Martin Smith made a special trip to the club to sign off the months of work and insisted I fly the SF, as it was rigged. I wish I had got him to test fly it as a reward but he seemed to need to get home.
Now that all the excess 12kg+ weight ( filler and paint mostly ) is off of the wings and centred around the mass of the pilot, who now wears a parachute because the placard is back to 110kg , it rolls a lot better, is a bit more lively and definitely lighter.
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| All the work has been definitely worth it. |
However, the crosswind gusts were a real challenge for the first flight in this glider since last September, so I went again and again until I managed to land it, a bit better. Now that I can wear a parachute, I have to get the seating position correct so that I can round out properly, if the airfield was 25 feet higher my landings would have been spot on. The semi-reclining seat after the armchair of the K8 takes a bit of getting used to again.
Now, if only I can beat this glider's 1988 510 km flight in Germany of 9hrs 19 minutes.
Next job, get that horrible blue bit off of the fuselage.
Alan Carter
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