Pilot's First Flight Report of the Genesis 2 Glider
The most fun I've had in a long time...
Having earned my FAA glider pilot’s license last Fall, I acquired a new-to-me glider with a friend from the club. We got a Genesis 2, built in 2000. It only has 50 hours and a dozen flights on it, and was kept in pristine storage (or so the owner said). The last time it flew was in the Fall of 2000.
My share partner flew it for the first time in early May. We both breathed a sigh of relief that the wings didn’t fall off, though his breath was probably deeper than mine. He did wear a parachute.
I flew it for the first time this past weekend (also with a parachute). Pure joy!
Flying a single seater aircraft for the first time has an excitement of its own. Since there’s no backseat for an instructor, the first time you fly it, you are obviously alone. So you do the next best thing: on the ground, an instructor points out what all the knobs and dials do in the cockpit, and tells you how the aircraft flies, and what to watch out for. Pilots will write notes of their first flights to capture this knowledge for other pilots transitioning to the same single seat aircraft. Eventually, all these notes are collected and put into a short manual called Pilot’s Notes. (Here are the Pilot’s Notes for one of my favorite airplanes, the Spitfire Mark II from the Battle of Britain.) You read this carefully and talk to others before you strap on the airplane for the first time. It is especially helpful when other pilots describe the differences between flying this new single seater and the two-seat trainer that you’ve flown the most. You wait for a good day where the wind is down the runway and not too gusty. You then decide that you will sort out whatever happens with all the flying skills you’ve accumulated.
Without further ado, my pilot’s notes from flying the Genesis 2 glider…
Pilot: Jason Chen
Date: May 25, 2025
Location: Sterling, MA (3B3)
Aircraft: Genesis 2
Tow Altitude: 2,500 ft AGL (aerotow)
Flights Completed: 3 (Jason), 1 (Bill Tisdale)
Conditions: Overcast with a 3,300 ft AGL cloud base; lift 2–3 kt in tight cores. Winds 330° at 10 kt, gusting to 15. Sporadic blue holes; some cloud structure. Darker clouds generally offered better lift. Max altitudes reached by others: 4,200 ft MSL (Emilie).
This was my first flight of the Genesis 2 on May 25, 2025. Matthias and Bill flew it a few weeks ago) I did three flights today, and Bill did one.
First flight: 29 minutes - good takeoff, good landing, found lift
Second flight: 15 minutes - found sink, landing was a little busier due to 2 other gliders just having landed on the field while I was on crosswind.
Third flight: 20 minutes - landed long for the first time at trailers, slipped to landing. A bit sporty but sorted it out.
All three were aerotows to 2500 feet AGL.
On the first flight, the takeoff was very smooth. Per Bill T’s instruction, I held the stick back a little bit aft of neutral which lifted the front wheel off the ground about 3 inches according to Bill T.
As there is no tail to drag, it is easy to balance on the main wheel. I accelerated quickly and with a 7 kt head wind and got airborne halfway down the starter strip. Having the tow hook in the nose makes for a very stable tow. Very little rudder was needed to keep the aircraft straight down the runway strip. I could easily see the towrope over the instrument panel. The climb was uneventful. Those on the ground watching said they saw the all moving tail plane moving up and down in a PIO (Pilot Induced Oscillation = always bad), however, they noted the plane was stable and level with the tow plane. The tow felt fast around 70 kt (compared to the heavy K-21), similar to what the L-33 and other single seaters tow at.
From the tow attitude, I pulled up 6° or so to fly at 50 kt or best glide. Ran into several 2 to 3 kt thermals, which were very tight core and too small to thermal in at 35° bank and 46 kt. The plane felt most comfortable thermalling at 48 kt and 35-40° bank. Rudder effectiveness in steep turns is excellent. I was prone to over-controlling the rudder and skidding some of the turns while rolling into a thermal.
After losing some initial altitude, I climbed back up to 3000 feet at cloud base and found good (2.5 kt) but tight lift there. I stayed in it for about 10 to 15 minutes and at some point realized that I could retract the gear. Doing so required some force to lock in place. I put on a few kts to help lock the gear up.
The S100 variometer and flight computer is excellent. In FLARM warning mode, I could see other gliders as well as their heading. The vario’s sound was clear and the volume was easy to adjust. The radio was clear.
I did a straight ahead stall starting at 55 kts, pulling up about 15° above the horizon. At around 35 kts, the nose dropped about 20° below the horizon, but the glider picked up speed quickly and it was easy to pull out gradually. I don’t think I went above 65 kts and I felt no G-forces during pullout. I detected no tendency to drop a wing on a stall. In a steep turn, if I got below 45 kts, the nose would start to drop on the horizon, but there was no tendency to spin. I did not detect the tendency to speed up in the turn as I kept the stick back in a little bit towards the outside of the turn. Compared to the K21, I needed less rudder to roll into a steep turn. This may be due to the outboard ailerons that only deflect upwards to counteract adverse yaw.
Some Genesis 2 pilots say the roll rate is a bit sluggish. I did several 45 to 45 degree rolls at 50 kts. It felt a little slower than an L33, and a little faster than an ASK21, but not noticeably slow.
There was a little turbulence today, but I had no trouble with stability or pitch authority at 155 pounds plus a 15 pound parachute. My CG is about about 3.0” aft of datum. The allowable range is 0-5.27” aft of datum, with 4.3” being the ideal for thermalling based on other Genesis owners’ experience. I plan to keep CG at 3.0” for this season to establish a performance baseline before I start making changes.
At 2000 feet MSL I lowered the landing gear. It requires several tries to force it forward and lock it. It helps to unlock it, push it forward ⅔ of the way, then drive in the last 2 inches while pushing outwards. I reduced speed to 45 kts, which may have helped.
On the crosswind leg, I built up a little too much speed because I was defaulting back to the normal 55 kt approach attitude of the ASK-21. I turned down wind at 1000’ AGL, opened air brakes, and turned base at 550 feet. I turned final around 375 feet and came in with 58 kn of speed at half air brake. The air brakes are extremely effective and I estimate that full air brake decreases the glide angle by about 13 to 15°. This is quite forgiving if I come in too high, which I tend to do when there is a strong headwind aloft.
I flared and rounded out with half airbrake as ground effect cushioned the sink rate. The glider touched down and went onto the nosewheel immediately. I did not feel the bouncing “bucking horse” that other Genesis pilots have talked about, caused by the nose wheel bouncing up and down on grass patches with no extended tail boom and wheel to dampen the bounce. The wheel brakes were effective. I did turn left off the runway, and at about 10 kts, the left wing started to drop and drag on the grass. The right wing may have been lifted by the headwind coming down the runway. Either way, I ran out of aileron and it was time to stop.
The second flight was more of the same, though I could not find a thermal to climb in. The landing required some additional workload as two ASK-21s had just landed and pulled off to the side by the taxiway. I landed with a little extra speed, but rounded out and flared without issue. Again, the wheel brakes were effective in stopping next to an ASK-21.
The takeoff for my third flight was squirrely. I pulled a stick back to lift the nose wheel off the ground as I did for the first two flights, but the glider took off a little early as if it climbed a step. It may have been a gust, but I don’t think so. As I ease a stick slightly forward, the main wheel touched again, but not enough to bounce off the nose wheel to cause PIO. I was a little high on the initial tow, but recovered to a stable tow position once we were at the northern edge of the airfield.
For the third and final flight, I found a little bit of lift but much sink. I intended to land long to stop by the trailer. Per Bill‘s advice, I used the 1-34 as my aim point and turned base well inside the highway at 500 feet. I started final at full air brake and an approach speed of 60 kts, I realized I was too high. I put in a right slip with full air brake on and the glider dropped about 100 feet quickly. The slip was stable, but when I straightened out the slip, the plane kept on dropping, and it took longer than expected to regain coordinated flight, likely around 150 ft AGL. I suspect the short fuselage does not weathervane as well as a conventional glider with its vertical stabilizer well aft. I closed the airbrakes, regained flying speed, got established on my landing track and pulled out half airbrakes to round out. I touched down the main wheel at about 60 kn and bounced slightly- maybe a foot, but this was not enough height to cause a PIO. The main wheel touched down a second time with the nose wheel, and I rolled to a stop by the trailer. Lesson learned: Slips are extremely effective with full airbrake on this aircraft. I should have tried this at 3000 ft, but I could only see the dramatic effect being close to the ground. Leave an extra 75 feet for scooping out of the full airbrake slip and regaining coordinated flight in the future, or slip with full airbrake and half the rudder and bank.
Overall, my first impressions are that the Genesis 2 is easy to handle and has no bad habits.
The takeoff is docile and very similar to an ASK-21. The visibility is excellent. The cockpit is roomy. While it requires some flexibility to get into, it is comfortable to sit in for a while.
The plane accelerates and penetrates well. Observers on the ground said the plane looks like its flying very fast through the air, likely because of its high aspect ratio and short fuselage. I noticed the same when Bill was flying. It zips across the sky.
I did not notice any sluggishness with roll rate. At 48 to 50 kts there was plenty of aileron authority to roll into a 45° bank turn.
For future takeoffs, I would lift the nose wheel off and then slightly push the stick forward to allow the wings to gain flying speed while in ground effect to avoid popping off the ground too early, which resulted in a stall and a small bounce.
Matthias and I might try adding turbulator tape to improve thermalling performance later this summer, building off the work of long time GBSC member Bob Salvo and some other enthusiastic owners:
Spitfire IIA Pilot’s Notes. An excerpt below on how to do a loop. It is good to know how to avoid blacking out and rip the wings off.
