Derrick Turner <<email>> writes:

As you have recently posted on the Oz Report, I pulled off a very fortunate 5th place finish in the recent Santa Cruz Flats competition. So was it glider performance?

The first day was my 2nd flight on this brand new out of the box glider with no special comp tuning. My only adjustment was to turn down the tip-wands a notch So why did i do so unexpectedly good?

Well, part was luck (a big part) and part was confidence. After the 2nd day and flying with Andre Wolf for more than hour, side by side and finally winning the day by maybe 100ft, I realized something. I could at least keep up with top pilots (in certain conditions). The equipment that I had at hand (Moyes Litespeed S5) was every bit as good as theirs and that gave me a big boost in confidence.

I was now determined to show that my win was not a fluke, day after day I was able keep up and sometimes beat the best in the world in the end it was glider performance. My glider gave me confidence that my hefty 280lb hook-in weekend pilot abilities could keep pushing and reaching for the horizon.

So what is the best glider out there? The one that gives you confidence to fly your best. Be that a Falcon or a Litespeed. I would like to thank Moyes for my great glider and Mike Barber for his mentoring and sharing some of his great wisdom.