Is it really essential to start with a beginners ship?

I've flown power,E-gliders, slope ships,but never even seen an HLG fly.

From : Joe Hahn

Hello John.
Wish I had a clear answer for you, but the truth is it depends SO MUCH on the individual. HLG's require flying skills that allow you to fly close to the ground smoothly and with careful management of energy(keeping the speed up!!). Tip stalls close to the ground will result in LOTS of repair work. If you feel you are ready for that kind of craziness, go for it! Your present skills will be a huge help, no doubt. The main thing to remember is keep the speed up near the ground. I've seen way too many handlaunches crunched when the pilot realized too late that his landing was not going to be as close to him as he desired, and tried abrupt turns when too low and slow---smash city!!!! Don't worry about having to walk after the airplane a little at first--the handcatching skills come with practice.

I wrote a little blurb about launching a while back that you may want to check out on our web page, if you haven't seen it already. It is important to learn how to throw without killing yourself. I nearly gave this HLG thing up in '92 as a result of nasty shoulder and elbow problems induced by throwing in a harmful way. Now I can literally throw all day long without a problem--and my launches are MUCH higher than they used to be, TOO!!!

I don't think you would go wrong with an HLG with camber changing. We do have a new HLG that basically is the replacement for the CX--it is called the Wizard. It does everything the CX did, only better!!! Same price, too. Glass bagged tail and wing, much faster to build than the CX. GREAT fun on the slope, too. It is described on our web page, also.

Let us know if you have any other questions, etc.

Thanks
Joe
DJ Aerotech