I have some sailplane experience . It thermals great, a little slow on the rudder but that can be expected with the turned up tips. The elevator is very effective. It is a lot better than the GL, just because it is more robust and the airfoil has a little under camber. The power system is way ahead of the Easy Glider. As was stated before, vertical climbs are not a problem. It is also very tough. I watched Terry Edmonds nose one straight into the ground to get a landing and did no damage. No broken prop, no bent motor shaft. Not to say you cant break it, but a 3 foot drop into the landing spot didn't hurt it. The 5 channel SS radio is a plus also. It can be used in any 2 or more channel glider or power plane. We flew it to the limits of vision and simply spun it down from altitude, which may fold the stock GL wing. Jo Grini did a nice write up on his website also. Hope this is the info that you can use.