Some questions about DG600

I have logged many hundreds of hours in a 600M, and I can say my impression and opinions sometimes differ greatly from the ones by other friends with comparable time in the type.

I love the 600 for its very fast roll rate, the ease of building up speed, the excellent glide even at high speeds, especially when compared with the market value. I never flew the 18M variant (most popular and desirable variant), mine came with 17m fixed winglet extensions, and the original flat 15M tip. I later found 15m fixed winglets, which I was very happy to add to the ship's set.

The only configuration I really don't like is the flat 15M tip. It goes like hell in a straight glide (probably best config for wave flying), but any pull-up from speed must be very smooth or the drag losses are high.

In 17M WL, it used to have a slightly too high European handicap, so not very good in competition. Now reduced to a very reasonable 113 in 17m, one point lower perfo than V2/15m and ASW27. Also, as a self-launcher, the MTOW is too limited ending up with a non-competitive wing loading in the 18m class. Not very easy to maintain good thermalling coordination.
In 15m WL, I like it very much. Forget about self-launching, put some ballast and it will thermal more easily.
Nvertheless, just a bit too much ballast and it just won't seem to climb in average thermals. Please note that I'm 100kg myself, and I used to add no more than 50L for a TOW of about 480kg. Anything more would kill the climb.
At 42 kg/sq.m. I could fly long tasks along with ballasted LS-8 and Discus 2.

Nevertheless, my CG is not optimized. I installed a heavier tailwheel, but that doesn't seem to be enough. When I gave the glider to a friend weighing just 70 kg, and with the standard tailwheel, he was very very happy with the handling and climb performance, among other hotter 15M ships.

The stall-spin behaviour is in my opinion, and here's where opinions differ greatly, quite unusual. It can drop a wing very very quickly even during a stabilized thermalling spiral, with practically no pre-stall warning. That can happen when a stronger lift bubble hits the wing: you see the vario going up, and a wing falls. That's at 90 km/h and no ballast. The glider responds very quickly to a standard recovery (a little forward stick and external rudder). So quickly, that you may actually remain reasonably centered in the thermal.

When trying to describe this, I usually make the Porsche-over-wet-slippery-tarmac analogy. I like this behaviour but it's something to be aware about.
Other pilots say they never had any wingdrop during thermalling. Maybe I'm flying a little too slow. +5 km/h make a lot of difference.

On the other hand, it is very easy to land correctly. If you like the reclined position, it's very comfortable for pilots up to 190cm. Taller is possible but may be less comfy.

Can be flown safely by anyone, provided they are current and get some advice. Lots of perfo for the money, probably a bit more difficult to sell than other types.

I still own it, and plan to take it back to the air next season.

cheers,
aldo cernezzi
www.voloavela.it