Challenger 2 Long Wing 582
Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 10:40 am
In keeping with my tradition of sharing my experience of all the airy’s I fly, herewith my experience yesterday in a Challenger 2 Long Wing 582
I arranged a demo flight with well known Challenger man Philip van Niekerk who has 5000 hours, 27 ratings and is a grade A instructor.
My first impression of the airy was that it is very pretty and seemed spacious comapared to other 3 axis airy’s I had looked at. My impression of Phillip was the opposite in that he is not pretty or spacious but the salt of the earth.
Philip is quite a character and a great advocate of the Challenger – He loves these airy’s more than life itself.
Pre-takeoff checks done I jumped into the pilot seat – Getting in and out is quite a mission, as many of you know I am 1.89 and weigh a lot. Once in the challenger it is quite comfortable though and I was amazed at the unobstructed view with the prop at the back. Visibility from the pilot seat is actually almost on par with a trike and you don’t need goggles with the little windscreen, the sides are open which is great for visibility and the fresh breeze.
Philip jumped in the back and we taxied down the runway – First thing I notice is that this bird does not have a Aerotrakt suspension like my Mainair trike and you do feel every bump on the grass runway.
Next thing I knew we were rolling and the take-off roll was remarkable short and we were flying – The rate of climb of the Challenger is remarkable – Philip and my combined weight is about 210kg and the VSI was showing 800 fpm and that was not even at full throttle at 50mph.
Once we had a little altitude Phillip gave me the controls and man, was I impressed - The Challenger Long wing cruises around 70mph with the clipped wing about 15mph faster I am told. We were in the long wing and it really flies like a dream, cruising along at 65-70mph and the bird flies to where you tell her to fly effortlessly.
Next thing Phillip took control again and asked “Ready for some fun?†– He proceeded to do what felt like half a barrel roll, it was by far the steepest turn I had ever been in and felt effortless – I tell you this airy is VERY responsive and wants to have fun and be thrown around the sky, next was a stall and the bird stopped flying at 32 mph. Philip proceeded the demo with a display of the gliding ability of the airy, cut power and I watched the VSI – The challengers glide ratio is unreal and she just floats along – Amazing stuff
Summary: Geat visibility, very responsive, unreal climb and just an excellent bird. If I were buying I would take a good look at the Clipped Wing 582 wide body with the ability to fly up to 100mph
I will never give up trikes but now have 30minutes dual Challenger-time logged in my log book towards a 3 axis MPL and I have Philip booked for 2 hours next Saturday.
Cheers
D
I arranged a demo flight with well known Challenger man Philip van Niekerk who has 5000 hours, 27 ratings and is a grade A instructor.
My first impression of the airy was that it is very pretty and seemed spacious comapared to other 3 axis airy’s I had looked at. My impression of Phillip was the opposite in that he is not pretty or spacious but the salt of the earth.
Philip is quite a character and a great advocate of the Challenger – He loves these airy’s more than life itself.
Pre-takeoff checks done I jumped into the pilot seat – Getting in and out is quite a mission, as many of you know I am 1.89 and weigh a lot. Once in the challenger it is quite comfortable though and I was amazed at the unobstructed view with the prop at the back. Visibility from the pilot seat is actually almost on par with a trike and you don’t need goggles with the little windscreen, the sides are open which is great for visibility and the fresh breeze.
Philip jumped in the back and we taxied down the runway – First thing I notice is that this bird does not have a Aerotrakt suspension like my Mainair trike and you do feel every bump on the grass runway.
Next thing I knew we were rolling and the take-off roll was remarkable short and we were flying – The rate of climb of the Challenger is remarkable – Philip and my combined weight is about 210kg and the VSI was showing 800 fpm and that was not even at full throttle at 50mph.
Once we had a little altitude Phillip gave me the controls and man, was I impressed - The Challenger Long wing cruises around 70mph with the clipped wing about 15mph faster I am told. We were in the long wing and it really flies like a dream, cruising along at 65-70mph and the bird flies to where you tell her to fly effortlessly.
Next thing Phillip took control again and asked “Ready for some fun?†– He proceeded to do what felt like half a barrel roll, it was by far the steepest turn I had ever been in and felt effortless – I tell you this airy is VERY responsive and wants to have fun and be thrown around the sky, next was a stall and the bird stopped flying at 32 mph. Philip proceeded the demo with a display of the gliding ability of the airy, cut power and I watched the VSI – The challengers glide ratio is unreal and she just floats along – Amazing stuff
Summary: Geat visibility, very responsive, unreal climb and just an excellent bird. If I were buying I would take a good look at the Clipped Wing 582 wide body with the ability to fly up to 100mph
I will never give up trikes but now have 30minutes dual Challenger-time logged in my log book towards a 3 axis MPL and I have Philip booked for 2 hours next Saturday.
Cheers
D
