Short Viking

What's a short Viking? Well it comes from the same wing moulds, has the same fuselage and same tail, but has 5cm taken off each wing root, reducing the span to 2,950mm.

I've flown mine in winds ranging for 3 mph to 50 mph, for around 2 or 3 hours in total. Can I feel the difference between this and the standard Viking in the air? I'd love to say yes, but I think any difference is so small that it's psychological. The short Viking is a dream to fly - fast, manoeuvrable, well behaved and responds amazingly to lift. So much so that you think 'holy crap, this has to be as good as it gets'. So you quickly land and chuck up a big Viking and think, yes, you've guessed it, 'holy crap, this has to be as good as it gets'.

To be fair I haven't flown them both in totally even conditions, but then again I don't think I've ever known such steady conditions that would let you spot any difference between these two.

If I was ordering another Viking, which one would I get? I'd get a standard one, because the small one is more work for Vaclav and he'd twat me hard around the head for wasting his time!!

Go here for my full Viking review.

Thanks to BarkWeb for the webspace and Paul Fram for these photos..

Click on any photo to see a larger version