first impressions: Wills Wing T2C 144
Longtime Aeros advocate Gary Wirdnam was in the
market for a new competition wing. After trying a
few he ended up in the USA.
A lot has been said about the Aeros Combat,
often by those that have never flown one. I really
only ever had one gripe: a fairly narrow flare
window that would all too easily lead to a
dropped nose on landing without due care. They
handle beautifully but are somewhat yaw
unstable, making them a more active ride than
others. I was determined to try something
different but also reluctant to change.
The first stop for many competition and XC pilots
is a Moyes. I was lucky enough to borrow an RS4
for an extended period but just couldn't set it up
to my liking. I began to think that curved-tip
gliders might not be for me. Then Johnny Carr
asked if I could deliver an Airborne C4 to
someone and I had a chance to fly it in the
process. It handled very nicely and I realised that
I may have reached the wrong conclusion. In the
end the lovely engineering and attention to detail
in the Wills Wing T2 caught my attention, and
after testing one I decided to give it a go.
Having paid for my new glider, I decided to use
up the remainder of my winter leave and travel
out to Florida at the end of March to collect it,
and to get some flying under the supervision of
Dustin Martin - the man who knows all about
how to set up a Wills Wing.
First impression out of the short packed
delivery box was of the beautifully-crafted
parts, both carbon and alloy, that fit
together with satisfying accuracy. There
are some new features on this year's
T2C, the most visible of which is the
option to have white UVM10T sailcloth.
This has been developed in response
to calls from pilots finding it hard to
see the greeny-grey version,
particularly against a background
of foliage. The new material has
precisely the same high
specification, being probably
the best UV-proof sail material
available, but now in white.
Unfortunately the only grade of this
material available at the moment is
T2C pilot waits on launch at the Malverns PHOTO RICHARD SHEPPARD
Wide flare window makes for viceless landing, here demonstrated by Wills expert Dusty Martin
SKYWINGS
32 AUGUST 2009
the heavier one used for the leading edge.
Next on the list of obvious changes is an unusually
shaped carbon basebar. Those of you who have
flown with a carbon bar will appreciate that one of
the unexpected rewards is that they are much
warmer to hold on a cold UK day. They don't seem
to conduct the heat away from your hands.
The double angle makes for more comfortable
gliding and the little spurs give you something to
push against without the need to cover the bar in
grip tape. The finish is not the shiny one that Aeros
pilots will be used to; to save weight less gel-coat
resin is used, for bonding and not for show. This is
typical of the thinking of Steve Pearson, the Wills
Wing designer, who can be attributed with many of
the design features we have come to see as
obligatory on a modern glider.
A less obvious difference was found at the tip area.
Not satisfied with convention, WW has come up
with a system that is both easy to adjust and moves
the tip wand in just one plane, up and down,
without the side effects of the more normal
eccentric adjusters. An eye bolt onto a webbing tab
provides for separate sail tensioning. Adjusting
either is a simple matter of turning the appropriate
nut. This can be done with the glider fully rigged in
the case of the tip wand adjusters, and the sail
tension can be accessed by removing the tip wand.
The C in T2C stands for Carbon. In this version you
automatically get
ALL PHOTOS EXCEPT MAIN PICTURE (BELOW): GARY WIRDNAM
Tip detail
all the options that are available for the T2. The list
starts with carbon fibre outer leading edges,
carbon sprogs, carbon leading edge inserts, carbon
basebar and the UV proof sailcloth in custom
colours. Interestingly the fashion for carbon fibre
battens has been rather purposefully missed off
the list. Steve Pearson maintains 12mm alloy
battens are lighter and as stiff as carbon battens.
Certainly picking up the bundle of battens
surprises most people at how light they are. More
weight saving by avoiding convention, although the
conventional multi-pocketed batten bag has been
adopted despite the extra few grams!
All the effort that has gone into weight saving is
instantly appreciated when you pick up the glider: it
feels several kilos lighter than the opposition. I
would have been very loath to hike up a hill in the
Lake District with my Combat but managed it two
days running in April with my T2C. I was rewarded
with a memorable flight around a good section of
the Lakes, something I've always wanted
to do but never previously
managed.
Setting up
Rigging the T2C is very simple and probably no
different to most modern gliders. Whilst I like to rig
on the A-frame the glider is just as easy to rig flat
on a windy hillside. Subtle changes around the keel
pocket have reduced the clearance with the foot of
the cross-tube junction so care must be taken
pulling on the tension to avoid catching the webs.
The battens slide easily into place and are
tensioned using the now ubiquitous
 UK importer: Airways Airsports Ltd, Darley Moor Airfield, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 2ET, tel: 01335 344308,
e-mail: office@airways-airsports.com, URL: www.airways-airsports.com.
Sail tension adjuster
plastic clips. Tip wands fit easily and the sail then
velcros together once they are in place. Pulling the
zippers on the undersurface ensures that the
sprogs are properly in position. The packaging is
minimal with the exception of the padded
protectors around the top of the uprights and the
sturdy outer bag. It all fitted into my Tenax harness
without trouble.
Flying
My first flight was also my first aerotow for about
18 months. Not ideal, but fortunately it was not
only successful but remarkably straightforward.
There was virtually no yaw tendency, and nicely-
weighted pitch with about one third VG. Roll was
responsive without being twitchy. The tow was
commented on by both the tow pilot and a tow
instructor. I'd like to claim this was because of my
piloting, but the glider must take much of the
credit here. It wasn't until I got back to the UK that
I got the chance to prove that hill launching was
equally uneventful, with good balance and easy
manners whilst ground handling.
I was aware that seven years of flying Combats
was going to take some “un
training”, and I knew I had
to give myself time to
adapt to the glider.
The roll
response of
the T2C
was
Neatly-executed sprog junction
typical of a high-aspect wing, a little slower than
the Combat, but everything else I've flown is too.
Perhaps that is why some people found the
Combat “twitchy”. The T2C felt lighter in roll
than the T2 I flew, perhaps due in part to some
detail changes in the sail tips, and partly due to
lighter carbon outer leading edges and sprogs.
Very quickly I found myself dialling into the
response and soon it felt very natural.
With the VG fully off the T2C is light and
manoeuvrable; it is also quite possible to add VG
in thermals and still remain nicely in control. My
own taste is for glider handling to be-roll neutral,
that is to say it neither winds in or out of a turn if
left to its own devices. Most gliders wind in to
some degree due to the degree of anhedral
required to make the wing responsive. In practice
a glider that is roll neutral in a 200ft/min climb
seems a good balance to me.
When I set about adjusting the T2C to make this the
case, the newly designed tip adjusters came into
their own. Turning the top nut will lower or raise
the tip and has an effect like that of an aileron on a
conventional wing. By adjusting one wing tip you
can alter the balance (taking out a turn) or by
adjusting both tips together you can increase or
reduce any tendency to wind in/out of a turn. It
takes a few flights for the sail to 'bed in' properly,
and you may need to make a few adjustments to
get things perfectly to your liking. But the beauty of
the system is that it can be done so easily and
quickly, and allows very fine adjustment. I love it.
The end result is a perfectly balanced glider -
handling is the key ingredient to falling in love with
your new wing.
The glide angle of a competition wing is perhaps
the most scrutinised yet most subjective area of
glider performance. I have had the opportunity now
to glide with some very good pilots on other makes
and I have not felt in any way disadvantaged. It
seems at least as good as anything else out there, a
trait that has been growing for a few years as the
performance of different gliders seems to have
become almost indistinguishable.
Specification
Model T2C 144 T2C 154
Sail area (m2) 13.4 14.3
Span (m) 9.8 10.2
Nose angle (˚) 127 - 132 127 - 132
Aspect ratio 7.3:1 7.4:1
Packed length (m) 5 5.2
Short-packed length (m) 3.9 4.1
% double surface 92 92
Glider weight (kg) 32 33
Certificated hook-in weight (kg) 72 - 107 84 - 129
Optimum pilot weight (kg) 63 - 82 82 - 91
Certification HGMA 20090604 HGMA 20090601
Price £6,250 £6,250
Sculptural basebar - the double angle offers
comfortable gliding and the little spurs preclude
the need for grip tape
Pulling on the VG increases the trim speed and
noticeably decreases the pitch pressure required to
fly faster. This is one of the aspects of modern
gliders I have enjoyed most, the ability to glide
happily and comfortably at speeds upwards of
70km/h. The T2C is no slouch and is very nice to
glide at 80 and 90km/h with light bar pressure.
Encountering turbulence with the VG on tight can
be a little nerve-wracking on any glider. I found the
initial response to going from straps tight to straps
light was a slight nose down. This tendency is only
small though and may be a function of the very
competitive washout settings that are possible with
carbon sprogs. The pitch pressure is so
wonderfully light that raising the sprogs a little
would not harm the handling and would no doubt
stop any-nose down tendency straight away. The
glider has only recently been certified in the 144
size and my competition settings may be a little
lower than the certification settings that the factory
are likely to set subsequent gliders to.
One aspect of the VG that I was not totally happy
with was the style of cleat used. The standard V-
cleat may be simple and effective but I find it a little
tricky to get the VG off in a hurry. Wills Wing were
happy to change mine to an Aeros/Moyes-style cam
cleat which I prefer. As a side note, I have found
Wills Wing very pleasant to deal with. They have
been happy to accommodate my foibles and been
very helpful throughout my changeover. There is
great support from the UK importer also.
Landing the T2C was something I was looking
forward to. Curved-tip gliders seem to bleed off the
last bit of energy when close to the stall in a
smooth and predictable manner, making the flare
window quite large. The advice was to land with VG
completely off. This gives great roll response and
helps with stuffing the nose skywards in the flare. I
found that the flare needed to start a little earlier
than I was used to, but that it was (almost) as
straightforward as Dustin Martin made it look. If
you like a fairly slow trim position you may find a
little VG helps maintain your speed on approach.
This final test showed that the T2C truly had no
vices at all.
conclusions
The T2C is light to carry, light to handle and
easily adjustable to suit your preferences. It is
easy to land, the performance is top-notch and
the price is competitive too. This glider not only
suits competition pilots but also XC pilots at
club level. Wills Wing are a great company to
deal with, have a long heritage of customer
satisfaction and good after-sales support.
AUGUST 2009
33 SKYWINGS