After the Forbes Flatlands I needed to come up with a different
glider as the one I was renting was about to go to its new owner. Jonny said
that I could have his, the glider he had been flying at Forbes (and in the
pre-Worlds in Italy). The glider was stacked on an SUV parked down the street from the Vandenberg hotel (Forbes Flatlands headquarters). I parked
my rental car next to it and transferred the glider from his car to mine, as
Jonny continued to win at pool in the pub.

It turned out that I had taken the wrong glider. It was the glider than Dave
Shields flew in the Forbes meet. Instead of a newish Litespeed RS 3.5, it was an older
Litespeed S 4. But by the time Jonny found out that I had taken the wrong
glider (I hadn't relized it yet), he was in Sydney and I was in Mt. Beauty eight hours
away one way. So I
was stuck with a glider whose size I wasn't completely happy about.

The RS 3.5 has a sail area of 147 sq ft and a span of 33.7 ft (http://www.moyes.com.au/productdetail.asp?id=115&pg=38&cat=).
The S 4 has a sail area of 151 sq ft and a span of 32.8 ft (http://www.moyes.com.au/productdetail.asp?id=104&pg=2&cat=).
So more sail area but less span than the RS 3.5.

After flying it and comparing it with the RS 3.5, I don't feel that the S 4 is
the glider for me (I weigh in at 175 pounds or 80 kilos, with hook in weight of
210 pounds or 95 kilos) , at least not this one. Who knows how these things vary
from individual glider to individual glider. And of course, we have to take into
consideration the actual conditions that differed between the two flying areas
- Forbes and Mt. Beauty/Bright.

My first flight on the S 4 was without distinction. All of the competitors
landed in the bomb out zone at the bottom of Mystic hill. I came into land in
the field that is well known for its turbulence. As soon as I rocked up I knew I
was in trouble as I had not pulled on the VG and I had to really stand on the
base tube to keep the nose down (not with my feet). I already knew from my
experiences landing the RS 3.5, that you really needed to have the the VG 1/3rd
or 1/2 on to reduce the bar pressure for landing.

With the VG almost all the way off as soon as I lifted my left hand up to the
left down tube, pressing down on the base tube with my right hand, the glider's
nose came up and the glider stalled off to the left. I took out a down tube.
Thankfully Olli, who had already landed, had a spare at home and Belinda went
with him to pick it up while I broke down the glider for another ride to the
top.

I didn't have any other broken down tubes landing the S 4 during the Bogong Cup, even in that same
field a few more times. With the VG on I was able to keep the nose down and keep
the glider from stalling (in whatever turbulence I experienced later). But I
still found the S 4 relatively more difficult to land than other gliders.

Now, I also had trouble landing the RS 3.5 especially at first. Since I
transition from one glider to another during the year I often notice that I have
to relearn how to land each time and each different glider has different landing
characteristics. My mind has to reset itself for landing each time I switch.

Overall I'd say that these two Litespeeds were relatively difficult to land when
compared with other gliders. Topless gliders are not known to be especially
forgiving on landings, requiring lots of pilot attention. Of course, you are
always welcome to blame the pilot, and you can do that in this case also.

BTW, you'll notice that Jonny comes into land on the base tube prone close to
the ground. I'll rock up at about ten feet off the ground but keep my hands on
the base tube until about three or four feet above the ground. Jonny, being
prone and on the base tube will have more control of the glider and by not
rocking up until the last second will have much less chance of stalling the
glider.

Of course, it must be said that other pilots find the RS 3.5 and the S 4 quite
easy to land.

In the air, the S 4 felt "too big" to me. By too big I mean that it was
relatively difficult to initiate into a turn, and at times felt that it was
tossing me about rather than me throwing it about. I prefer a glider that seems
to be under my control. Right away I was less willing to put the glider close to
the hillside than I would be otherwise.

Now, I had been flying the RS 3.5 in Forbes and I mentioned how
smooth the thermals were
there. The thermals were not nearly as smooth at the Bogong Cup. So I am not
comparing the RS 3.5 and the S 4 incomparable conditions. The thermals were
often weak and broken during the Bogong Cup and there was trashy air due to the
topography. On two days I decided to land early because I didn't feel
comfortable in the air.

No one likes to admit that they landed because they couldn't handle the
conditions. I do so basically because of my commitment to the truth here at
the Oz Report. But, the truth is hard to get at.  Was the glider at fault
for my feelings about the conditions? Was it the conditions? Was it just me?
Maybe some of each.

On one day in weak
conditions I was able to fly the glider and enjoy it and myself over the
flats. The lift was weak and broken but I was not being tossed about. It was
pleasant being in the air.

Overall I'd say that the RS 3.5 had better handling than the S 4 (the ones that
I flew) despite the greater span. I felt more in control of it.

I mentioned (http://ozreport.com/15.006#4)
how I found that the RS 3.5 had a sweet spot at full VG and that I was naturally
inclined to go right to that sweet spot with the easy to pull VG line. This did
not seem to be the case with the S 4 that I was flying. It was much more
pleasant to fly with as much VG as possible, but unlike the RS 3.5 I didn't feel
that I was encouraged by the glider to yank on that VG and get it fully tight.
It was more work to do so and the glider just didn't settle down in that
position. Maybe because the conditions required me to keep taking the VG off and
putting it back on. I do have a well developed callus between my thumb and
forefinger.

I would say that one just doesn't want to fly the RS 3.5 or the S 4 with the VG
rope off. Even when you are thermaling. They are difficult to control with the
VG off. I let it off often to get the best climb rates, but just as often I
would thermal with the VG on for more control.

The S 4 I was flying had an aero aluminum base tube instead of a carbon fiber
one. I missed the carbon fiber version with my tennis racket wrap on it. I fly
with fingerless cycling gloves (to feel the connection between me and the
glider) and it's nice to have the extra grip of the wrap.

I can only report my personal experiences with these gliders and you can see all
the qualifiers that I have included in my descriptions. I have no idea if my
experiences would correspond in any way to the ones that you might have. Perhaps
some will think that I shouldn't say anything if I can't say something
definitive and universal (and nice), but few of us have anything beyond our
personal experiences to share and if more than a few of us share them, maybe we
can have a better picture of whatever the actual reality is (or maybe I can
flush out a more "objective" view by publishing mine).

My wing loading: RS 3.5 = 1.93 lbs/sq ft. S 4 = 1.88 lbs/ sq ft.