Author: Ziad Bassil

GIN Carrera + (PLUS) S Last year GIN released the original Carrera with a B certification . He stated at the time that this glider needs active piloting and is destined to experienced pilots with a background in a performance/intermediate glider. Unfortunately, lots of pilots were slightly mislead by the B label, and did in fact bought the Carrera . For me it was an excellent glider that had a superb climb rate, a respective glide angle and great maneuverability. The original Carrera was competing easily with the C class with top scores. For sure it was a bit handful…

First of all, I would like to thank all the pilots interested in dustoftheuniverse blog and page. Being up there, focusing on the flight, visualizing the scenery, is an experience beyond fine description, where an individual would find him/herself floating in space and totally free. To do so, I must purchase the gliders from manufacturers. That’s the best way to be free to make: Test, take the needed time, fly the glider anywhere I want, be free to compare it with any glider and discuss opinions with my friends. Our custom status: First visit consist to begin the terrible negotiations…

The action on the first bar did in fact smoothed the glider movements ! and i believe that the glide angle has improved over the trim speed glide ! That’s impressive ! Big ears are stable with a -3m/s with bar. They reopen quickly on release. Wing overs and 360’s are also fun to use . The speed over trim at 98 all up is + 14 km/h with the pulleys overlapping (Taken at 800 ASL) The speed bar pressure is moderate on my Woody Valley X-rated. Conclusion: Triple Seven gliders seems to inherit the know-how and fine tuning capabilities…

BGD Base M The Base has lots of innovations ! From the Cord Cut Billow to the mini-ribs on the leading edge, and an aggressive big white nose ! “A new name for that famous leading edge” 😉 Taking off is very easy and smooth on the Base. In the air , the Base gave me an immediate feel of a compact, comfortable , easy to manage glider for the B category. It feels more coherent and more stable than some low B’s i have tested earlier. It is definitely NOT a fully dampened boring glider . All the movements…

A few more words concerning the Iota. I have been flying the Iota with lots of B gliders recently, and now i have a more clear idea about that glider. The IOTA from ADVANCE is best flown at 95 all up on the 26. I could fly it less about 92 easily. And i did try to fly it at 98 which also didn’t affect at all the climb ! The turning behavior is as i said before not as agile as the Sigma 9 but the IOTA doesn’t dive in turns and has that stationary turn with this biting…

UPDATE : 6/9/2015 Hi, First i do have to apologize for my test of the Mentor 4 S test concerning the climb rate.I think it’s slightly better than i said and expected… Even for an everyday flyer surprises can happen…But they are hopefully updated if felt otherwise… Flying the Mentor 4 S at 95 all up does in fact need some ‘different’ approach and reaction from the pilot to get it in a good climb inside weak thermals unlike all the B gliders i have tested in the past years… Explanation: When entering a weak thermal it’s better to let…

AD Rise 2 70-90 superlight. The first Rise 2 test was made on the M size regular version . Here is the S size super light version flown at 90 all up . The lines on the Superlight are all unsheathed . The risers however are very close to the normal version with very solid construction. The Rise 2 Superlight is very well made to the last detail.Looking closely at the glider showed a very good and neat construction that gives you the feeling of a lasting one. The take off is straight froward and easy. In the air the…