Today's flight was great reassurance. I was somewhat apprehensive after my last flight - six weeks ago - that handling etc would be nervous and jumpy. I also had to get home early, so up the cable lift to arrive at around midday, and found TO in anycase jammed full. Got the last space and rigged.
Still not yet routine to rig this glider. The VG seemed to keep getting stuck, so I'll have to check it out again, probably twisted the rope in there. Take off at 12h55, 7 or 8 others already gone and I get across in front, climb up first to nearly 1200m; but I'm in no rush (I'm not going to do a big XC) and I've told myself to keep it slow and easy.
After drifting down to around Sasso summit again, I spot what I think is Hoky (it's an MR700, anyway) over on the east spur in a thermal. I pull across and join just below, but go through on the first 360. I stay 50m above all the way... at 1400 head for Nudo and he tails me, same speed (I'm doing about 50kph over the ground), and hey - same glide... in front Nudo summit we do it again and again I stay with it until I leave for Colonna at about 1650.
Now, I'm not a better pilot. And yes Hoky is a big guy so his wing loading is higher, climb rate maybe not at an advantage. And maybe I was just lucky. But after today, no doubt, this glider climbs like an MR700, I climbed with lots today and it really performed.
At Colonna, now we get to the inversion at 1900m, sometimes averaging +4. There's maybe a dozen of us climbing up here - beautiful sight, sailplanes and HG's all mixed together. I can't go to 7termine, I need to be back at the LZ by 2pm, so off to Pian, there's a sailplane there climbing in wide circles. I move around too in slow lift (maybe +1) before I'm up again to about 1800 and I decide to head straight for S. Martino, arrive with 3 sailplanes and another HG and we all climb slowly in wide lift, again. At around 1600 I head back to Colonna picking up this time a bit rougher to 1900m; now it's time to head for home, but I head out over the valley a bit and there's a tailwind - hit 70kph over the ground, the glide ratio is crazy, well over 1:20. Over Cittiglio I get lower and seem to hit a headwind, glide goes down to about 8:1, so I pull on a bit, and arrive over Picutz at a bit over 1100m. There's nothing there, just two PG's who've lost the battle against the headwind from as they came over from Sasso - it's time to land anyway so off to the club, wind my height down slowly and hope that the PG who's just landed and seems to be enjoying ground handling his wing will get out of the way... I feel I'm too high on approach so I weave a bit, then straighten up and pull in - a bit of a South headwind so I seem to be going real slow over the ground... I just bring it in a running a few steps, the glider floats back and onto my shoulders. Great.
What a superb glider the Litesport is - great performance, stable, so little effort to fly, easy to land. Just perfect.
6:16:23 PM 
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