I was planning to launch the Corps slope for the 2026 season, but I later learned that I'd been beaten to it by colleagues last Friday. The forecast was for good weather but little wind, so the slope we chose offered the hope of good thermals and thus salvaged the flying session.
So, Serge and I met up in the early afternoon. On the agenda for me was the maiden flight of the Odin, which I'd finished that morning.
The model weighs 2375 grams empty with a 100mm center of gravity (I'll come back to the assembly in a future post, I know... I'm not doing things in order anymore, everything's falling apart!). Everything went smoothly. The glider handles well in thermals, although that's not its primary purpose. It clearly detects thermal updrafts. The flaps are very sensitive, and you need to trim the nose down because the glider tends to lift.
Of course, with the light winds, I flew empty all afternoon, but I managed to gain some altitude and practice some F3F laps flights along the slope to get a feel for the model and discover that it glides particularly well, even in turns, with firm but not harsh grip. It retains its energy for a long time, allowing you to link base flights without getting tired.
I flew all afternoon, alternating between searching for thermals, a bit of aerobatics, and mostly F3F laps flights. The Odin is a well-designed glider. Now I just need to test it in stronger conditions, on a slope more typical of F3F gliders, and see how it handles with ballast.
I took advantage of Serge's presence to hand him the radio and take the in-flight photos that I'm sharing with you.
Manufacturer website: https://www.rollincomposites.com/