Which 18m FES sailplane to buy?

Hi Marco. I ended up ordering a GP15.

To answer the subject question:Â* Buy the one you like best, not what
someone tells you to buy.Â* Just because you buy the "top" ship does not
mean you'll win any contests.Â* Find what's comfortable for you, they all
perform pretty much the same and you'll want to be comfortable above all
else.

My 2 cents,

On 11/22/2018 10:33 PM, Ben Hirashima wrote:
Hi Marco. I ended up ordering a GP15.

--
Dan, 5J

On Thursday, November 22, 2018 at 10:33:55 PM UTC-7, Ben Hirashima wrote:
Hi Marco. I ended up ordering a GP15.

Please be sure to let us know how you like it and how it performs, once you have a few hours in it. Thanks.

Thanks for answering Ben. Great choice, I’m thinking about going on the GP 15 list as well!!!

On 11/25/18 8:17 PM, wrote:
Thanks for answering Ben. Great choice, I’m thinking about going on the GP 15 list as well!!!


I'm a big fan of buying actual gliders that you can fly, rather than pie
in the sky empty promises.

On Friday, November 23, 2018 at 7:33:55 AM UTC+2, Ben Hirashima wrote:
Hi Marco. I ended up ordering a GP15.

Hello,

I was wondering if the 50 L/D is actually real.
How is this glider's thermaling and slow speed flying performance and handling?

On Saturday, May 9, 2020 at 2:34:34 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I was wondering if the 50 L/D is actually real.

Why of course!
Isn't that's what is printed in the brochure?

wrote on 5/9/2020 11:34 AM:
On Friday, November 23, 2018 at 7:33:55 AM UTC+2, Ben Hirashima wrote:
Hi Marco. I ended up ordering a GP15.

Hello,

I was wondering if the 50 L/D is actually real.
How is this glider's thermaling and slow speed flying performance and handling?

We don't have any flight test data, and I'm not aware of any comparison flight
reports, but 50 L/D for the small fuselage (48 for the standard fuselage) is
credible for new 15M design. The only US delivery (the one at the convention)
should fly this month, and I hope to do some comparison flying with it in my
ASH26E. The brochures for each glider indicate very similar gliding performance
when unballasted ;^)

There was an article in Soaring magazine by the US dealer for the glider,
describing his trip to the factory and his flight in a GP15. November, I think.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

It would be great if we could get some feedback of how this glider behaves at slow speeds, and in thermals, what's it's climbing performance and especially handling. Does it require a lot of work and concentration from the pilot to keep it circling at low speeds? Does it do unannounced spins? What's the feel in general? I have no doubt it's a good jumper, my questions are mostly about climbing and handling. If anyone gets to test it and compare it to other gliders it would be great, cause I might be considering buying this glider. Other variant is a LAK-17c-FES 18m self-launch, or an older ventus 2cM.

On Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 2:36:06 PM UTC-8, Ben Hirashima wrote:
I'm considering the purchase of an 18m FES equipped sailplane...

You could always just build one.