Wills Wing Sport 2 155, Owner'S Service Manual

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Launching and Flying the Sport 2
Before launching, hook in to the glider and do a careful hang check. We recom-
mend that you hang as close to the basetube as possible - this will give you lighter
control pressures and better control in both roll and pitch.
1. We recommend that you launch with the VG set between full loose and 1/2 on. Because the Sport
2 uses a conventional VG, there is significant slack in the side wire loop at VG full loose. This may
interfere with your ability to position the glider properly in roll prior to launch. Setting the VG partly
on will reduce this slack, but will also reduce your roll control authority immediately after launch.
Setting the VG somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 provides a reasonable compromise.
If you launch with the VG set partly on, you must make sure that there is no way that
you can step on the excess VG rope , and that it cannot catch on anything on the
ground. One way to do this is to fold the rope into a flat loop about eight inches
long, and tuck it around the outside of the right downtube above the bottom front,
rear, and side wires.
If the wind is more than 10 m.p.h. or gusty you should have an assistant on your nose wires on
launch, and, if necessary, an assistant on one or both side wires. Make sure all signals are clearly
understood. The angle at which you hold the glider should depend on the wind speed and slope of
the terrain at launch; you want to achieve a slight positive angle of attack at the start of your run.
2. Run aggressively on launch and ease the bar out for lift off.
3. The flying characteristics of the Sport 2 are typical of a high performance flex wing. Make your
first flights from a familiar site in mellow conditions to give you time to become accustomed to the
glider.
Minimum controllable airspeed and minimum sink airspeed
There are two important airspeeds with which all hang glider pilots should be intimately familiar;
minimum sink airspeed (hereinafter referred to as MSA) and minimum controllable airspeed (MCA).
Minimum sink airspeed is that speed at which your descent rate is the slowest possible. It is the speed
to fly when you want to maximize your climb rate in lift, or slow your rate of descent to a minimum in
non lifting air. (You would normally not fly at MSA in sinking air; the strategy there is normally to
speed up and fly quickly out of the sink. By minimizing your time spent in the sinking air you minimize
altitude lost, even though you have momentarily increased your sink rate by speeding up.)
Minimum controllable airspeed is that speed below which you begin to rapidly lose effective lateral
control of the glider. Recognition of this speed and its implications is a more subtle problem than many
pilots realize. We have seen several instances of pilots who were having a lot of trouble flying their
gliders simply because they were unknowingly trying to fly them too slowly; below the speed at which
the glider responded effectively to lateral control inputs. It is our opinion that a great percentage of
hang gliding accidents are caused by inadvertent flight below MCA, and subsequent loss of control of
the glider with impact preceding recovery. Such incidents are usually attributed to “stalls,” but it is not