John raises some REALLY good points. The Mantis realyl is an "older"
design, but one that truly set the stage for today's planes. Yep, the
Mantis really was one of hte first "super light" planes. At the time when
68-72 was considered normal for a 188in span plane, the Mantis came in at
58. Yes there were other planes at that weight, but they were VERY frail.
At almost 5 years old now...it is doing rather well for a design I would
say!
But also John's comments have a lot to do with location. Any plane can be
used by a winning pilot to win, that is a fact. But looking at location has
a lot to do with how your planes are. In SoCal you need a plane that
launches HARD, penetrates well, yet is fairly light for those calmer
mornings/evenings. Of course "calm" is exactly what the east coasters get
on the BEST day! Windy yes, but small tight thermals that are rather light
for their development. A plane that has less to lift does better in the end
in light conditions. Tom K has proven for years that his design does
perform great, though he is also one of those "winning pilots" that I was
talking about!
Anyway, the Mantis is a fine plane and fine design. Not "optimal" but then
again I ahve heard the same thing said about hte Psyco lately :) Things
change, plane design changes, yet what wins last year is normally just as
good as this year's...especially for 95% of the peopel out there...you
know...the ones without their name on a T-shirt :) Personally I find that
the easiest way to get my name on a shirt is to get a cood caller, fly my
Mantis :), and oh yeah...pay someone to have my name embroidered on.
Jason Werner
----- Original Message -----
From: "Quiet Man" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "rcse" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 6:13 PM
Subject: [RCSE] Mantis Thread
> At the risk of interupting the fascinating
> threads on what a particular airplane looks like,
> I would like to give a briefing on my impressions
> of the Mantis.
>
> I have flown two examples, and would classify
> them as "in the ballpark" for US TD competition.
>
> You could certainly win a local regional or the
> NATS with one, given ordinary conditions and
> contest structure.
>
> After flying them, however I would not consider
> one for myself, and can guarantee you that you
> won't see any of the "name" pilots flying one.
>
> The tail booms flex when attempting a hard
> launch, the geometry is not optimal, and the
> planform is not optimized, plus they are BAGGED
> for heavens sake!
> The planform/geometry problems were really
> apparent when I tested a Mantis side-by-side with
> my #2 Psyko, turning circles at low altitude in
> light lift.
> The mantis does not turn as efficiently*.
>
> *I have to say, in defense of the Mantis, that
> the two i have flown were not set up to what I
> would consider even close to "optimal".
>
> There are many readily available planes on the
> market with superior performance, from the
> Emerald, to the Hera/Artemis/Stratos style
> planes, to what I still fly, the Psyko.
>
> These are simply MY OPINIONS AND MY IMPRESSIONS.
> YOU should go do whatever the hell you want,
> unless of course you would like your name on a
> T-shirt someday.
>
> John Roe
>
> "I'll be back"
>
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