– 10mph wind on a medium slope –

So, the roll rate is nice and crisp - about 2 per second at speed. The elevator is a little too heavy and the CG too far forward for my liking at 60mm. I'm looking for neutral. It would be easier to move back on the hillside if I'd been a little leaner with the epoxy / lead shot during the build but I'll get some lead in the tail before she goes again.

The model feels like a lightweight Jart - what can I say?

I've been struggling to think of a model to compare the performance to that most people might recognise. The nearest I can get is my Joe Cormier Mach One - which if you know them is praise indeed. UK readers might have a problem with that metaphor though. I would say 'Zipper' but not many over here are aware of what they can do either!

What i'm getting at is a comparison of the overall flight 'type'. Speed, energy, handling, transition, climbout, turning, aerobatics etc...

At 37oz in todays conditions initial energy retention felt a little marred. Latter flights with a few tweaks to the set up improved this without ballast and my buddy Frank (who flew while I took pics) was caught out a number of times by it's instant acceleration. No slouch this one. I was suprised at how good it got when the air came on and 150ft Halfpipes and loops were fairly easy to achieve with a run in.

Obviously I'm used to my Jarts and other sleds being just that - lead sleds and this flew just as nicely for the 10mph wind. I'd love to get it on an edge.....

Wings - Well there is an almost imperceptible bend. Hardly anything really and not like the prototype in Reeds video at all. You have to look really hard to see it and it really only showed itself in square corners and around the bottom of high energy loops. You might pick up a little of it from the pics. It's hard work trying to capture something you can hardly see!

Speeds must have been knocking on for about 80mph top whack today with our limited climb outs and it never bothered it one bit. No sign of wing twisting, control fade, or twitchiness. It does in this respect fly like a much heavier model, ploughing unconcerned through turbulance and bouncy air that was giving Franks ballasted F3F Caldera a hard time. This hill is known for it though.

Todays sky was blue with puffy white clouds and the model could do with some trim. It's skinny and there's not a lot to see when it's straight on or straight away from your eyes. I do like a challenge with my slopers though and think that a model tricky to see attracts your concentration a little more. Still - she'll be trimmed up at the weekend if Julian gets his finger out!

Spoilers - These are about as ineffective on the LT as they are on my scratch built. Not really slowing the speed down at all but increasing the descent rate a little so you can grab some elevator in to get some speed off at least. Pop and drop was still best on todays very tight LZ with a little spoiler as I made the top turn to make sure she settles down.

The model needs more ripping yet but I think we're gonna get along just fine.

It is, in short, a lightweight Jart and flew like it.

Andy.

Now then - The Jart LT. This was the day I'd been waiting for. I really wanted to rip this model, having only had the opportunity to explore one end of the envelope and today with 45mph winds rusing up the SW face of this fantastic coastal soaring site I got my chance to look at the bit where the stamp goes....

Winds were a steady 35mph all day and this model just sucked it up. No sign of wing twist, great energy retention and absolutely NO NEED for ballast!

There is an almost imperceptible wing bend on square corners but with the solid 8mm carbon rod in their now you do have a job on to see it.

I really tried very, very hard to upset this model today and indeed so did everybody else who got their hands on the transmitter. I push it as far as it would let me and it just sucked it up. Top measured winds with the Jart-LT in the air were 45mph sustained. Halfpipes were in the order of 200 feet or so and top speed in the air was knocking on for the ton. Roll rate maxes at about 2 per second even though I tried to push it faster. The low AUW weight permits 20 foot diameter loops and bunts (even the odd snap roll) but keeping energy on through these is difficult. 150ft loops are much nicer anyway! Stall turns (Hammerheads) are easy peasy japanesy and the only time it might have used a little more weight was when drifting backwards over the top if you got the climb a bit wrong.

So after having some big air sticktime over a good number of flights today i'm prepared to say that 45mph winds is about as hard as I felt comfortable pushing it. I could still launch it myself in these (which has a lot to do with the site) but at the fastest points of the fastest passes it felt like it was starting to feel worried in going much harder.

Like my scratchbuilt the LT seems to have a top speed at which its happy to roar all day long slowing only in the up lines. Because of this it was very hard to over stress the airframe without ballast in it. I was suprised at how slippery the Jart-LT is, allowing good acceleration and penetration from even a slow into wind start.

CG is back to 67mm now and almost pitch neutral. Spoilers are relatively ineffective at reducing speed still but they do allow you to pull the nose quite high with elevator for a slow flare.

She took a few knocks landing through the rotor today but survived with only a light gelcoat crazing at the waist of the fuselage when the tail hit first one time, but it's turning out to be one hell of a model. I don't know why I'm so suprised really. We already knew it had pedigree! Perhaps we were hoping it would be a crap Chinese take away after all. It honestly could not be anything further from it.

I'm really pleased with this model and I'm a very fussy customer. I know there are some questions about the gel coat on this fuselage but as you read earlier Reed is taken steps to avoid this on production kits.

She held her own in some highbrow company today and looks the mutts nuts out in the lift. I really pushed it very hard through a very fair trial of endurance. Some of the lads with me might well chime in here to confirm that she didn't get off lightly at all.

Reed, you're gonna sell a lot of these mate. It's a cracker.

I'm almost jealous that mine is not going to remain the only one!

Andy.