Wills Wing Condor experiences ???

[silverwings]

I am thinking about getting a Condor for teaching (note - they come in 2 sizes) and was wondering about any experiences/impressions any of you have in flying and ground handling one? Thanks for you input.

[Joe Schad]

Steve Wendt has been using Condors for at least a year now and seems to like them for beginning training both scooter tow and foot launch.

Joe

[jimrooney]

Have you pestered Steve Wendt? He's teaching with one.
I've flown one a few times with Steve and down on the Kitty Hawk dunes.

They're big floppy trucks. They launch in next to no wind and fall off your back for landing. They fly straight and stable. I haven't taught with one, so I'm not sure how a newbie reacts to it. I couldn't say either how they react/recover from being pounded in.

Jim

[Scott]

On a training hill day with Steve, I launched a Condor once---it was a blast! Didn't seem any harder to get off the ground...but everything...just...happened...in...slow...motion (including the landing). So it seemed to me like a great wing for very first flights---slow enough that the new student can (possibly) better grasp all that's happening!

I guess WW says they aren't to be flown more than XX feet off the ground (like 30')...but every experienced pilot who footlaunches one says "Mmmm...I'd love to ridge soar that big baby!" LOL

Scott

PS - Steve actually uses 2 sizes of Condors (which I didn't know WW made?), a regular (huge) one and a smaller one.

PPS - Hank knows a lot about Condors, don't you Hank?

[Holly]

Steve Wendt has been using Condors for at least a year now ...

When I starting taking lessons from Steve back in the fall of 2001, he was using Condors back then. I also took some lessons at Marina State Beach in July 2001 and my instructor there also used Condors. I think they are a great tool to introduce new students to flying. They are sooo stable and launch with so little airspeed. Makes getting in the air for the first time a real pleasant experience.

Holly

[Flying Lobster]

Like Steve, I use scooter towing and also train with a Condor (in addition to a Falcon and Target). I use the "smaller" one cause it almost is never calm here in Maine.

The Condor is definitely a boon to training. I can get students airborn for little bunny-hops on their first day of training, even on ground that is virtually level. The geometry of the control bars are scaled down too, which helps ease ground handling. The wing has almost the same cardinal speeds as a paraglider, so its a lot more forgiving during those heart-stopping moments when you yell pull-in and the student instead pushes ou About the only negative I can think of is that its not a glider that especially responsive in turns, but even so my students still can do turns on it. Just make sure they level out in plenty of time to do a good final, otherwise you're gauranteed a wingtip drop/groundloop. Since it has alot of squares you can only use it in very light conditions. Make sure if you have students wheeling it back up the hill they keep the tips off the ground--a tip strut catching in the grass can easily bend or break (I carry a couple of extras now after finding this out the hard way).

marc

[silverwings]

Thanks for everyone's post. I also talked with Steve Wendt. Anyway, I did order a Condor 225 which will probably work better for the conditions I teach in. I am hoping that it will provide a more successful first/second day for students and will have a positive effect on them continuing. I will probably get it late October or early November.