Sorry this review has taken so long, but we honestly haven’t had much flyable weather recently. This review is based on 6 soaring flights and about 7 hours of airtime at Taylors Mistake and Allandale, mostly in lighter winds but a couple over 20 knots.
The Sport 3 has been around for a few years, known for easy handling and being the lightest glider in its class (Sting, Gecko etc). Previously the Sting 3 was my favourite, being light with the lowest minimum control speed and quickest to rig but the Sport 3 performed and handled slightly better and, with its raked tips, could also be flown even slower than the Sting. I liked that the Sting didn’t have the curved tips as I found them sometimes tricky to detach. The Sport 3 was already available with laminated cloth and other options but since Wills Wing’s move to Mexico the Sport 3 has undergone further refinements and upgrades, so much that Wills Wing has gone to the trouble and expense of re-certifying it.
The obvious question is whether the Race version is simply a Sport 3 with expensive laminate and graphics, or whether it genuinely flies better. After seven hours airtime, I’d say the improvements are real. The Sport 3’s handling remains largely intact, but glide, sink rate and speed are noticeably improved.
I expected the Sport 3 Race upgrade to mirror the transformation from the T2C to the T3 but the Sport 3 already had handling to burn, so performance is where the improvements are. The Race version features a tighter Technora/ODLO laminate sail, carbon/Kevlar leading-edge inserts, carbon battens, lowered sprogs and lufflines, plus increased VG travel. These changes improve glide, sink rate and high-speed performance. To offset the stiffer sail, bearing wand sockets and the familiar raked tips help preserve the Sport 3’s handling and low-speed control. End result; better performance with little loss of handling, though a Dacron standard Sport may still have the edge in control, the Race version’s performance gains are noticeable.
It really looks racy with the Technora mainsail, Slipstream uprights, coloured panels and race logos etc. but the real test is in the flying. The Race is no problem to pick up and balance, perhaps a little more tippy than the standard Sport 3 but substantially lighter and easier to balance than any topless. In a light, gusty wind with vg at the first mark to take out the looseness, the Race was flying and under control by the second step. It didn’t pitch up or pull ahead during the run. Everything felt normal and the lowered lufflines and sprogs didn’t give scary acceleration or any surprises. Once flying, pitch was again perfect and roll response was fine but perhaps not as quick as a standard dacron Sport 3.
My friends with their topless gliders usually had 10 or 15 minutes of setup to do, followed by more time balancing their wings before launching.
When flying the Sting, I pull vg on full and that’s where it stays until landing final as it doesn’t seem to have a lot of effect. With the Sport 3 Race, when using the vg it is noticeably firmer in roll when fully on, so I loosen it for manoeuvring, then pull full on for glide. It is light to pull so it’s easy to optimise vg often with little effort. Pitch pressure when on is slightly lighter, but still progressive at all vg settings.
The raked tips do the usual trick; giving stability at low speed. In light and tight bubbles of lift which were hard to hang onto, I made a better job of climbing than the topless gliders, which were mostly lower. Then I discovered another option: rather than turning tightly in these weak, small bubbles, I could simply slow right down and stay in lift longer. Even with my height advantage, the topless gliders were gliding faster so there was not much chance of racing them. I did some fast runs to see how well the carbon/kevlar inserts worked as they help the leading edge retain its shape at higher speeds, improving performance. Pitch feel and directional stability was just as expected; nothing scary at any vg setting.
I managed to get just as far into wind and along the ridge as the topless gliders each time but would have preferred to compare side by side with earlier Sports and even the U2 but unfortunately the opportunity hasn’t come up yet.
Meanwhile I can say I got a bit higher, went everywhere the topless gliders went (though not as quickly), had quick and easy rigging, easier launches and better landings, packed up faster and had less trouble lifting it onto the car. Oh and using Wills Wings recommended tip wand detachment method with the levers released and wings in makes this job far easier. Though I did use the Australian method as well without trouble.
If it’s a strong-wind day, I can ballast up. It’s surprising how much difference this makes. Much of what people assume is ‘performance’ is simply that a more heavily loaded glider makes easier progress into wind.
Launches were all easy until the last day; when coming in to land on the beach, a hole appeared in front of me so I just flared early and hard. Most gliders would have either ballooned up then nosed into the hole but thanks to the raked tips, the Race stopped right there with me on my feet before the hole. On another day that we were top landing, the air was somewhat turbulent and I was able to maintain control to land safely but the next topless to land broke an upright.
For a new pilot wanting better performance and speed coming off a skyfloater, perhaps the standard version is simpler, more responsive and forgiving. The slipstream uprights supplied are harder to grip and block some side vision (you can order with the easier Litestream uprights as the performance difference is negligible according to WW’s polar). The black carbon battens are lighter but harder to see so easy to stand on unless you keep them under the sail during setup and packing.
The Sport 3 Race isn’t completely different from the standard Sport 3—nor should it be. Instead, it feels like a well-developed evolution that keeps almost everything people already liked while adding worthwhile performance.
Any advanced or experienced intermediate pilot should feel right at home on the Sport 3 Race. It has enough performance to make the most of the available lift without leaving you feeling outclassed on glide. In everyday conditions, a topless glider requires a lot of extra effort for relatively little gain, whereas the Sport 3 Race’s easier launching and landing characteristics simply make flying more enjoyable. So far I’ve consistently found myself climbing to the top of the gaggle, often above both hang gliders and paragliders. While that’s partly due to light conditions, it certainly hasn’t felt as though the Sport 3 Race was holding me back. All the racing bling makes it look pretty hot too. The Sport 3 Race delivers an exceptionally satisfying blend of performance, simplicity and sheer enjoyment.
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