Testing high performance paragliders
In Cross Country 160 (June 2015) Hugh Miller takes on three very different gliders – Ozone’s M6, Nova’s Triton 2 and GIN’s GTO2. As well as flying them he talks to the designers, getting an in-depth understanding of exactly what makes these beautiful machines tick.
Short of flying a two-liner, these are the most exciting wings you’re ever going to fly. The new breed of high-end three-liners have been designed to replace the old DHV 2/3 class, more recently known as ‘classic Ds’ since competition wings were temporarily also certified EN-D.
These new gliders are highly refined performers, and I can evidence that with over 120 hours of XC flying over the past two years in the company of two-liners. You’ll never match them at speed on glide, but you’ll be able to climb inside them in a tight core, keep a cooler head when it gets rough, and know that if it all goes to rats, with proper training you have a much higher chance of successful recovery.
With their high aspect ratios, you’ll find yourself being pulled into climbs, and have much more feedback than high-end B and C wings. We leant our review Triton 2 to Vincent Talleu, who wanted to move up from his BGD Tala, a mid-C.
“The climbing was just amazing”, he said. “I was above everyone almost all the time, and I didn’t feel like I was doing anything different than usual, it really digs in the turn and I feel I don’t have to think too hard, it goes in the thermal itself. Very often I felt I was being dragged towards the thermal without doing anything.”
Vincent’s experience is common among pilots new to these kinds of wings.
But that aside let’s just make it clear: these are three radically different wings. If these three were characters in a bar, then the Triton 2 would be the enthusiastic Latino party boy as you enter, regaling you with stories and quick to offer you a mojito.
The GTO2 would be the sophisticated high-heeled bar server, relaxing behind the bar but would quickly warm up as she crushed ice and squeezed the limes. The M6 would be sat in the far corner, dealing a game of cards with absolute precision. He’d have a reputation as an absolute player, not someone you’d risk taking half-heartedly if he invites you to join him in a poker game.
There – that’s it, review done. No? OK, let me explain, and I’ll ask the designers to explain a few things too…
The full article is in Cross Country 160.
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