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by Jιrτme Daoust, revised 2018/10/31
Online discussion on PG Forum.
Registration of your new wing.
Impressions
2018/6/21 notes
Rucksack size M (122 l, 480 g) easily fit wing, Haska 2 harness, full face helmet.
Wing loaded at 68% into its weight range (88.5 kg into a 75-95 kg) for this size M 21.
Flight: Lasted 1 hour 45 min. About 10% of it in ridge lift at beginning, then mostly thermalling under a lower inversion with punchy narrow thermals.
Overall: Good.
Launched in 14-17 mph wind from Crestline launch, CA. Site info. Easy inflation, normal control.
Small vibration in risers, at times, not always.
Glide at full speed bar felt good. Wing felt stable in direction.
Feeling of wing biting and accelerating at times, not much back pitching.
Non-symmetric lift produces obvious roll motion in harness, making it easy to know side with more lift.
Had a 15% asymmetric deflation, which re-inflated rapidly without need to take action.
Turn reaction to brake input is good.
Did wing-overs to horizon, no issue.
You only have 2 A lines on each side, so "big ears" are larger than typical. No issue when performed.
I like that this is a normal/classic wing:
· No need for concertina packing.
· Fabric is intended to last.
· Mostly sheathed lines set.
The leading edge shape looks great.
Pictures:
· 2018/6/21. Crestline launch fly-by: Picture 1 + Picture 2. Thanks Kevin!
· 2018/6/21. Kiting at Andy Jackson Airpark: Picture 1 + Picture 2. Thanks Kevin!
Videos:
· 2018/6/21. Crestline launch: Video 1 + Video 2. Thanks Lua!
2018/6/23 notes
Flight: 2 hours 3 min at Soboba under a low inversion, with narrow punchy thermals.
Easy inflation in light wind on launch, gentle sustained pull allowed wing to fully rise.
Despite manufacturer claiming it to be a "Low-Mid B", I would say not a wing for beginners, feels more like a high B. In active air you feel...
· Bite: A fair amount of energy retention, feeling of easily cutting through the air.
· Bump: You feel vertical bumps, instead of the wing pitching.
· Roll: Definitely feel which side the lift is. Reminds of the Ozone Rush 4.
I did find one normal-width smooth-edge thermal, and it was a pleasure to climb in it.
My inputs (brake and weight shifting) became more automatic about halfway through this flight, which is normal as it takes me about 3 hours before I feel dialed-in on a new wing.
Fairly collapse resistant (when performing active piloting) when air is rough.
Pictures:
· 2018/6/23. Landing at Soboba: Picture 1. Thanks Chris!
2018/6/29 notes
Flight: 2 hours 33 min at Soboba with a mix of punchy and smooth thermals.
Had one 35% collapse and recovery was uneventful.
Used speed bar through rough air without incident.
2018/6/30 notes
Flight: 2 hours 37 min at Soboba into generally good conditions: Mostly thermic in first 45 min, then rapidly softening.
Cosmetic defect: The right A risers (one line leaving each one) twist about 40° to offer angular separation (pealing mode of the A riser connection point) towards the single lower A lines' orientation, while on the left side the pair of A risers stay flat-forward-facing and the width of the risers bends at their separation point to allow the same A line orientation angle. In flight, when I try to re-orient the right A risers to be flat-forward-facing, it feels like a toggle with 2 modes of orientation stability, with the rotated one being preferred on that side. The flat-forward-facing mode could be promoted if the A riser straps were sewn together with a small angle to match the departing A line orientations. This does not prevent the speed bar mechanism from operating normally. Update, 2018/7/2: Resolved, see next day flying notes.
I glided out over valley and induced collapses from trim speed (hands up, no accelerator), which left me with a comforting feeling (better than expected):
Did 4 frontals: All came out gently and surprising with almost no pitching (no need to brake to dampen recovery surge). This felt like an A rated wing.
Did 3 50% asymmetrics: Reacted/recovered softly as a low B rated wing, with about 45 degree turn.
I was pleasantly surprised by the easy/soft collapse recoveries, as I expected more dynamic ones, since the wing feels agile/incisive in flight.
The more I fly this wing (9.0 hours now), the more I am enjoying it.
Videos:
· 2018/6/30. 650' launch: Video 1. Thanks Lisa!
2018/7/2 notes
Flight: 2 hours 48 min at Marshall into normal-for-summer (limited altitude) conditions: Mostly thermic, then glide back to Crestline for an hour of ridge soaring, then back to lower thermals.
The cosmetic defect discovered on 2018/6/30 of twisted right A risers, has been resolved by manually forcing (before and repeated during flight) the pair of A risers where they split, to depart at different angles while straps stay flat against each other. See pictures of final result.
The combination of pilot and wing performed well against others.
From this point on, I will only report observations that bring something new.
Pictures:
· 2018/7/2. Risers in flight: Picture of Left + Picture of Right.
· 2018/7/2. Wing in flight: Picture of Left + Picture of Right.
2018/7/7 notes
Flight: 1 hour 37 min at Soboba into unusual conditions: Very light wind at start and almost no thermal, then more wind for rest of flight. Made low save after launching then climbed out and easy for rest.
I was joined by a friend on his Ozone Alpina 3 (EN C and is the lightweight version of Delta 3) and flew alongside to compare performance:
· Wings were similarly loaded, a little over middle of weight range, about 55% on Alpina 3, about 60% on my Tenor.
· Friend on Alpina 3 had a pod harness, while I had a regular harness with significant underside airbag (more drag).
· When at trim (no brake) on my Tenor, friend had to be about 25% on accelerator of Alpina 3 to match speed.
· When at full speed on my Tenor, I was going about 2 km/h faster on Tenor, but slower Alpina 3 had better sink rate.
· When both optimizing smooth ridge lift, Alpina 3 had slight sink rate advantage, but not much.
The above performance comparison was better than I expected for the Tenor, not expecting a speed advantage, with near matching sink rate.
Videos:
· 2018/7/7. Induced frontal collapse: Video 1. Thanks Steve!
· 2018/7/7. Just cruising along (not the glide comparison): Video 1. Thanks Steve!
· 2018/7/7. Steve's full flight: Video 1. I start appearing at 4:30. Thanks Steve!
2018/9/9 notes
Flight: 2 hours 54 min at Soboba in nice conditions (blend of ridge lift and thermals).
I enjoyed the wing throughout, feeling comfortable, in control.
Maybe I am getting use to this wing's increased roll feedback, but it did not bother me today.
2018/9/22 notes
Flight: 2 hours 13 min XC flight starting from Marshall. Very rough air and windy at times. Flight data on Leonardo.
2018/10/31 notes
Overall impression (airtime of 39 hours):
· Good: Easy inflation, in light or strong wind. Relaxing collapse recovery. Less collapses than average (benefit of high roll motion). Performance, in particular speed. Turn response to brake input. No need for special packing. Leading edge looks great. Design and assembly quality. Lightweight simple rucksack. Clean trailing edge when braking. Minimal lower line set. Magnetic brake holders have sufficient hold. No problem/tangle so far with the unsheathed lines close to wing.
· Neutral: High roll feedback indicating side with more lift.
· Negative: In fully accelerated flight, a roll motion can develop, but can be stopped with active/strong weight shifting.
