Powered vs Discus Launched Glider Which and Why

Captain Video

Well-known member
I will start it off.
I admit that I have not flown a DLG but the do look cool. But There seems to be a lot of work to get them high in the air. I have a Radial XL 2.9m and it is a blast to fly. I do have a myopic view of which is better. Anyone want to weigh in?
 

Grifflyer

WWII fanatic
I will start it off.
I admit that I have not flown a DLG but the do look cool. But There seems to be a lot of work to get them high in the air. I have a Radial XL 2.9m and it is a blast to fly. I do have a myopic view of which is better. Anyone want to weigh in?
I've flown a bit off both and I'd say that neither one is better than the other, they both offer different tastes.
A powered glider is definitely easier to keep airborne and will give longer flight times, I've had the most fun with powered gliders when I had a lawn chair that would recline back and I could cruise around for about a half hour.

The DLG's are better for at the end of a hot day when there is hot air rising from roads and rooftops and you can get a good 5 min. of flight time with just a good toss from your arm. They are generally a bit more challenging to long flight times from, but for me, that was all part of the fun.
 

flyboa

Elite member
I prefer to fly gliders without motors now. Conditions need to be just right if you want to fly in thermals. My longest and highest flights have all been unpowered.
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
I have and fly both.

Comparing them for "better" is a lot like comparing a NASCAR racer to a Dirt-track racer. Both are cars (in the technical sense), both race, both use similar skills -- practice in one will also benefit the other -- but the goals and how you get to them, not the same.

I find DLGs more of a challenge, and good for working out a bit of stress at the end of the day (surprise, surprise, I fly them more ;) ). They're also better for refining the skills for hunting, finding and milking the smallest of thermals, and sharpening your flying chops. They're also 4-10 times more expensive beyond the entry models . . . and with the cost, they do fly several times better, but not always in line with the cost.

The 2m foamy gliders are good for the slow ride down, and with practice, milking active air for a longer ride down -- a good way to relax with a mellow flight, watching a plane float from one side of the sky or another, and repeat at will until the battery is done. Add on some lights and you may no longer spend time thermaling, but night-gliding is as peaceful . . . as the bugs will let you be.

In a way they also seem a bit like the two kinds of fishing: The fisherman who hunts for the biggest fish on the lake, vs the fisherman who won't bait his hook because he doesn't want his "fishing" disturbed by releasing the fish he just caught. Neither is wrong, and depending on the day (or the hour) they can both be the same guy.

On some days, I have been both of those guys . . . and those are good days ;)
 

bracesport

Legendary member
I have only built both and In my dreams I can fly them too!

@Captain Video - I hear that if you can slope soar your DLG that it will fly as long as a powered ship too! 😆
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
This makes me think about wanting to try it at the end of the month, when I will be heading from San Diego to Chandler, AZ. One of the days I am out there, I have already been told, "You will get the keys to the car; get out of our sight while we have a girls' day out."

My thought is to hit up Thude Park and try some potential thermal soaring; it's AZ, there are BOUND to be thermals drifting up from the ground as the sun cooks the ground, right? :)