For some clarification. I wouldn't call myself "experienced" in a Janus. I've had several flights in it with an instructor. I found it to be an odd mix of surprisingly pleasant (I find it more fun to fly than any other two place ship I've flown, which have all been trainers) and demanding. I recall one point on a particular tow where I asked the instructor to take over. I've never done that before and never since. In hindsight I was probably doing fine but I felt like I was really struggling to keep behind the tug... but I had significantly less experience than I have now and it was only one flight.

My question really was: how does it fly in neutral flaps versus a Discus. I'm not suggesting that I would fly without the flaps. The question is, if I haven't mastered the ship, and the use of flaps am I actually going to be worse off than in a non-flapped ship. I'm looking at the amount that I fly and realistically assessing that I'll likely never master the ship the way a serious competition pilot would. If that's the case, would I actually be worse off in a flapped ship.

Thanks for the input.

On Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at 2:59:05 AM UTC-4, Just Me wrote:
I'm considering purchasing a Ventus B. I'm aware of the "stability" issues, although some the extent of the stability issue seems to vary from plane to plane and pilot to pilot. I've talked to some people who say its not a big deal, and others who say its problematic. It's hard for me to know what to expect.

However, I was discussing flaps with a flight instructor and a question came up: How does a Ventus in neutral flaps compare to a Discus (I'm aware of the handling difference)? If you are in competition, flying a flapped ships, against other flapped ships, you better be an expert with the flaps. But if you are doing cross country work, are flaps essentially just an asset that is optionally available to allow you to slow down in a thermal or speed up in cruise.

He asserted that the Discus wing was considerably more advanced than the Ventus wing, and that you had to effectively use the flaps or you were actually better off (performance wise) with the Discus -- ie if you aren't flying a lot, you should stay away from flaps.

Can anyone compare the performance of a Discus to a Ventus, or better yet, does anyone have polars for a Discus and a Ventus (as a function of flap setting)?

FWIW, I have about 200 hours, and have flown flapped ships, including a 301 Libelle and a Janus -- as well as a wide variety of other non-flapped ships.