ICARO Buteo

This paragraph will be published before every written glider review.

-Gliders sizes may differ a lot ! The smaller ones react very differently sometimes with less gliding power. One review for a size doesn’t include all…
-Personally i like to fly gliders at + 70..80 % of their weight range…Sometimes at top weight…As i believe in (Being a pilot underneath a glider, is much better than being a passenger)
when you load your glider at it’s perfect load, it would be much more efficient in all conditions, and you will have a better feel through the brakes with a more obedient glider in rough air.
-Pilots (especially loyal to a brand…) who were waiting a lot for a certain new model, will always have bitter reactions if they read any review that doesn’t meet their expectations and dreams. (Logical ! )
Sometimes they understand a normal rated review as a superb review !
-Any good pilot who has flown many gliders can write fruitful invaluable tests, but he must omit any ego related and attachement for any brand whatsoever. (Very hard for some…but doable )
-Flying a glider alone in any site, in weak conditions (-0.3 m/s) , won’t help notice good float-ability. Flying in company to a (pilot/wing) combination that you know well will help evaluate your findings.
-Higher efficiency in active air, for a future purchase is the right direction to look for better overall performance (if needed). Not gliding in calm air ! Otherwise, a balanced glider for your abilities, with beautiful swift and agile handling that keeps you smiling, is always much better !
-For a respective category, any glider in today’s technology can get you very far, with incredible XC achievements.
-In one solid category, ex:(high B), there’s of course little differences in glide. A good pilot can fill those performance gap !
-Pilots have different taste and requirements. I will always try comparing a glider to another. ex: Glider X has more brake pressure than Y…Or Glider X is more agile than Glider Y… Etc…
-Finally, it’s YOU the pilot who will make the difference! By choosing the agility you want, the category…The glider level… NO review should alter your judgment ! Test fly…Test fly… :-)
My small reviews are ‘only ’to help you test fly your favorite group of gliders.

ICARO Buteo S

The last flown Icaro glider, was the Gravis. It was a mid B glider with very good climbing ability and nice glide for the Mid B category.
Now the Buteo is a new ICARO design with 82 cells and two lines per side ! It’s indeed a complex structure intended for high EN-B performance flying.

Launching the Buteo S at 96 all up need a steady, but light push on the A’s. It needs a little more implication than a Mentor 5 S and slightly less than a Carrera plus S.

Flying the Buteo S at 96 seems nice for the S size. The trim speed is fast. Similar to an Iota 2 with same loadings. The brake travel has a medium length to react. The Buteo turns fairly well, but i can’t say it’s an agile glider like the Gravis or the Mentor 5 S , Chili 4 XS is the high B’s. The turning ability is moderate but a longer pull can place the glider well inside a thermal. The pressure on the brakes are also moderate, and lighter than a Mentor 5 S and harder than a Rush 4 MS .

Climbing in very weak thermals (less than 0.3m/s) , i was focusing hard to stay up. A Chili 4 S similarly loaded was slightly floating better. When the thermals are more steady and above 1 m/s ,the Buteo S climbs well. I was climbing with friends on their Cayenne 5 S and Delta 3 ML, and i felt that the Buteo in well built thermals (+1…2 m/s) does in fact stay very close in climbing power.
The Buteo have a slight pitch back or slightly slows down upon entering thermals. Nothing much, but feel-able. It ressembles the Nyos 1, M size in that matter.

Now the interesting part is the glide. I flew the Buteo for many days with a Chili 4 S size, a Cayenne 5 S, and a Delta 3 ML ! I can confirm that the glide ratio of the Buteo is on the very top of the B category, and it’s super close to the C class in gliding at trim and at full speed in calm air. The Delta 3 ML has a 3 km/h more speed. At the end of a 7-8 km glide, i was always slightly losing some 5m…sometimes 10m ! which is insignificant. In a more challenging, turbulent and bumpy environment, the Delta 3 and Cayenne 5 S (C class) will be slightly more efficient in surfing upward the air mass.

The Buteo comfort is quite ok for the high B category. It could be similar to the Chili 4, or slightly more demanding in strong turbulence. Of course, it’s less demanding than a Carrera plus M !
The movements in turbulent air are filtered under the Buteo S size at 96..97 all up. The reactions underneath in turbulence are slightly slower and mellower than the Chili 4 XS.
Big ears are stable, and reopen without pilot assistance.

Conclusion: It’s obvious that the Buteo S at 97 has a very good glide angle. I think loading it at top in alpine conditions will be quite beneficial for cruising efficiently in XC mode. 

An interesting glider for a specific generation of pilots

This is only my opinion. Make your own !