This is not a review of the Moyes Malibu, just a few notes. I'll get a chance to dune goon the Malibu tomorrow, so a fuller review will be available then.

I got to fly one of Curt Warren\'s new Moyes Malibu 188's on Monday, Australia Day. It was on at Bald Hill after a light wind morning. No sunshine, so the crowds were very light down in the park (and LZ) at Stanwell Park. Michi and Jonny brought over Curt's Malibus and I quickly set up one. Curt also has a Malibu 166 prototype but it isn't finished yet being specified.

The Malibu is a modern glider. It has flip tip battens, and a kick stand. You can set it up all tightened up and then insert the battens, just like the "grown up" gliders (Litesport and Litespeed). It has a foam leading edge (under the Dacron), and you can get it with airfoil downtubes (I had the round version).

It was easy to setup and I appreciate the advanced battens and kick stand, which made things just that much easier. No undersurface battens, as there is no undersurface. I could reach the nose cone without having to pull the nose down and it fit well on the Velcro, a nice touch.

The tip struts have a bit of reinforcement on them where they slip into the leading edge which looked to me like a good idea for any such struts (as you'll find on a WW Falcon or Airborne Fun). The outboard batten connected to a post on the back of the leading edge.

I found the Malibu light and easy to launch at Stanwell. I had three separate flights on it (as I worked to get some pictures, not of the Malibu though). In the air the Malibu felt great. Turning basically meant moving the bar from one side to the other. It's not like you are even thinking about weight shifting. No need to push out or pull in or attempt to coordinate the turn. It just turns when you shift the bar.

It's steady in turns as you center the bar, but easy to get out of turns just by shifting the bar. Flew straight, no worries there.

I pushed out and as I pushed out further I was greeted by the sound of a tin roof flapping. This is the pre-pre-stall alarm sounding, telling you that you are going slow, but if you want to continue pushing out even more, go ahead, no worries. It seemed to be the middle panels that were vibrating. Of course, this is on purpose (at least I assume so). It was quite amusing.

I loved landing the Malibu, of course. I came in to the slot and despite getting bumped around when I went further back (the wind was from the south - right), the glider was steady and easy to control. I can do perfect stand up (no step, easy flare) landings on such a glider.

More later. Like, how does it compare to a Fun or a Falcon, its closest competitors? I've flown all three, but surely can't remember well enough to really make a comparison at this point.