Tom de Dorlodot
I flew almost 200km in Brazil with the prototype of the Nevada2 in November and was already amazed by its performances. The Gradient team was fine tuning it at the time and it seems that once again they nailed it! I took the final version to the sky of Madagascar and enjoyed some great flights. I’m flying the 26 and I’m in the middle of the weight range. I’m flying a Delight 2 harness (with a cocoon). I flew approximately 9 hours under it in different conditions (coastline, mountains, and flatlands). Here are my impressions: First of all, as I’m hiking to the take-off, I appreciate the weight of the glider. It’s light and you can pack it quite compact. On take-off the lines are clean, no need to get knots out. I pre-inflate easily, this glider wants to fly. I wait for a strong gust to inflate as I want to see how the glider reacts. It comes… I inflate, the glider climbs nicely and don’t overtake me. It stays above my head. Well that’s easy! Two steps and I’m airborn. It is smooth, clean, comfortable. I took my camera today and I can let the breaks many times of the flight to take pictures or play with my GPS. (Only do that in calm conditions). It’s a pleasure to fly and so comfy that I can really focus on strategy. My glider is handling the rest. The turn is a Gradient turn. Sharp and easy. Usually this type of glider feels a bit like driving a truck… Not the case here! It’s precise and reactive. As I normally fly D gliders in XC I’m used to get loads of information and sensations. Well again, the Nevada2 delivers just enough. The glider communicates well and it’s easy to find the core of the thermal. But that’s really in transition that the glider amazes me. It really floats. I would have never thought a glider of that category could glide so well. The first half of the speed bar gives good speed without killing the glide much and if you need speed you can safely go all the way, that’s no problem for Nevada2. After a while I land on top of a grassy mountain to take a break, again it’s easy and smooth. No surprise, the glide is clean. I took it later for collapses, deep stalls, 360, wing overs. The glider reacts really well. We are reaching a new benchmark once again! Congratulations to the research & development team! Keep on surprising us like that! I would say this glider fits perfectly to pilots who want to take the next step but to stay in the „safe zone“ at the same time. They won’t ever feel limited and they will be able to enjoy their flight with serenity without being left behind… I’m so looking forward to hearing how the community will react to the Nevada2 as I think it will make some noise
Horacio Llorens
“It´s been a while since I have flown an EN-B glider for the last time, and I have been positively surprised by the Nevada2. I had the opportunity to do an XC flight with it here in Madagascar and I enjoyed it from the beginning. At the take-off Nevada2 has an excellent handling, even in very weak wind conditions. In the air it was easy to enter the thermals, and to centre the nucleus. It has a very good glide and on speed bar it just feels super stable. What’s more to say… after the landing I was in love!”
Theo de Blic
„I have been impressed by the new Nevada2 from Gradient, indeed it has all the qualities one could look for in an EN-B wing. The take-off is the first noteworthy feature, it has this light handling and easy inflating that each and every Gradient glider has ever had. As soon as I was in the air I could see all the characteristics I was looking for in this type of wing, the glider is safe, but manages to keep a great handling and to communicate efficiently with the pilots. It is a real pleasure to fly it and yet on the first glide you really can see it has incredible performance. Because of this great performance the glider won’t put any boundaries to your progression and you will be able to enjoy its features for a big part of your life as a pilot which is in my opinion really important. At the end the Nevada2 has been a great partner and I was really glad to have the opportunity to fly it.“