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Here is my complete follow up to yesterdays Millennium clinic brief. Once again, I have no connection to any glider manufacturer...dealer or otherwise. (JB has become a Bright Star dealer since this was written--Ed.)
The three pilots in our house have pretty much made up our minds the we want new hybrid wings. Right now that leaves us with two strong candidates. The Exxtacy, or the Millennium. We are looking forward to arranging attendance at an Exxtacy clinic and I will report my impressions of that glider as well. I went into more detail with the Millennium than I will for the Exxtacy as it is a newer product and has not seen as much discussion on this list.
Enjoy, and we"ll keep you posted on our purchases.
Donn Denman (housemate) and I attended the first Millennium clinic a couple days ago. This is a very new product (don"t expect to be able to place an order for a month or so). We were there with several other pilots (6 total). These are my impressions of my unfortunately short encounter with this wing.
Most of us are familiar with the Bright Star SWIFT. If not, before going any further, check out some pictures from the European distributor at http://www.ping.be/~ping4026/swift1.htm. The same team that designed this World Championship rigid wing brings us the Millennium.
To the uneducated eye, the Millennium looks just like a SWIFT when viewed from a hundred or so feet away. The most noticeable difference being that the back 4/5 of the airfoil is sailcloth rather than carbon. This "hybrid" (my term) construction reduces weight significantly, enhances portability beyond measure, and only costs a tiny bit on the performance end. The front bit of the airfoil is a carbon D tube, providing not only accuracy for the most important portion of the airfoil, but the also carrying all flight loads (there are no structural wire supports).
Launch position is upright just like your favorite flex wing, but the flying position differs significantly. Hop in your Lazy Boy, lay it most the way back, put up the foot rest, and you pretty much have it. This position provides advantages in both drag and safety. The pilot is closer to the wing, reducing drag in and of itself. Also the position lends itself to easier fairing of the pilot for added performance. Safety wise...pound one of these in, and there is an awful lot of crash protection between your head and the ground. While recognizing that a design such as the Exxtacy behaves more like a traditional hang glider, they made a decision to stick with what they consider to be an inherently more "crash protected" design.
Control is provided through elevons and deployable "tiplets". The elevons provide pitch and roll control. The deployable tiplets see double duty...providing glide path control when simultaneously deployed via a "VG like" cord, and also deploy asymmetrically (and very minimally) during roll maneuvers to limit adverse yaw.
The Millennium arrived atop a Subaru wagon. The folded package is a bit wider than a bagged flex wing, but you could still fit three of them atop the standard Yakima rack without stacking. If I choose this wing or any of the other hybrid wings I will probably figure out a rack with saddles that will allow me to carry the wing on edge, taking up no more room that a standard hang glider.
Co-designer Steve Morris deftly demonstrated the ability to load, unload and carry the Millennium alone. My guess is that loading on a taller more traditional hang gliding vehicle rather than the Subaru would have required either a bit of help, or a rack extension allowing loading of one end at a time. The glider we flew weighed in at something just over 90lb. The production D tubes are coming out a few pounds lighter than this prototype but the design team was not willing to commit to a final weight until production is finalized. I will say that this prototype was missing nothing and the state of this wing reminded me of many prototypes I have flown while working in the hang gliding industry...even minor design changes during testing add more weight than in the final production version. I would be surprised if the Millennium ends up far from 90lb in either direction, placing it squarely in the same range as the competition...with two significant advantages:
1. This includes the harness. Just for fun, I weighed several of the current harnesses our household uses... Jamie utilized an Avsack which is very light; just under 10 lb. Donn flies with a High Energy Tracer weighing it at about 13+lb. My cocoons come in at about 8lb. (all weights are sans canopy) Using the 10lb harness weight as an average, the Millennium will come in with a significant total advantage over other hybrid wings, and will be competitive with the current crop of topless flex wings.
2. The glider is not lifted and carried with hands and arms but by shoulder straps like those found on modern back packs. On back country climbing expeditions, I regularly carry a similar load for hours at a time without significant discomfort...I don"t expect a few minutes on launch to be a problem.
Transportation edge...flex wing by a
shoulder.
Unzip the bag just like your flex wing. You will encounter the "hang cage" just where you would expect the control frame to be. The cage folds out and is secured with two "pip" pins. You will be ahead of the standard "bolt in the corner of the control frame" crowd by a minute or so...you will be behind the folding Wills Wing basetube pilot by about 15 seconds. Turn the glider over onto the cage and spread the wings with no wires to kink or tangle. Lets assume at this point we have a setup tie between flex wing and hybrid...hang on folks...things are about to change. In the next two minutes (if you stop for a bit and admire the view) we will "install" all ribs and tension the glider.
Grab the hang cage at the rear and tilt the glider up onto its nose (hang cage includes a front skid). Shake the glider slightly and utilizing their own weight the D tubes snap and lock into place. Lower the rear of the cage. Step to one wing tip (try to look really casual as the crowd gathers "round), reach into the double surface, grab the last rib (it"s hinged at the front and doubles as the "tiplet" mount) and pivot it toward you. With one pull you have positioned and tensioned half the ribs on the glider. Secure the tip rib with one pin and repeat process on other wing. At this point, not only are you far ahead of everyone else, while you calmly continue install the tiplets and root tube, you are still getting further ahead... no one in the launch area can get anything done on their gliders...these are grown men rolling on the ground balling like babies. They have just seen you accomplish a task that for some will take more than 20 minutes. Try not to be distracted...later you can buzz them in the setup area and laugh.
The mechanics behind this wonder are so simple, the first time you see it you"ll say "I want that for my flex wing"....most likely won"t happen. The D tube structure allows for some neat advances. The ribs are airfoil shaped, defining both top and bottom surfaces. They remind me of a small truss in their construction. They pivot at both the front (behind the D tube) and at the rear (trailing edge), and are hinged in the middle allowing them to collapse and fold up behind the D tube. A cable connects all the center pivot points to the tip rib. As you pivot this rib out, all of the other ribs on that side follow, "expand", and snap "over center" into place. A pull on this cable from behind the center zipper reverses the process. You have to see it to believe it...really!
Like a flex wing this glider has no control cables to connect/disconnect. The aforementioned tip ribs have a nifty rotating "tiplet" saddle. Once installed in the saddle and pinned into place the tips are ready for the "aesthetics only" tip fairings, very similar to those on your glider. I suspect pre-flight to take a bit longer than the average flex wing due to the active control surfaces. I am not sure however, that it will take any longer than the current crop of topless gliders with their multiple "sprogs", VG etc.
The Bright Stars Gliders company line is that this glider will set up as quickly as a flex wing. I think they are right, except I would say the flex wing had better be a Falcon with a folding basetube if there is to be any competition at all. Clearly it demonstrates a distinct advantage over the latest "hot ships".
Setup edge...Millennium by a length or
more.
The control frames on modern gliders are incredibly functional devices...glider stand, impact device...taking the gliders weight and sometimes the pilots" in a less than perfect landing, and as a control "stick". The hang cage on the Millennium serves as the first two, and as a mount for the third. It does however require learning some new techniques. I would describe getting ready to launch in a Millennium something more akin to "putting a glider on" than "hooking in".
First climb into a very light but strong "parachute" harness. The padded leg loops of said harness perform double duty, supporting your body weight while in the upright launching and landing position. There are now two ways to enter the hang cage:
1. Leave the glider setting flat on the ground , climb into the padded swing seat (flying position), slip the shoulder straps into place, fasten the chest strap (just like a top of the line back pack), clip the "parachute harness" to the hang cage and then desperately try to figure out a way to stand up. I saw Brian Porter, the current World Champion rigid wing pilot do this several times alone. He made it look easy, but I don"t think it really is. I would guess that this method is the most convenient and comfortable, but also the one you use when someone is around to lend a brief hand.
2. Lean the glider onto the forward skid and one wing tip. This exposes the bottom of the hang cage. Position your body halfway through this cage (launch position) and strap yourself in as described above. We hooked and unhooked this way all day on the training hill in winds up to 15mph with no problem although as the wind speed increases it takes a bit more practice and effort to handle it alone.
Does it take a bit more technique (read struggle) to get ready for launch than in a control frame glider?...yea, probably so, although Brian looked as comfortable with it as I do in my flex wing, and I looked like a lot of my new hang gliding students...nothing works like practice. I was pleasantly surprised to find that by the end of the afternoon I felt reasonably comfortable with the process.
Entry edge...flex wing by a
shoulder.
Once again, advantages and disadvantages.
Pros: Due to the harness, you can keep the glider comfortably on your shoulders longer than with a conventional control frame (see cons). No more struggling with the glider...if there is no wind, the glider sits nicely on the shoulders as you carry it around.
If there is wind, you simple keep one hand on the control stick as you walk and keep the wings level using only wrist power. Once on their feet with the glider on their shoulders, pilots with weaker upper bodies will appreciate the ease with which one can control the wing.
Cons: Can"t set the glider down just anywhere to take a break. You can set the forward skid and wing tip down like you did when you climbed aboard, but pilots under 6" may have difficulty seeing over the trailing edge to watch launch conditions. You can sit down, set the glider flat and watch conditions from the comfort of your "Lazy Boy", but you will likely need help for this. Of course pilots at Slide Mt. NV will simple sit down on the guard rail and wait for the right cycle (amazing how something that has caused so many problems so quickly becomes an asset).
Ground handling edge...Flex wing by a
nose.
Current launch experience is limited to a half a dozen runs down 30 to 60 ft. training hills. Wind conditions were from -3 to +10 mph. Slope never exceeded 5/1. I intentionally launched cross wind 15+ degrees a couple times.
Handling glider on launch is a snap (see ground handling). The glider lifted off my shoulders sooner than my usual flex wing (Formula 144). The nose was so easy to hold down, and a glider producing so little drag is *easy* to get up to speed. On my first flight (30ft. up face of hill, -3mph) I was caught by surprise by the wings ability to lift me so quickly. I kept holding it down thinking "surely it can"t be ready this soon". I finally let the stick return to trim and realized I already had lots of extra energy. Each launch, I would ease back a bit sooner, but by the end I was still rocketing off the hill.
Previous to the clinic I had voiced concern about my ability to control a very sensitive joy-stick while running down a hill (try flying your RC glider while running). I found the glider so stable and smooth that my concerns evaporated after my first launch. The joy-stick is mounted above a large hang cage tube just below the right arm pit. The mixing mechanism for this stick is contained inside this tube. Your right forearm and wrist rest against this tube providing a comfortable and stable platform for joy-stick operation. From the beginning, even while in full stride, I felt totally comfortable with my ability to provide any needed control input.
The ability to control roll with real authority during the launch run is a real plus for safety. Especially on "flat slope launches", there can be significant time between liftoff of a flex wing from your shoulders and the moment when the glider has generated enough lift to be rolled with any real authority via weight shift. During this transition period, a flex wing pilot is at risk of dropping a wing and has few control options. With active aero controls, dropping a tip should be a thing of the past. My later flights were made in 12-15 mph winds. We were flying inland, so this was not a smooth coastal breeze. All pilots launches were as straight as an arrow.
Launch edge...Millennium by a
length.
My comments are very limited here due to the short nature of our flights. Flying from the top of a 60ft training hill gave only a small window for maneuvering the glider. I was able to pull off a couple "dogleg" approaches during which roll control was very smooth with no tendency to over control. While bank angles were admittedly low, it appears that mixing in a small amount of tip deflection with the elevon deflection has had the desired effect of limiting adverse yaw (remember, this "mixing" is done for you in the roll control mechanism).
Roll control was precise and easy. Pitch control was instantaneous...you laugh, but atomic clocks probably couldn"t measure the lag time in pitch (OK...maybe a really good one could).
Performance wise...no direct claims, just impressions. I flew a new Fusion a couple weeks ago (loved it). If the Fusion gets 15/1 (Morningside Flight Park best glide tests) then the Millennium is at least 19-20/1. I have never imagined gliding as far into a stiff head wind. And to top it off...we were flying in the "high pilot drag" configuration...straight up. My guess when the final word is in for both these gliders, we will find that the Fusion is closer to 13 and the Millennium is closer to the factory estimate of 17+. Also, the Millennium will be available with the optional pilot fairing, gaining another few points (and pounds).
Forward and side visibility was excellent. As your head is just behind the rear of the trailing edge (in the flying position), you even get to look above you. Downward visibility is as good as it gets considering you are in a reclined position.
More flight impression will follow some high altitude flights. This could be a month or more away as my next flights will be on a "production prototype" as opposed to this "load toad".
Can"t wait.
Flight edge...Millennium by ???
This was an area where I was mildly disappointed...at least for now. The landings were not difficult, you just had to run it in a bit. I am told there were a couple reasons for this:
1. As we were skimming the training hill, we were not allowed to deploy the moveable tiplets...too many things for a beginner to do while learning the basics. These would normally be deployed during the landing phase of the flight and we were told they increase flare authority.
2. The energy retention of this glider with the tiplets *not* deployed provides a loooong ground effect run. Each of the pilots would think it was time to flare, pull back lightly on the stick and zoom back into the air. After doing this a couple times you get pretty skittish about yanking the stick back with enough authority for a good flare. This of course will improve with time on the glider.
The technique used in landing is straight forward and familiar to any flex wing pilot...just before the glider runs out of energy, raise the nose steeply. Of course in the Millennium, you raise the nose by simply pulling all the way back on the stick. It was explained to us that aerodynamic control will never provide the flare authority that weight shift does...simply ain"t gonna happen. Even in the completely aero controlled Millennium however, there is a technique that brings weight shift into the picture. While on final or in ground effect, slide your body all the way to the rear of the hang cage. As your CG has now moved rearward (same as pushing out on a flex wing) the nose will attempt to come up. Ease the control stick forward to compensate *aerodynamically* for the rearward CG shift. Now when it comes time to flare, you have your usual "aero" authority, plus a measure of rear weight bias. This was demonstrated to us, but we didn"t actually play with it as once again, task overload would have been a problem.
We all know those landings where we don"t get the flare timing just right and we hold the control frame above our heads and run a few steps...I"m guessing that this is the best we will get in no wind "on the feet" landings in a Millennium. However, there is another landing option in this machine...landing gear.
Like the SWIFT, the Millennium is equipped with a wheel in the rear, and a skid in the front of the hang cage. Bring the glider in straight and level, flare onto the back wheel, and let the front skid ease onto the ground. It"s that simple. I figure that most landings will be on the gear...why fool with anything else? The purist in me will however, miss the challenge of the "no step landing".
I have no real comment on landing approaches as I have not truly experienced any. I will say that with the tiplets deployed in "drag mode", the factory says the glide degrades to about 7/1 (can you say Falcon?). If this is even close to true, we can more than half our glide performance which significantly increases our options during landing approaches. Sounds great... we"ll see.
Landing edge...gotta split this one.
On the feet landing edge goes to the flex wing by a
shoulder.
Landing safety goes to the Millennium based on overall landing
capabilities.
This is a well thought out design brought to us by a bunch of real design professionals. Their work on the SWIFT speaks for itself. The Millennium takes flex wing portability to new levels of performance. The competition (seems only the Exxtacy at this point) will be stiff in this arena and we the consumer will win from this battle. I think those of us who buy the latest flex wings may be watching with envy as these latest ships go smoking by.
JB
