The Artik 3 Race has some more raw feeling under it than the normal Artik 3.But that's fairly fine.
The Race lines also added some strong character to the Artik 3
especially in those small disorganized thermals ,it became a bit
energetic on its own by imposing its path and won't let the pilot
quickly put it where he wants, like the normal version. It is still very
agile in "homogenous" weak or strong thermal.
This week was very windy and rainy weather .We couldn't fly . Today I
just came from a soaring site near my house that i know very much.
The wind "down" at the beach was around + 30 km/h !! In this site i
have flown over the years many gliders in bad or windy weather and i
know it by heart .
I can confirm that the Race version loaded at top is the fastest at trim
i flew here ...I had the feeling i could soar with "nearly" a speed
wing .
This glider cuts and goes forward even in gusts !!!
I am pretty interested by the future comments of pilots flying the 25 Race version at + 94 all up.
When GRADIENT first released
the Aspen 4 ,with minimum line configuration ,my eyes opened wide, and I was
concerned about the stability and how they could manage that. The first Aspen 1
was fast, quite alive but it had a very nice crispy handling.
Now I have in my hands the
Aspen 4 to fly. Here’s what I found:
Launching this glider in nil
wind require a gentle but steady pull for the first 80 % .The Launching is a
non-event.
Immediately after take off
the feeling of security and comfort is present .It is like you are riding
exactly in a big smooth American car.
The Aspen 4 flown at 100 all
up in turbulent conditions showed a very homogenous character. Strangely, I
could see the risers moving, but I was not feeling strongly the roll movements
without being dull at all.
It is indeed a new sensation
for me!
It is like the carabineers
are working like shock absorbents, but actually it is the internal structure of
the wind that does all the hard work.
What streaked me also is that
when conditions were shaky and turbulent inside an inversion and when I was
finding it a bit hard to turn some agile gliders inside spaghetti thermals J, the Aspen 4 was still very maneuverable and could be
placed whenever I wanted regardless of the conditions.
It is one of the strongest
points of the Aspen 4!
After some glides with some
new “C’s”, I can confirm that the Aspen 4 is among the top performers.
To talk about pure
performance is always hard, but the Aspen 4 has a very usable one.
The accelerator is soft and
very easy to pull. Second bar has an impressive glide among the best, with a
high stability and friendly user.
I flew the glider in some
weak and strong thermals, next to some “C’s” to conclude that the glider is not
reluctant to any thermal. In fact it slide comfortably in, and climb without
delay.
Big ears are “BIG” because of
only two lines on the “A’s” Using the second bar with big ears is very
efficient with decent rates over -5m/s, depending on how much lines you pull.
Conclusion:
GRADIENT have now a new
hidden weapon inside those Aspens, with this efficient internal structure.
Pilots moving from high-end
“B’s” to the “C” category will immediately feel at home under the Aspen 4.
My opinion about that glider
is very positive because it has everything without the lacks of anything. As I
stated before, performance alone cannot make a good glider.
On board of the Aspen 4 a
pilot can have a very good glide, a very competitive climb, a superb handling, a
comfortable ride, with big ears as a very efficient descent method.
It has everything to make a
pilot smile after a long XC flight.
.
