Summer Eveings

  Summer evenings are definitely here and the light evenings have given me the chance to get out and simply enjoy flying.

  The plan was to try for some practise but be warned- flying the Merlin first makes time disappear.  Light breezes and buoyant air greeted me and so 600g of ballast was put in the Merlin and we were off.  Spotting the last of the evening’s thermals and climbing out was a doddle and the weight in the Merlin gave it enough momentum to really have some fun with the height.

  I’ve been playing with programming in rudder/aileron mixing and she was loving that through some sweeping turns.  Some more playing and it became a case of what I could do to up-set the Merlin- it’s hard to do and she really telegraphs when she is getting close to the edge.

  All that messing around and fun meant that I flew for far longer than I planned or thought.  Nights like this really remind me of my old Wizard compact, simply well balanced, well mannered and fun- the one difference being that the Merlin’s extra wing makes it better suited to converting lift to performance.

  Launching the Willow 2 for a  quick go afterwards and in 1 word- slippy!  The Willow 2 flys lighter than the Merlin but the energy and momentum is remarkable.  As the evening move on and the sun moved directly in front of me to below the flight line it’s time for home.  But what an evening!