Bod Drury does a nice write up for HGing, on his week long course converting to an Atos via a Falcon on XC Mag's site:
"...The wheels start to rumble and my concentration ramps up. This is my thirteenth ever hang glider flight and my fourth ever solo launch, three of which have been sketchy to say the least. As I leave the dolly I can tell straight away that this is a very different ride.
For once there is no yaw oscillation at all. The Atos just sits perfectly still, self-adjusting itself to any discrepancies in the air. Compared to a [WW Falcon] it is a dream on the tow... This is far more subtle than the [WW Falcon] was. It needs only tiny inputs, and the range of bar movements is much shorter by comparison. It feels far more like flying a high performance paraglider where the brake travel is short and you make tiny adjustments to alter your circles. ... I’m starting to like the sensations more and more. A couple of times I hit tight little boomers, and crank the wing up as tight as I dare whilst my heart pounds with the excitement of this amazing new feeling. The glide ratio and speed are nothing short of addictive and I can’t believe where each glide takes me.
The cross country potential is simply astounding ..."
Welcome to Volvo world... yeah, maybe his other article was literally about how loose to keep your (PG) harness, but my comment was on his overall attitude to what makes flying feel good (skidding? Huh?).
He's commented here that the Atos was generally so much more solid and subtle than the "flexwing", which was a WW Falcon. Of course - the Falcon is a PG with leading edges. Any high performance flex would have been similar, if not completely power-steered like the Atos.
I have to say I find it really amusing that he writes this article in the same edition as he carries on slagging off Volvo drivers for killing motorcyclists (just didn't see the link there. My Volvo (real one) is metalic anthracite, not red ;-)
4:18:43 PM
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