Swing Agera RS SM

The Agera is Swing’s new C glider with RAST. 

Taking off is quite easy, and i didn’t find any particular problem in inflation in nil wind. In strong windy take off, the Agera RS also inflates quite nice and stays easily above the pilots head.

I flew the Agera RS from 96 all up on the SM size (88-100) 

The brakes have medium to light pressure and the Agera turns with very little action on the brakes. The turning radius inside weak and strong thermals are fairly agile. It turns inside a core but stops in the middle and needs to re-power it by releasing the inside brake in order to give it more energy, then lower it again smoothly inside a small core in order to get a tight radius. The Agera RS tends to stop inside one complete tight turn. But i can say that it has a fair agility and needs to get used to.    

Inside a tight core, i tried to keep my inside brake low and tried to lower it slightly more to keep it on track like i tested the other C’s like the A5, Alpina 3, Volt 3. In that matter, the Agera RS doesn’t really accept lowering the brakes near the hips to crank it…It will go into a mild spin. Nothing alarming here…It’s easy to sense for a C pilot, and when releasing the brakes a bit, the glider flies smoothly. So Swing was very keen to announce that this glider is intended for high end C pilots in terms of piloting level. So i felt that the best way to turn it tight, when the glider stops inside a turn, is to give it more energy by releasing the brakes a bit and re-apply it smoothly with weight-shift. 

I made some glide comparisons with an Artik 5 which is a very good glider in that matter, and found out many times that the Agera RS has IMHO, the highest glide on a C ever seen. Indeed, the glide is simply amazing, with a trim speed that’s slightly faster than an Artik 5 fully loaded. I even tried some glides with an LM6 size SM and found out that the Agera RS plays in that class in terms of gliding in moving air. I also felt that when there’s turbulence and difficult windy conditions, that the Agera RS performs at it’s best. So when i let it fly ! the glide angle is superb for a C certified glider. I forgot to say that the Agera RS doesn’t seem to have a shark nose, and the leading edge looks similar to the Nyos RS, with more cells of course, and smaller openings.

I also tested the climb rate in weak stuff. With a Delta 3 SM loaded art 91, and with an LM6 SM loaded at 95. In weak thermals, the Agera RS didn’t feel like a floater. It climbs ok thought, but those tiny bits of lift (-0.5 m/s) , were better smelled by the Delta 3, Artik 5, LM6. So i was hovering a bit more to find a slight steadier core to climb. In stronger cores, the Agera RS climbs really well. It has that power to dig through and climb. 

The speed system has moderate pressure and the top speed seems 12 km/h over trim. Racing a bit with half to full bar, the pressure on the C’s was very ,very light…And considering controlling it in turbulent air like a 2 liner is quite different. Flying the Zeno, a two liner for example, has immediate swift contact via pulling the rear riser, even in turbulent air.  But of course, the Agera RS is not a two liner ! 

It needs a longer input and a  bit more refined C pulling as the Agera RS will be slightly talkative at bar in turbulent air. It surely needs some hours to get use to it, especially to keep the glider from shooting forward in strong air if the pilot is only using the C risers control when going from half to full speed in turbulent air. 

Conclusion: For me the Agera RS properly loaded from 96 to 100 could be very efficient in Alpine racing. The Agera RS glides very well, and convert the bumps in an efficient way. It’s also a comfortable glider to fly in active air. I mean the roll movements are dampened, and ressembles the Volt 3 ones. The glider pitch forward a bit in turbulent air especially at bar but nothing difficult for a regular C pilot. The pilot must be smooth on the handling and refine his feeling on the brake pressure when the cores are very small and when very tight turns are needed. Otherwise European conditions are far different from ours, with larger radius thermals ! 

Probably the RAST system could have gave me that comfort overall feel, like on the Nyos RS, but surely more pronounced on the Agera, but still smooth feedback from the surrounding air is well provided.

UPDATE:

Swing Agera RS (revised version)  Size S.

After the issue of some lines on the Agera RS, Swing revised their C glider. This is the S size of the Agera RS flown at 88 all up.

The handling has indeed improved a bit. Now pushing the brakes into the core doesn’t spin easily the Agera RS, but funnily the tips tends to go back without any consequences. The agility is quite similar to the one i tested before, and inside the core i had to release the brake and pull it again to be able to tight turn some narrow cores. Otherwise it will flatten and gets out of the turn. 

The glide ratio is the same and its pretty nice.  Landing on a tight spot is a bit difficult and needs a good pilot probably because of the flat polar of the glider. 

The Agera RS doesn’t like to be slowed much, so care must be taken on super small landing fields.

This is only my opinion. Make your own !

Merry Christmas

Wishes for a safe, long XC's  and happy flights !  :-) 

Queen 2 light size S

I already have tested the Queen 2 MS in normal cloth. Here’s the Q-light 2 in size S. 

The Q-light is delivered with soft skinny risers and the whole weight of the glider is around 4 kg.  The brakes will go only through a rubber loop to ensure their locking position. (no stainless steel or magnet holder)

Launching the Q-light, in light breeze need a slight pull. The light cloth helps a lot in keeping the glider overhead. For a C pilot, even in the strong breeze, the Q-light is relatively easy to launch in tricky areas.

I flew the Q-light Small (65-85) at 85 all up, with a Woody Valley GTO Light. 

In this test, I will compare the Q-light Small to the Alpina 3 Small. They both have the same weight range.  I also flew the Artik 5 size 24 (75-95) at 95 all up next to the Q-light Small that was given to a friend who also gave me his feedback of that interesting glider. 

Each time a new glider is out, it’s weird to read tests that go toward “this is the best glider..” kind of talk…But sometimes they truly are quite exquisite!  And test flying them will be a great joy. 

The brake pressure of the Q-light S at 85 all up is toward the light side. It resembles the Alpina 3 S ones at the same load.  The brakes are precise and the Q-light is very agile!  No matter what quality the thermal delivers, the Q-light can be steered inside the core quite efficiently. That’s a really cool feature in a glider that gives a swift, snappy feel through the brakes, and also a pleasurable and smooth one in turns!

The brakes are to be used moderately as sometimes the Q-light S will dive quickly into a turn. 

Saying that flat turns are also doable and efficient even on a loaded Q-light S.

What impressed my friend and I on the Q-light S is its ability to cut through the air smoothly and very efficiently for a C! 

Doing some glides next to an Artik 5 24 loaded at the top, showed me many times that this small Q-light has an impressive surfing power into the airmass. For pure gliding in moving air, I could easily confirm it’s efficiency for its amazing gliding properties that I could place high up in my C comparison table. 

The trim speed of the Q-light S at 85, is faster by 1 km/h than an Artik 5 24 loaded at 95. And also faster than an Alpina 3 S.  

The Artik 5, 24 and the Alpina 3 S are both super fine gliders, but they have this very slight pitch when entering thermals and surfing the air as I already mentioned in my tests. This wasn’t felt at all on the Q-Light S, as it was sliding through the airmass and moving forward with that fine quality to climb like stepping up on stairs. 

   

In my queen 2 MS test, I wrote that the Q2 climbs fast. The Q-Light S is also very similar. When catching a steady, well built thermal, the Q-Light S jumps upward like a spring, and it cores beautifully, responding to every pulled centimeter on the brakes.   

In very weak thermals, (0.2 m/s…0.5 m/s…) the Q-Light S is also efficient, like the Alpina 3 S. Probably the Artik 5 24 also loaded could have a slight edge probably be because of being a larger size. I didn’t have an Artik 5 22   to compare, but for me, the Q-Light S has already fulfilled beyond my expectations the excellent climb and glide for a C glider. 

The working load on the Q-Light S is slightly higher than the one on the Alpina 3 S as it moves slightly more in turbulent air. To place it accurately, the Q-Light is easier than the 6.4 aspect ratio, Skywalk Spice for example. For more details, please see the C comparison already updated.   (https://public.tableau.com/profile/ziad.bassil#!/vizhome/CGliderComparison/CGliderComparison)

The speed system is toward the light side, and the glide seems even more efficient after 5 km/h over trim. Controlling the Q-Light S with the C risers is quite efficient for a 3 liner. 

Ears are stable, sometimes they shake a bit. Smaller ones are more stable. They reopen quite fast.

Conclusion:  When the complete package of overall performance and especially pleasurable feel and handling and strongly present, it’s the heart that influences the writings.  

For me it was indeed rewarding, to test fly this Q-Light S!  A must test fly if you are looking for a light companion for a hike and fly adventures or XC performance flying. And of course a very strong contender for the sports class competitions. 

Happy flights,

Ziad

This is only my opinion. Make your own!

ADVANCE XI

ADVANCE XI  size 23 

The XI is ADVANCE light high B glider for 2018.  

Launching the XI is effortless and at 86 all up, the glider stays overhead in a slight breeze. The take off is immediate .

The pressure on the brakes are average to light. With a half wrap on the brakes the XI turns quite fast and it’s quite an agile glider to core very narrow thermals.

The brake feel is linear and fairly precise. To compare this feel to a Mentor 5 XS(70-90), the XI brake pressure has a more ‘pilot connection’ feel and more linear response. 

The M5 XS reaction is direct and prompt. On the XI it’s also direct with more feel thought every pulled centimeter.  Compared to a Rush 5 S, the brake pressure is slightly less, a little longer brake travel, but a more agile glider for the XI in thermals.

The roll feel is more pronounced on the XI than the M5, with a glider that connect the pilot with informations through the airmass not really as the M5 which moves more as a block.  Compared to a Rush 5 S (65-85 ) the XI transmits more what’s the air is doing with a more agile glider in thermals.  The B comparison ‘chart’ is updated for small details if needed. 

Climb rate seems very nice even in weak stuff, and i was able to stay quite close to a Mentor 5 XS similarly loaded in the same thermals we encountered. I felt that loading the XI would still be efficient and quite rewarding to surf the airmass.  The XI seems to cut through the airmass a bit less than the Iota 2, and that’s why i felt that when loaded it up,  i got a better forward push.

Going on some glides next to a Mentor 5 XS showed me that the XI are quite similar with a slight edge in surfing the air without loosing much in sinking air, at trim and at half bar for the XI. 

Comparing it to a Mentor 5 (light) XS, which is much different than the regular version in the way it bumps more into the airmass.(i don’t know why…) I would possibly lean slightly toward the XI for it’s overall performance and glide through turbulent air if both ‘light’ gliders are similarly loaded. 

Pushing the speed bar will give a +12 km/h over trim at 1000 ASL, and the pressure is moderate and very usable. 

Ears are stable and reopen quickly without pilot intervention. 

Conclusion: For a light high performance B, the XI is a nice companion for travel, hike and fly, and XC. 

The overall performance is among the top B’s. Nice handling, pleasure feel in thermals, and a small packing volume.  

This is only my opinion. Make your own !