high flyer Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Hi, anyone fly APCO lift ez if so like to hear your opinion on this glider thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hann__ Posted November 5, 2017 Share Posted November 5, 2017 I`ve been flying a Lift EZ for the last ~20 months. The wing i had before that was a Synth1 so anything i say i am comparing to that wing as they are the only two wings i`ve flown after my training, i`m not experienced on flying loads of different wings.. The reason i opted for the EZ was it`s apparent ease of launch - especially in low/nil wind, and on that point it has fulfilled my expectations every time. Towards the end of my ownership of the Synth i ended up despising the bloody thing such was it`s recalcitrance to forward launch in nil-wind and after failing to fly on two out of three visits to the field i could quite easily of set fire to it! It was about then i decided to chop it in for the EZ... I`ve gone from dreading forwards to doing them virtually all the time now, if i had nil-wind every time it wouldn`t bother me in the slightest. It`s a relatively light glider at 5.9kg (my Synth 31 was 7.6..) for the medium which must help a lot. Not quite as light for example as the Sirocco/Spyder though. So yeah, it launches well, although there may be other wings out there which launch just as easily. In stronger conditions which dictate a reverse the EZ is quite flighty and needs controlling quickly such is it`s willingness to fly in the stronger winds. I don`t think it glides particularly well - and that`s saying something after coming from a Synth was wasn`t exactly known for it`s glide prowess! Even on neutral trim it comes down quite quickly, and with my preferred landing trim settings of fully out i`ve seen sink rates of 600`+ a min. Flare control at these settings is fine though - it`s got loads of speed to give a long float to bleed off the momentum. I never really achieved the desired landing consistency at neutral or lower trims - my landings got better the further i trimmed out, that might just be me though as the Synth was the same. I prefer a firm, `tight` flare feel which trims out gives me, trims in feels mushy and vague to me. I usually fly at +2 trims which seems to be the `sweet spot` giving good speed and engine revs - about 26 - 28 mph via the GPS. I`ve just acquired - for free - a windmill type anemometer which i intend to take up with me next time i fly to see what that says, so i`ll know if trims fully out gives any increase on that. I don`t use speedbar. It does oscillate a bit at times, damping with a brake sorts it out. It flies straight and true - my Synth used to require fiddling with the `TEA` line constantly which was annoying. Handling? Feck knows, i pull left it goes left, pull right it goes right, tipsteering is very effective - you could probably do wingovers with them if you were so inclined but i don`t do any of that stuff, i just do XC. Build quality wise it looked quite flimsy compared to the Dudek (eg: thin risers and lines) but that`s where the lightness comes from i would think - the Synth was a proper heavy old fecker and was maybe why it was so reluctant to launch in light winds. I went for the medium, if i bought now i`d go for the small as the extra potential speed and agility would be a bonus as is the preference these days for the smaller glider. I`ve done 50 flights for just under 100 hours on it now and i`m very happy i went for the EZ and think i`m well prepared to jump onto something a lot `hotter` as my next wing (i`m not thinking of changing anytime soon, though..). I 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high flyer Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 thanx Hann very helpful, good description, what is your all up weight on the medium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hann__ Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 I`m ~120kg all up inc. wing but no fuel. Medium is 100 - 160kg (quite a wide range?) so `im at the lower end, but it doesn`t feel like it - see above. I don`t know why i went for the M as the S is 75 - 140 and i would of fit that perfectly fine, i think at the time i didn`t want to make too large a jump earlyish in my career from my 31 down to a 25.8.. So yeah, the Lift has transformed my flying really, looking back at the fifty or so flights i`ve done it seems difficult to imagine how i`d of coped with launching the old Synth in the conditions and site i fly from. Are you thinking of trying one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high flyer Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 Open, gathering info on a few gliders then I will reduce to two and then test fly, thanx for your input Hann, appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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