I have 5½ hours on this same glider. Here it is in action with
a quick look-round at the end. https://youtu.be/zZQ_gCefuaI
At the end of the video he claims that the Sport 3 is 10 pounds
lighter than the Gecko. I asked him about this claim as the Wills Wing site
claims 59 pounds (Sport 2 155) and the Moyes site claims 65 pounds (Gecko 155).
He wrote:
The Gecko 155 I flew felt heavy. This glider is very light. My
personal 2010 Sport 2 155 weighs 58 pounds in the cover bags. Subtract 3 pounds
or so for the bags and you have 55 pounds. The S3 that Rudy has and that I flew
five times feels maybe a pound lighter than my S2 155. Next time I'll bring my
digital bathroom scale.
I asked for actual measurements.
Jonathan Dietch writes:
You can pull the sail drum tight on a Gecko and the frame is
clearly built stiff, to take the force. The S3 is a different, yet wonderful
glider. I want one.
Gerolf Heinrichs writes:
When it comes to weight, Jonathan Dietch likes to compare the
Gecko to the Sport 3 (or 2) model, and when it comes to performance he then
likes to compare it to the U2.
On a more serious note: Don't forget, please, that the Geckos have a rather
unique VG system which compensates luff lines and side cable wire slack as you
engage the VG. This is what in fact gives the Gecko the edge on both ends of the
VG spectrum. The Geckos also sport a solid rim and core Mylar mainsail
construction and significantly more double surface towards the tip area, which
allows to completely cover the divestick and transversal batten inside.
The new S3 Proto may be the "light weight" here, but apparently has none of
those features still. If you leave out crucial constructive elements in your
design - yes - then you will accomplish a wing with less weight. That has
nothing to do with ingenuity, that's simply physics.
It's tempting to compare the Sport and the Gecko model because they have rather
similar plan forms. But that is about where the similarities end.
What one should compare here is not so much glider models, but maybe marketing
concepts:
1) Wills still follows a traditional, two-model philosophy when approaching the
Intermediate market.
2) We, at Moyes, figured we could do with just one complete Intermediate. One
that covers the performance gap between the single surface and topless models.
We'll probably have to lean back and wait for a while now what the market will
favor: one complete Intermediate or two not quite so complete ones.
I mentioned the Moyes Litesport that is viewed by pilots as an
intermediate glider while Moyes always marketed it as an advanced king posted
glider.
Gerolf stated:
I dare say that in any regular Sport Class competition a Sport
Class pilot on a Technora Gecko will likely beat a pilot on a regular Litesport.
I believe 65 pounds is the true weight of a Technora Gecko 155, yes. But that is
a 155ft2 glider still. Compare that to a full carbon topless glider of 146ft2
still being about 73 pounds (33 kg) at best. I think focusing on weight is
mistake, as long as you are altogether under 30 kg. Just when gliders start
reaching 35 kg, this is when every ounce starts to matter, as you reach the
weight that one starts to have problem handling on his own.
I would also rather focus on roll inertia (looking where the weight actually
sits on the glider), so if a glider is solid near the keel, but has light
components out there near the tip - that is the glider that you should favour,
if you look for light as in light in handling in the air. After all, you will
carry the glider for about 1 min, but then the glider ideally will carry you for
the rest of the afternoon.
I am not advocating heavy gliders - my point is just: weight is not weight. You
got to look out for the weight that hurts your roll vs. the weight saving that
hurts your wallet. In other words, you need to be smart where to invest your
dollar.
