what is better. Spirit 100 arf or spirit elite arf in windy days

[paulstel]

Its a big question. I´have a spirit kit and fly well. Now i want new glider full house and have a big dude.- Someone can help me.- Thanks

[TexasThermalKing]

It's a lot of fun flying in a gentle breeze, but WINDY days you need to add ballast to your plane...keep the Center Of Gravity...the same. You need to learn how to set your plane up for ballast...search this site...there is lots of good information, and even photos to get you started. The ballast weight will help give you a plane that penetrates the wind better, you will have a heavier plane, but the extra wind will give you extra lift going into the wind, but keep your speed up in the turns, and carefully learn how the plane flys best with the ballast setup. Flying over the flat Texas Coastal plain...we have to learn how to use ballast on the windy days. Flying off a slope , you get to have a ball when the wind blows...but I am not the expert on slopes, I'll leave that for the other guys living higher up, than the Fire ant mounds I have around me. The planes I have, all thermal with ballast on the days you have wind....and thermal lift. Keeping the plane circling in strong lift, moving downwind at the same time, and seeing it climbout...then moving back upwind to hunt for the next thermal coming at you, is the greatest part of the day for me. Most the other guys will just sit it out hoping the wind will lay so they can get some flying in. It's the ballast that helps the plane be more stable in the gusts of wind and penetrate upwind. I haven't covered it all...but you get the part I like best.

[lincoln]

Which is better, a Trabant or a Yugo?

THere are a LOT of other good gliders out there. If you're willing to consider something other than a Spirit, you've got a pleasant surprise coming. (Caveat: I know how the Spirit 2M flies, only have serious doubts about the others) I've heard good things about the Art Hobby JK Thermic, though it's not likely to take as much abuse as some other gliders. Also, I'm not up on the latest full house stuff as I have a Mantis to fix and a decent older kit to build.


Its a big question. I´have a spirit kit and fly well. Now i want new glider full house and have a big dude.- Someone can help me.- Thanks

[aeajr]

All the Spirits can be flown in the wind. The 2M RES, when ballasted, does pretty well up to about 12 mph. That would be between 6 and 16 ounces of ballast. After that, I won't fly it.

The Spirit 100, due to its longer wing span, will likely be better in the wind than either of the other Spirits. Its higher wing loading, than the 2M RES Spirit will also make it more wind worthy.

Of the three, if I had to pick a windy day sailplane, I would select the Spirit 100. And, naturally you can add ballast to the 100 as well.