All,
I flew the 18m D2 on te weekend and wanted to convey my thoughts on it. I found it a very easy glider to fly given the wingspan, performance and lack of flaps. infact it was as easy if not easier than a Discus 1.
Take off and landing wwere uneventful. It climbs very well and like all modern shemp likes a bit of top rudder to get the nose high and speed back a bit. I flew it empty and it climbed happily at 45 knots. Below that it just gets a bit mushy. In the cruise it seemed to keep up with the other 18m gliders with ease, even though it has no flaps. my only critisism is the instrumentation. It needs a 'real' altimeter and the ILEC thing doesn't work. That controls the vario so...no vario. I just flew it on the mechanical winter in the end. This took away the enjoyment of the flight.
In short, a great glider that is easy to fly and has great performance. Now I know how you other guys go so fast in your modern ships. The only thing I would say is that getting a thing like this to go fast is easy...maybe even a bit boring! Not the white knuckle ride I often experience in the 19 trying to cross the bunya's.
I see this D2 is up for sale. Would I buy it if I had the money? dunno, haven't flown all the other 18m stuff yet (Hank?) but this seems to go very well without that other lever on the left hand side. I like that, not a big fan of flaps!
Jim
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