I came across this question that I had asked in a Condor forum back in 2009. Not only was this question answered but several other tips were offered and it’s a good review of contest strategy:
Why is the ASW 27 the most popular Condor sailplane?
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Why is the ASW 27 the most popular Condor sailplane?
Kor
Re: Why is the ASW 27 the most popular Condor sailplane?
in most cases we have better weather conditions than in real life.
The result of this is a faster speed concerning to real life.
There are also constructed ridge tasks like the tasks in my ridge race league.
The asw27 is a 15m plane. Very nice handling and a high top speed.
Take a look @ the polars with full water ballast and set speed via MC to 200kmh
Now compare with all the other gliders.
Above 200kmh asw27 has a better glide ratio than every other plane existing in Condor.
So @ tasks with higher speeds its always a good choice.
Another point is its index. If u fly together with all classes in a high speed race all the guys
with LS10, ASG29 and Ventus2cx have to fly much faster to get an equal score.
So try to get a feeling for task speed by checking its settings before.
If you are sure that it is a highspeed task asw27 is the best choice.
If it is a slower task maybe you have better chance with a glider wich has higher performance
@ lower speeds. Like the 18m class gliders.
@ ridge tasks u have to fly very close to ridge in condor. Cause of its 15m it is easy to handle near the ridge.
This is my opinion. I think in real life where the tasks are not that fast the ventus2 gets better results.
(in the comps i’ve checked)
Look @ the results of my league for example this here:
http://www.condor-club.eu/comp/besttimes/0/?id=1777
I decided to take ls10 cause there are slower parts u have to glide without help of ridge
if u stay on course.
Other guys took asw27 and took different ways. One did a longer way back on a big ridge
other guy took same way than me. Both are far in front cause of their index.
We’re talking of a 250km task flown with round about 200kmh.
Hope this was correct and will help you a bit.
iron
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- Posts: 147
- Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:25 pm
- Location: South Burlington, Vermont, USA
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Re: Why is the ASW 27 the most popular Condor sailplane?
Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I knew the top racers must have some good reason for choosing the ASW 27b. I like to fly the open class birds because my computer is over six years old with a crappy video card so a slow reacting plane is more forgiving for my very low frame rates (5 to 15 fps!). But I’ve been choosing a 15 meter plane when I have to wind around in the mountains to take advantage of the ridge lift. I also looked for the glider with the highest top speed for ridge running in the Eastern Alps where you can push top speed almost all of the time and can easily shed a wing if you’re not fully alert.
Do you also take on as much water ballast as you can if you think the conditions are going to be very reliable? I haven’t seen much discussion about ballast. It seems like ballast gains a lot in most situations, and if I’m correct, is only a disadvantage in narrow thermals where you have to fly very slowly. Is that correct or are there other considerations?
Kor
Re: Why is the ASW 27 the most popular Condor sailplane?
OK framerate is another topic.
I dont know mine. Playin on a notebook.
The open class birds glide like hell if u fly them slow.
If u push them to the limit they loose their advantages.
I always start full with max startalt and speed near flutter.
U can still drop water if the conditions are too weak.
I try to hold it all race long and with asw27 i stay above 130 for sure.
Below you dont need no water. I use MC in cloudtasks.
With good condition i work with 2.5 to 3.5 (in thermal tasks with 27 again)
In ridge task i just use MC for final glide and look for good route in PDA
and task information. I try to stay above 200 and make some dolpihn jumps
@ monster lift passages.
I try to fly not faster than 250 @ ridge during my travel.
I start FG early and push it to red dot staying closte to ridge.
Just leave my water when theres sth in my way and i shoul climb above fast.
Afterwards i should be so high that i dont need no water anymore to do FG with max speed.
I avoid circling during ridge tasks.
In thermal tasks u have to find your own style with full water.
I do it bit faster and narrow. PDA helps a lot to center.
I try to avoid bad clouds as a dolphin again and use the better ones.
Better get that speed ring for correct flap setting from condor-club
to avoid wrong flap positions.
There good threads on thermaling.
cya
iron
Tortui 