XC - Cross Country

"What do you mean you haven't flown in the Duo?  You need to get in there!," one of our senior members said.  It was late in the day and the lift was still good, with cycling cumulus clouds for most of the afternoon.  The sun was starting to move lower in the sky but there was still some lift left in the day.

I explained that I'd been trying to arrange cross country instruction in the Duo for several weeks but a broken canopy latch had kept our Duo Discus grounded for a couple of weeks.  Just then, someone exclaimed, "Pretty!" and the very object of my desire -the Duo, flashed past in a high speed low pass, pulled gracefully up and entered the pattern for a landing.

After it rolled to a stop, the instructor yelled, "Anyone need the Duo before I put it away?" and the senior member I was talking to shouted back, "Tom's going to use it!"  He quickly arranged for one of our advanced instructors to take me for a ride.  "Go!  Go!," he shouted and before I knew it I was in the front seat of a competition class sailplane about to take my first cross country trip.

Monty Sullivan, the instructor, talked me through the basics of the takeoff, we hooked up, I waggled the rudder and we were airborne almost immediately.  The ship handles very nicely and wasn't skittish or difficult to fly.  I spent some time getting used to the feel as we climbed and pretty soon we were off in a thermal.

After that, it's all sort of a blur.  But a happy one.  I spent a little time feeling like I was mishandling the Duo and it took awhile to sort out the low and high speed characteristics but despite my clumsiness, we were circling through 5,200 feet in just a few minutes and set off to the south from cloud base.

The most impressive thing about the Duo is the speed range.  It handles well circling at 45 knots and is equally at home screaming through the sky at 80 knots.  The handling is light but not twitchy, the aircraft doesn't feel nearly as big as the specs say it is (20 meters) and it is an easy touch to fly.

I won't bore you with the blow by blow of the flight - it was simply a short out and back in the evening lift, but it was further than I'd ever flown from the Hill before and it was so much fun to do it with the confidence that an expert instructor brings with him.

Arriving back at Harris Hill, we milked the lift for all it was worth at 7:45pm and set up for landing in still air.  The approach speed is similar to the familiar ASK-21 although the glide ratio is better, so you need to keep that in mind as you approach.  Only upon touchdown did the mass and wing size of the Duo become apparent.  I was certain we were out of airspeed and the beast would give up flying just as we touched but no - a bump and we floated again for another 50 feet before we touched down for good.  It also took a lot of brake to bring us to a stop, even though we'd touched down right on the numbers.

To say I was excited would be an understatement.  I REALLY enjoyed breaking free from Harris Hill, even though we never went all that far - perhaps 15 miles or so.  But it was enough for me to get very interested in flying some more.  It's really another level to soaring and one I'm looking forward to exploring.