Sprogs it is!

So, I've been squeezing as much airtime, distance, and performance as I can out of Ol' Sport 167, saving my pennies for the right U2 145 deal to come along. Saturday, that day finally arrived for me to upgrade from washout tips and luff lines to sprogs, transverse battens and tip wands!

I met "Steve" on the North side bench of the Point and he showed me how to set up the U2. Assembly is similar to the Sport, but some of it was very Greek to me. The U2 uses internal "sprogs" and other design features to ensure positive pitch stability, resulting in less total drag and improved glide performance. In simplified terms, the glider is designed to resist dives, and has an affinity for trim & true flight. The U2 also has a variable geometry or VG system - consisting of a small diameter rope on the basetube which moves the internal crossbars to the aft via a series of small pulleys. With the VG off (or on 1/4) there is ease of handling and quick turn response and control. When up away from terrain, with the VG on 3/4 or full, the wing suface tightens to greatly improve the glide/speed performance - at the price of quick roll response.

We took our time setting up, and then waited for the building cycles out of the NNW to fill in a bit more. Steve set up, and then launched in his Falcon at around 5 pm, spending about 10-15 minutes cruising the bench before he was able to work a thermal high enough to go back to the upper mountain. I was a bit apprehensive walking out to launch flying an entirely new glider, knowing that I would have to work a thermal or two down low in order to stay up. I paused for only a minute or two on launch, began a strong run, and was back in the harness again! The U2 turned easily to stay in the lift, and trimmed out right at minimum sink, just where I like it. The wing itself had much less "flex" to it, compared to the Sport, announcing my encounter with each thermal with a more obvious "pop", and then crisply banking up on command. It only took one good thermal for me to get high enough to bench up in about 5 minutes. By now my GPS batteries had died, so with no instruments I was able to just focus on getting familiar with the new wing. I left my camera in the pick-up, as I didn't want any other distractions during this flight. At first I was overcontrolling a bit, but I reduced my input and quickly worked that out. I then experimented with control vs glide performance with different VG positions.

By now there were two other hang gliders and a dozen or more paragliders in the air, but the glass-off lift band was humongous and there was air to spare and share! I went full VG and pointed up the freeway on glide into the headwind. I continued until I was looking down on Ikea at 138th South, and I was still above the top of the upper mountain! I raced back and began a few climbovers to get down before the sun dipped behind the mountains. I noticed a slight westerly component to the wind on the bench, which can mean a trickier top landing. I set up on my final farther west than usual, to allow for the longer glide and to avoid getting at all close to the set up areas. The feedback told me to flare just as I was coming over a slight, 2' dirt road cut, but I knew it was time to flare anyway. It started to climb a little, so I just held a half-flare for a second, and then fully extended my arms resulting in a nice landing. I couldn't stop smiling after such a sweet North Side glass-off session. My first impression of the U2 was a very responsive glider, with a great sink/climb rate, and a wow-ing glide! It was as easy to land as my Sport 167, and obviously weighs less to boot!

Compared to what I have been used to flying, I was amazed at the comparable ease of handling combined with the dramatic increase in performance! Steve helped me break down and load up, as we sealed the deal, allowing me to become the newest member of the "U2 Crew!" Maybe now I can keep up with Cody, Bruce & Greg :-) Thanks Steve!
Airtime: 1 hour 30 minutes!