Glider Review: Wills Wing T2 150

I have been flying the new T2 150 for almost 6 weeks of competition so here is the summary so far.

 

Background:  Flying HG for almost 3 years, competing for a year and a half.  200-600 hours a year. Previous comp gliders include Combat 2, Combat L, 13m and 15m, Moyes CSX 5.  I am about 79 kilos or 178 lbs and fly with a comp harness and 2 parachutes.  I fall at the lower end of the weight range for this wing.

 

My last glider was also a big glider so the first thing I noticed about flying this glider was the ultra low weight.  Published weight is 73 lbs or 33 kilos which is pretty light for 154 sq feet (about 14.5 sq m?).  It is easy to pick up, easy to ground handle, and easy to yaw in cross wind gusts.  In the air the lighter weight let the glider respond very quickly to my roll and yaw inputs.  I can snap around in the smallest shots of lift.  The stall speed is very low so it has wide speed range while thermalling.   Initially I felt small on the glider until I got tuned to the speed range between min sink and stall.  Now I only feel small if I fly the glider much too slow.   Turn coordination is excellent and I have many choices on which thermalling style I can chose.  1) No VG, light hands and smooth. 2) Some VG, trim, and smooth. 3) Some VG, slow, and active. 4) ½ VG and flat.   I can climb very well on this glider.  Me figuring out how to predict and navigate gaggle traffic is the only thing slowing it down.

 

Transitions are very easy because the VG string is short but still very light.  Its my understanding that the designers put a lot of effort into this and it shows.  The glider has the wide VG range of the new conventional VG but much of the ease of the old cam system.  Adjustments are quick and precise thermalling AND gliding.  Gliding fast I can go from ¾ VG to full VG in less then half a base tube width without slowing down or comprising my straight flight stability.  Full VG the glider is stiffer but still very manageable.  It is almost too supple because there isn’t the stiffness that forces you take the VG off in turbulence.  I have to make a deliberate effort to take the VG down to ½ when I fly into or out of lift.  I don’t want to compromise my pitch stability.   The inboard sprogs compensated so bar pressure is positive but light with VG on throughout the entire speed range.  The performance seems to hint at more of an advantage at faster glide speeds so I really need to derive a new polar and explore different inter-thermal gliding speeds.  I think there is a significant untapped advantage lurking there.  I really need to test glide back at Quest with varying amounts of ballast to see how it flies with more then my light wing loading.

 

The hardware and build quality on this glider are of the absolute highest standard.  60mm 7075 inboard leading edges, 50mm outboards, Spectra VG lines, Oversize haul back cables, anodized keel (lighter VG), overbuilt and well designed bits can be found at every corner.  Even the screws that adjust the tip wants are larger high quality units (I used to work on cars and know how these differences can haunt the guy working on it 5 years later).  The new integrated X-bar/LE/inboard sprog bracket is extremely stiff.  I like to push down hard on this sprog and watch it just twist the entire glider back picking it off the ground rather then flex the airframe and droop.  The cross bar is beefy with oversize hardware at both ends.  There is also a UV protective strip across the top.  I am definitely not afraid to loop this glider.

 

I test fly many gliders as an aerotow instructor and this glider is arguably the easiest topless to land.  I fly fast approaches 99% of the time but in Croatia I was amazed at how secure this wing executed slow RLF approaches with and without a drogue.  I just fly it into ground effect and then shift my attention to the horizon.  When it drops I start pitching out and the glider does most of the work from there.  Like on a low performance glider I would be embarrassed to require even a few steps landing this wing.  On the first day of the Pre Euros I had to land in a narrow valley with agriculture fields that were more like big gardens.  It was easy to set up over corn and low trees for a precise final up the narrow grass strip between 2 crop fields.  I was so proud I took pictures to mark this novel Croatian adventure.

 

I would prefer a standard flip tip on the last batten rather then a string but in this configuration the tip is more durable to set up and breakdown.  I would also like to try the glider with the optional lighter batten set.

 

Kev