Dear Fellows, I’d like to share some impressions about the new Triton 2 from a recent XC Flight from Hochfelln on May20th. I had already done some winter soaring with it before, but this was my very first thermal flight with size L, 115 kg all up. Thanks to Mik who gave me Nova’s test wing!
Handling: I felt home within a second. Pitch is more dampened than Triton 1, but it still rolls similarly. Overall the wing is less moving around and more comfortable to fly. Turns are quick and flat with nil tendency to dive. Let it fly and the wing tells you how the air is moving. You soon feel that typical pull right into the thermal center. After loose initial 25cm just 15cm travel is needed to steer the wing in normal flying, a little harder to pull than Triton 1. And for those who like more action, just pull a bit more, it’s a wingover machine.
Stability: Though the sail’s shape and cell count (71) is identical to Triton 1, internal architecture and line plan are quite different. Triton 2 feels very solid, no wobbling canopy. Wing tips are very stable and are not at all frequently flapping in and out like on most performance wings. Despite the solid feel, on collapes the sail is rather softly rolling in. Different from Triton 1 and Mentor 3, similar to Mantra 4 I flew earlier. However, Triton 2 needs active piloting, but overall is very stable and good to handle.
What you are likely most interested is performance. Glide is excellent and the polar is flat until 70 % bar, which seems to be equal to Mentor 3 max speed. On the last 30% the polar becomes steeper. Crossing valleys I always arrived much higher than expected and the other pilots around. I had only few glides to compare, but when I could, it showed that the Triton 2 glides a lot better than a Mentor 3. I would have really liked to compare against Icepeaks and Enzos, should be quite close! Climbing is also great. After a year with sometimes hard fights on a Mentor3 M I had big smiles now climbing out Chilis rather easily.
My flight report may further picture the superior performance of the Triton 2: There were about twenty well -accomplished XC pilots at Hochfelln that morning. I started ten minutes behind the first gaggle. After 30 km I was flying ahead alone. I met the others again at Krimml on my way back from the first turnpoint (70km) where I was about 30 mins ahead. Likely due to bad thermals and turbulences in that area, most turned around, some trying to follow me. Few kms further at Pass Thurn I was gone again heading for the Eastern turn point.
Because of some cirrus clouds coming in, I decided not to continue into Gasteiner Tal, but to turn around at Taxenbach in order being able to still fly “home” (which pretty tricky at the Hochfelln, most days it’s difficult or alost impossible to complete the triangle). Half way home I started final glide at the rocks south of Unken at an altitude of 3200 m.
Amazingly, I didn’t have to work through the Heutal as usual! I could simply traverse the mountains and fly straight back to Hochfelln, where I landed shortly after 18:00 and a 210 km FAI. Packed the glider, entered the restaurant at landing and bought myself a beer, waiting for the others to come in. It took two beers until the next pilots arrived…. In the meantime the sky had cleared up from cirrus. I could have done 50 km more that day – nevertheless, it was a stunning flight for me.
It took a long time to have the Triton 2 ready, but it was worth waiting. Hopefully my personal Triton 2 will arrive soon.