Gerolf Heinrichs has talked me into flying a Moyes Litesport 4 (the latest version with an S shaped wing) in the upcoming competitions in Australia (maybe not in all of them, we'll see). How could this happen? Am I crazy? Maybe.

Here's how it works. Over a number of years I have traded Oz Report ads (over a set number of months) from companies that have been advertising with me for a number of years for use of their glider for a fixed short amount of time. That way I am not showing any favoritism toward any particular manufacturer. I started doing this with the Australian manufacturers when I decided I didn't want to take my AIR ATOS to Australia any more. When I decided to stop flying rigid wings, I made a similar arrangement with Wills Wing to fly their T2C in exchange for ad space.

I have traded off each year between Airborne and Moyes when flying in Australia and in 2009 it is Moyes turn. I had indicated to Vicki at Moyes that this year I wanted to fly an Moyes RS 3.5, a smaller glider than I had flown before from Moyes. I wanted a glider that I felt the most comfortable handling.

When Gerolf heard about my request for a RS 3.5 he proposed in stead that I fly a Moyes Litesport 4. When I first say this in an email from him, I freaked out. It was only later that I was able to consider the proposal with a bit less emotion.

I took the original proposal as an insult. How could Gerolf treat me so cavalierly as to offer an inferior glider? It takes a while to recover from such a slight, whether imagined or not.

Gerolf recognized quite rightly that I am not as happy flying glider with a higher span (or is it higher area, whatever it is it is whatever that makes the glider feel too big). For example, I would rather fly the Wills Wing T2C 144 at a span of 32.3 feet than the T2C 154 at a span of 33.5 feet (the difference in area is 144 Vs. 154 sq. ft.). (I have flown both.)

I would rather fly the Airborne C4-13.5 with a span of 32.8 feet (146 sq. ft.) than the C4-14 with a span of 34.1 feet (154 sq. ft.) (and the C4-13 at 31.5 feet (137 sq. ft.) was even more "fun"). (I have flown all three, and my preferred size is the C4-13.5 which we can assume is better at "holding" my weight than the C4-13.)

Moyes comes with an even larger number of different spans and areas. I have flown the Moyes Litespeed RS 4 extensively (http://ozreport.com/11.010#0) which has a span of 34.1 feet (152 sq. ft.) and was hoping to fly the RS 3.5 with a span of 33.7 feet (147 sq. ft.). I liked the RS 4, as reported, but wanted to try the RS 3.5 for a little more wing loading (so apparently span isn't the only thing that makes a glider seem big).

If I wanted to go to a smaller span Moyes glider I could have gone to the Litespeed S4 at 32.8 feet (151 sq. ft.) or even a Litespeed S3.5 also at 32.8 feet (146 sq. ft.). I've extensively flown the Litespeed S4.5 (34 feet and 155 sq. ft.) and S4 and much prefer the S4 (http://ozreport.com/9.040#0 and http://ozreport.com/9.062#2).

Gerolf has asked me to fly a Litesport S4 at 31.5 feet (even less than the T2C 144) and 149 sq. ft.

Gerolf has also indicated that he feels that I have gone to gliders that are too small (in terms of area) given my weight (77 kg or 170 pounds). I have felt that it was fine to go to heavier wing loading, as I don't like to carry ballast and this is a way for me to up my wing loading to competition levels (95 kg hook in - 210 pounds).

Gerolf would like me to be happy flying my glider and felt that I would not be happy with a RS 4 (maybe he didn't get the word that I wanted to fly the RS 3.5). He seemed to think that I would be worried flying the RS 4 with full VG. I don't recall feeling that. He indicated that it wouldn't make much sense to fly an RS 4 with a half VG all day. Actually I am very active on the VG rope when I fly.

Gerolf knew that I was already on the 2009 US National Team so he concluded that I didn't need any points from the 2009 season in Australia. The Austrian system (which includes Gerolf) is different from the US system, where one's standing at the end of the year determines the members of the team. The Austrian system takes results up to much closer to the Worlds.

I have found good results in competing in Australia going against high level pilots (many from Europe) and have used these meets to up my NTSS ranking in the US. If I come to Australia and don't do as well as I have for the last two years (especially at the Forbes Flatlands) I will have to find other ways to do well enough to make the 2011 US National team. So, yes, it is very important to me to do well at the upcoming meets in Australia.

Gerolf has offered (and I have accepted his offer) to make me a "special" Litesport 4 with a smoke inlaid sail, the same style as the smoke inlaid Litespeeds. In addition, the whole carbon lot underneath the sail.

Gerolf feels that the "full dressed" Litesport performs amazingly well, but handles most pleasantly in thermals. What more could I want?

Readers will note that I have published what I believe to be the polars for the Litespeed RS 4 and the Litesport 4 taken from the values published on the Moyes web site here. This polar indicates that the Litesport will sink at 400 fpm at 40 mph Vs. 300 fpm for a Litespeed. Maybe the special Litesport will do better. Or maybe I'm wrong about the polars.

Gerolf really believes that his Litesports are better than the kingposted competition, and is in fact the highest performing kingposted glider ever produced. I don't doubt him for a moment. (I have test flown a Litesport previously and reported on it in the Oz Report.)

He claims that it will perform as well as an Airborne Climax (didn't say which model) and that there won't be much difference between a Litespeed and Litesport below 39 mph. I guess Gerolf didn't see Scott's results at the pre-Worlds at Laragne (but then maybe it was the pilot).

Gerolf writes:

I think the Litesport-4, which really is a Litesport-S 4 meanwhile, is the right size glider for you. It has the size of an RS-4 (14.1m^2 that is) but the span is only 9.8m, as compared to 10.4m. Weight: a standard Litesport is about 33kg, but your one will have a smoke inlaid sail and carbon outboard and dive sticks, so the weight will be less than 31kg, I reckon. The Carbon gear really makes the glider a pleasant toy to use.

As for the polar, the Litesport is a lot closer to the topless models then you might think now. Max glide will be under one 1 glide point less than the topless models. You can still fly over 100kph if you need to, the bar pressure is more consistent then you know from kingpost-less wings, but not disturbingly high. Therefore you will fly full-VG a lot more then you did on the Litespeeds.

I hope that Gerolf doesn't mind me quoting him here. You can see that he is making strong claims as well as a strong argument.

Given this argument (and his other statements) I turned the tables on Gerolf and asked him to join me on the Litesport. After all a good showing by one of the World's best hang glider pilots would be saying something. Of course, a good showing by me would also be saying something.

Gerolf declined to be my teammate on the Litesport saying that he had to be a symbol to those many top ranked Litespeed pilots who were worried about him spending too much time on the Malibu and not paying enough attention to their favorite flying machine, the RS. He will also be bringing out a few mods that he will have to highlight (just as he is making me a special modified Litesport). He'll need to test those mods in competition conditions before the big spring production begins at Moyes.

So it's the Moyes Litesport for me at the upcoming Australian competition season. If I do well will the competition community say, hey cool glider, or hey, when did Davis get so good? If I don't do so well, will it be, hey the glider sucks, or Davis sucks?

I truly hope that the glider lives up to all the hype that Gerolf provides for it. That I will feel so comfortable with it that I will climb up at a great rate and be able to keep up with the Litespeeds (and Climax's) on glide.

Remember a few years back that Jonny Durand won the NSW State Titles on a Litesport. I'm no Jonny Durand, but maybe I can do well.