Harry Martin writes:

Beautiful day at Sand Turn yesterday.

First flight on my new Wills Wing S3 135. I would have flown it sooner but I was
recovering from a shoulder and foot injury. So, here is my first impression for
them folks wanting to know what I think of the S3 135.

Saturday had perfect flying conditions. Crows were ridge soaring and thermals
popping off all over. My current hook-in weight is about 165 with harness. I
have been slowly losing weight to improve my health and hope to get my load down
to about 150 hook-in. I'm 5'-3" tall, a real shrimp of a pilot. I like small
gliders. Easy to lift, launch and land. The S3 135 is not lacking in this
department. I have about a 27" inseam so my short legs have to work extra hard
to clear tall grass, rocks, and gradual slopes with little to no wind. The
control bar is a perfect match for my small frame body.

My current collection of gliders consist of a 1979 Fledge 2A, 1981 Wills Wing
Sport 150, and now the Wills Wing S3 135. I can't really compare the S3 to the
Fledge as the Fledge is controlled by rudders, however, I can compare the
weight. One reason for flying the Fledge all these years is because the glider
is so very light, around 55 pounds and is 142 squares. My new S3 is 135 squares
and weighs about the same. The Fledge is extremely tail heavy because of it's
design and the S3 felt perfectly balanced at launch. My Sport 150 is a bit
heavier because it's larger. Thanks to the S3 being so light, I really felt
comfortable picking up and launching this glider. The launch was effortless.
Easier than either of my antiquated gliders. I have flown larger gliders with
bigger control bars, so large in fact, the control bar would barely clear the
ground. Thank you Wills Wing for getting the right size bar on this glider.

Within a few seconds, I hit my first thermal. Sand Turn has very small, punchy,
firecracker thermals that you have to be quick at. I was very surprised at how
easy the S3 responded to weight shift. The glider responds fast. Very little
effort to work the thermal. Much much better than my Sport 150. I launched with
the VG set at about 1/3 and left it there for a long time. After getting well
above launch, I switched to straight line flying and adjusted the VG to full
tension. For a second, I thought it was broken as I could not feel any
difference at all from 1/3 to full tension. I looked up and confirmed the cross
bar was in fact moving back and forth as I released and loosened the sail. Score
two for Wills Wing. The last time I test flew a VG glider, you had to be
Hercules to work that feature.

The bar pressure was just excellent. I pulled it in to get up some speed and the
glider tracked just fine. On the Sport, the wing is very difficult to keep the
bar pulled in and can start to wobble badly. Again, an indicator that the 150
may have been a bit large all these years.

Setting up for the landing, the wind direction was better suited for LZ #2. I
was lower than I wanted to be and had to make a sharp right then left approach.
Streamers said "No wind!" I flared hard and made a perfect no wind landing in
grass that was 3 feet tall. Excellent. For me, the Sport 150 required a longer
straight approach as the speed was critical for my weight. There was more yaw to
contend with if not executed properly. The S3 was spot on and I felt more
confident as I dropped in.

The S3 is just a pleasure to fly. My hook-in weight seemed to be spot on. I
suspect the 135 is a perfect match for my flying skills and weight. I don't see
how it can get any better. I'm a mountain pilot who loves thermals and this
glider hit the target. I believe this is the glider I have been waiting for.

Some other notes about this wing. The S3 is a classic study in glider evolution.
Everything about it from setup to breakdown is just amazing. The cover bag is
just right. The control bar packs smartly along with the ribs, leading edges,
sprogs, everything. In 44 years of flying I have seen bags that are too tight,
damage from transport and rough handling. The hardware on the S3 is well thought
out and utilized. I suspect this glider will last a long time.

The icing on the cake was the spectators. At Sand Turn, bus loads of spectators
stop to watch our launches. Today was different. Today I had my owner's manual
out and reading it while setting up my glider. I thought nothing of it as it was
a new glider and I didn't want to miss a step. Well, that just put the
spectators over the top. They thought I was a rank beginner and was setting
myself up for sure death. I kept hearing, "why is he reading a manual?" Over and
over again, "Is he new?", "He is going to DIE!"

Later, my wife the driver, told me that as I was standing at launch, you could
hear a pin drop. What were they expecting, a crash followed by hundred foot
flames?

It was a fun day.