Cherokee Kid goes Glass

Well I've had a few flights in fiberglass gliders. A hop in the
DG-1000 in Marfa was the first. I've also taken a ride in a Grob 103
although I was mainly an instructor passenger on that flight. Today a
friend and sometimes student let me fly his Salto. What a hoot! I
had read through several old postings on RAS, mainly by Bob Wander and
a few others, along with a few other tidbits on the web. My friend
just bought this Salto last month and I helped get him ready to fly it
so I had his experience as well. I found it to be a bit pitchy like
all the other single seaters I've flown (1-26, Cherokee, and Ka-6).
One surprise was how effective the rudder is compared to how small the
control throw is. The string was all over the place for the first
half of the flight.

I did manage to work a few weak Kansas thermals in it and gained about
500 feet late in the day. I really enjoyed the way it handled. This
glider has the short "aerobatic" wing. The airbrakes are kinda neat
as the hinge from the trailing edge. They are more effective than the
Cherokee's but not as much as the Grob, Ka-6, or even 2-33. However
it slips nicely if you need to come down steeper.

All in all it was a fun half hour or so flight. I hope to get some
more good soaring flights in it sometime, maybe see how it runs.