Paragliders

Three-liners are dead, long live two-liners! Certainly in the CCC and EN D classes. And in the EN C class, we're in for a big surprise. And its name is UP Trango X!

GIN's first two-liner with the EN C label: performance or comfort?

Joy is a pretty self-explanatory paraglider name. Fun... It's kind of close, but different. A joke. Sometimes a provocation. It's about the difference between ParAAvis Fun and ParAAvis Joy wings.

Back in the 90s, the ParAvis Tango was the unbeatable training wing for a long time. Unbeatable in the sense that ParAvis couldn't make an "even more training" wing that would correspond to modern realities. But not even 30 years later - and, finally, it happened. Meet the newest "tango substitute": ParAAvis Toy!

A.R. is almost 7, but the weight is less than 3 kg. EN D certification, but only because of the folding lines. All this is the new Klimber, now a two-liner!

EN A. Wings for learning from scratch, safety, minimal pilot requirement, that's it. It would seem that such restrictions are just bound to make A-class gliders boring. Well, let's see!

An ambitious EN B glider from young and ambitious brand

Redefining the performance-to-comfort ratio in the EN D two-liner class

An ambitious EN B glider from young and ambitious brand

"Perfection is the only deadline" — this is 777's motto explaining the long R&D process for each Triple Seven glider. For Queen2 it has also been very long. But when you take this glider for test flight, the things become very, very fast!

The bright-tempered mid EN C having plenty of advantages and some weak points

All the best from UP, now in EN D 2-liner format!

Bringing sweet handling and dynamic behavior in mid EN B class

Hi-tech 2-liner with PWC ambition but user-friendly mood!

S.E.A. is young but ambitious brand from Ukraine. Let's try their biplace glider!

The harsh Moscow winter made it possible to get acquainted with the Duo only very briefly. But there were enough positive impressions all the same!

"The Mountain Eagle" struck a chord with Guy's imagination. It was a real symbol of the old empire, a symbol of the great past... Gaius stood on his weakened legs, trembling with awe, and like a thunderbolt the words of his friend Mac struck him: "What a trunk, Massarakhsh! "A. and B. Strugatsky. An Inhabited Island.

A rare beast: a lightweight three-row with A.R. of about 7 for mountain flying.

An ambiguous, but in many ways interesting tandem from the manufacturer of the legendary Mystics and Evolutions.

It's not the first year that UP has confidently held the leadership in the top EN C wings segment. The Trango X-Race is another attempt to hold on to that leadership.

The cozy fireplace of a country villa, the 1958 Mouton-Rothschild glass, the Aston Martin in the garage... Sigmas by Advance occupy a well-deserved place in the same associative row, embodying the concept of values for wealthy gentlemen and their beautiful ladies.

Since 2010, Ozone has convincingly held the lead in the market for top wings. But until very recently, Ozone could not counteract the success of Niviuk, which created a market segment "just below the top". And now, finally, it has happened. Meet the Ozone Zeno! Formally EN D certified, but volatile and demanding CCC class. You can even rob a pigsty!

Looks like Markus Grundhammer's experiment with lightweight wings was quite successful! Meet the mountain EN C: Skyman Crossalps.

As of 2016 Niviuk can be confidently called one of the leaders and trendsetters of the world paragliding market. Without shaking the world with revolutionary innovations and scandals in the world of top-sport, Niviuk does its business seriously and thoroughly, and this applies to the entire line of equipment. Today we are going to study the Hook4, an EN B-certified intermediate at the school-preschool level.

Few people remember nowadays the times when paragliders could only float moderately in very strong dynamics, and thermals could be found only on the glossy pages of foreign paragliding magazines. Modest extensions, small areas - that's all the past, isn't it? No it isn't! This is the future. More precisely, the present, unusual and intriguing...

It would seem difficult to improve on a product as successful as the Cayenne 4. But the Skywalk Cayenne 5 is more than just a number change after the word Cayenne.

Skywalk's extremely successful "intermediate", Tequila4, in the light version. This is at first glance. How it is at second glance, read below.

The technical revolution of the early 2010s can already be considered almost complete. And any revolution is followed by a time of gradual and cautious evolution, consolidation of success achieved and bringing new solutions to mind. Our test subject today, Discovery 5 is the brainchild of evolution rather than revolution.

I remember my first Pluto as a very pleasant combination of flying and easy-going nature. Since then a lot of time has passed and a lot has changed in the paragliding world. But how much the philosophy of Pluto has changed - let's see now...

The protagonist of the well-known russian fairy tale, as you know, was distinguished by a combination of modest appearance and remarkable abilities. And let the realities of Russian fairy tales and German paraprogram are two very different realities, but also the hero of our today's test drive has something in his character...

When Goldsmith opened the BGD line with the extremely successful Tala, he had to keep the flag high. How well does he do that when it comes to versatile wings for flying with or without a motor?

New times, new trends. The famous designer Michael Nessler, who has worked with many paraglider brands, is now also working with Icaro paragliders. So, Maverick3!

Joy One was a real breakthrough for ParAvis into the world of modern technology. Let's see how successful Joy II was...

Skywalk is known first of all for its single-seat wings of medium and sport class. The Chili3 (EN B) and Cayenne4 (EN C) are already familiar to our readers - but how is Skywalk doing on the tandem side?

Leaving a designer is always hard. It is especially hard when a designer leaves a company at the peak of its success, as it happened with Axis. A few years have passed, and now I am holding a product that bears the Axis logo, but created by a completely new designer and with a completely new ideology. So, Axis Comet2!

What happens if you take a good parafoil and turn it into a paraglider? And if it's the other way around? It's no secret that the famous paraglider manufacturer Skywalk and the equally famous kite manufacturer Flysurfer are practically one in two. Flysurfer kites are sincerely and deservedly loved by kiters all over the world. But I haven't held on to a Skywalker paraglider for a few years now. So, what has Skywalk managed to achieve in the fight against the dark side of paraglider perfection...?

The style of Aeros paragliders began to change with the change of the designer. And obviously for the better. It became more ambitious and "aero" became much more interesting than it was before. The latest trends were also embodied in a seemingly modest "after-schooler": Aeros Style.

Eh, it's been a long time since I picked up a checkers! Oh, I mean paragliders of the Polish company Dudek. "Dudek is famous for its paramotor wings with auto-stable profiles, but the non-motor wings of this company are much less known. Maybe it's because of the magic "reflex" profiles...?

Actually, the Polish company Dudek is best known for its motor machines. And they, in turn, are famous for their autostable profiles, which are commonly referred to by the cool and incomprehensible sounding word Reflex. But I haven't dealt with "dudeks" for non-motorized flight for several years now. And I dare say, that the modern Dudeks with no engine look a lot like Paramotor wings. More details are below.

The philosophy of Icaro is quite peculiar. Now this company creates an extremely comfortable machine like Ice2 XC (DHV 2), then suddenly it launches something very sharp and dynamic like Incanto (DHV 1-2). But in the case of Icaro Wildcat TE (EN B) we do not have to guess about the character of the subject - the name speaks for itself!

After the very successful ParAAvis Joy "intermediate" it would be logical for Paraavis to launch a wing, which, being the "big brother" of the Joy and keeping all its advantages, would be positioned in the "performance" class. Dream fits perfectly into this concept, but it has its own features, its own strengths and weaknesses. What are they, read below!

The SOL paragliders are the most reliable and long-lasting materials. "The Ellus4 Intermediat continues the worthy tradition of the brand.

Bright, ambiguous, appealing: that's how I see Bruce Goldsmith's new wing with the EN C label.

Georgia is a pleasant relaxed hospitality, good wine and plentiful, good-quality, moderately spicy food. The Skywalk Chili3 that I tested is the brainchild of another culture, but in some ways this device turned out to be surprisingly "Georgian" - kind, generous to positive emotions and spicy exactly to the extent that it is pleasant...

German paragliders are a distinctive brand, well known to pilots for their comfort, reliability, and easy-going nature. "Mistral's Intermediates have been a worthy embodiment of this dignified approach to designing and refining paragliders for many years. But to focus only on comfort and safety at a time of fore-edge fishing lines and a mad race for flyability is to lose the market. I wonder how Swing will solve this contradiction?

Gradient's Golden gliders are almost an independent brand, loved by pilots for its reliability and easy-going nature. So what should we expect from the first Golden of the high-speed era and wires in the leading edge?