RE: the simple flying pleasure of a 2M R/E glider
Many a time back in the '70s I used to drain a flight pack battery on one Hi Start launch of my Oly II or Aquila Grande. On a good day the lift was everywhere above a few hundred feet of altitude. Sometimes I'd even set the trims for a slow circling turn, put the transmitter on the ground and lay back on the slope of the Mississippi River levee and just watch. Correcting for drift every now and then.
These days a couple of HLGs (Chrysalis and SkyBench Osprey) get the duty. There's even less stuff to bother with and I have gotten 1+ hour flights from a handlaunch into a thermal from the top of the levee. Just watch the grass swirl as the thermal approaches and throw into it or levee/ridge soar and wait for them to cycle through.
Just scored a Sagitta 600 to go along with the Sagitta 900 and glass fuse sitting in the closet. Hope to get them both flying this spring. RES is good enough for me. And with today's battery capacities, I'm looking forward to some long quiet flights.
Terry in LP