Traditionally, EN-C paragliders were seen as a stepping-stone to flying high-level EN-D and competition wings. The slightly less stringent certification allowed designers to give their creations sharper handling but still with a reasonable level of passive safety. Many pilots, including myself, found them to be the sweet spot for our adventures in the sky.
C-class evolution
For many years most manufacturers had one wing in the EN-C category. Over time, some of the wings that had been low EN-D wings – for example, UP’s Trango series – started to get a C rating in certification. But, on the whole EN-C wings were all very similar and required a similar amount of piloting.
In 2022 there was a change in the rules around testing for certification, which allowed the use of “folding lines” in the EN-C category. Before the rule change, the use of folding lines in testing had...
