Hi LJ, I flew the Blackshape a few years ago - and really liked it. The backseat is OK, but the front is superb! I flew the 100HP Rotax-powered version, but they now offer it with a 160HP O-320. I want one! Incidentally, the one I tested the Italian navy had flown off of their carrier!
Chevron is bang-on re glider type. If you're never going outside the airfield boundary (and the ATC don't) you don't need a good glide ratio, but a decently slow sink rate. That's why (although I've flown quite a few gliders) on some days I'll take the club K-8 over the Astir, as it will stay up on some days the Astir won't.
Had a nice bimble in the club T-61 last week. Kind of ironic that the ATC pensioned off their -61s years ago, and yet curiously although a great many remain airworthy, very few Vigilantes are. That says something about the BGA and LAA, but a lot more about the ATC and RAF.
Last edited by DaveUnwin; 14th May 2017 at 14:32.
Reason: The usual - dodgy grammar!