40 km/h.

Tulio Subira said...

you will test polaris axis?

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi Tulio,
Sorry,its difficult to get one now.
Cheers,
Ziad.

Chris Little said...

Can you please comment on how the Trango XC2 might fly at middle of the weight range ie around 85-87kg

Renato Ska said...

ZIAD !!ola'
Vc acha que o TXC2 chega a subir melhor do que o Omega8 em
térmicas ??

Ziad Bassil said...

Sorry for the late reply Renato...! I didn't see it ! Yes i think the TXC2 is much better than the O8 in climb rate. The handling is different.The ) 8 is much easier to turn ,but i liked the TXC2 handling as well.
Cheers,

Unknown said...

choose between. TXC2 or passion. Try not possible.
what do you think has a calm nature in turbulent air? What did you like flying?

Ziad Bassil said...

Hello,
Sorry for the late reply. The Passion is more comfortable in the air than the Xc2. But you must fly it near the top weight. From 102 to 105 for the SM (85-105)
Cheers,
Ziad.

Unknown said...

Merhaba.
About Up Trango X-Race any comment? and last Delta 3 news!
Best regards
Hasan Tahsin