Paragliders
Points to think about and remember when buying a paraglider (click here)
There are many different manufacturers of paragliders in the world today which makes purchasing ayour first or a new wing a dizzying experience. We have done a lot of research and put a fair amount of time into deciding what make of paraglider to support that will give you excellent value for your investment and which will give you one of the finest and safest wings on the market today.
*The wings displayed in these pages are the models most apt to suit the needs of the pilots and students of our region. Tandems and Dhv 2/3 and 3 wings are available at Pegasus and for information on these models I suggest that you visit the manufacturers websites.
The process has resulted in
being able to offer you the following paragliders.
Click on the name and go to their page
The reasons
Advance
I believe that Advance paragliers of Switzerland makes one of the finest wings
around. Their workmanship and choice of materials is truly the best. The performance
of the Epsilon 6 and the Sigma 7 is very comfortable for pilots
of their respective classes. Advance has taken advatage of all the breakthroughs
in modern paraglider design. They're a bit pricey but they are in my mind a
very good investment.
For a video on the Advance Epsilon6 click here
Apco
Apco is the manufacturerer of one of the most popular wings around and are highly
respected. They are always on the cutting edge of technology and have introduced
some very innovative advances in design. Sometimes, like in all fields of research
and development, they miss on a particular model but they are very concientious
about this and quickly move on to improve it. The last few years have seen Apco
introducing a very good stable of paragliders in their various catagories. The
Prima II is the school glider of choice here at Pegasus. Although Apco
wings are not known for being inexpensive they are very well made and come with
a great 3 year warrenty on their sail cloth. It's coated with a silicone material
to protect it from uv degradation. I flew the new Presta for three months
this past summer and really loved it. As an introductory wing the Fiesta
is a very good idea, solid, stable, great handling and inflates very well.
Swing
Swing paragliders of Germany introduced the revolutionary new wave of design
in 1998 with their Arcus. It attracted a huge amount of support throughout
the world. It is fast, it's stable, it handles wonderfully and it inflates like
a dream. It makes a great recreational wing and many an experienced pilot has
cheerfully traded down to pick up an Arcus. After 4 years in the fast moving
world of glider design the Arcus is still one of the best wings out there. The
Arcus and the Mistral II are the main models that we promote. The other
model, the Astral has not proved itself to be as big a triumph.
This is by no means a definitive answer to all the questions that are bombarding you as you either buy your first wing or are thinking about upgrading. There have been reams written on the subject and I suggest you try to find as much guidance as possible. You will probably be overwhelmed.
Feel
Firstly if you are buying a first wing you have no idea what feel is and what
the subtle differences mean in all the different wings that are out there. It
takes a lot of experience to understand and appreciate these subtleties.
Skill level
When buying a new wing keep in mind your skill level. Do not fool yourself into
thinking you are a better pilot than you are. Get a wing that suits your level
of ability. Where do you fly? Steady sea breezes? Scrappy thermals? Big beautiful
thermals? My border collie can fly steady even dynamic air at the coast :>)
So a tricky wing will seem perfect there but buckle into a boomer going up at
6mps and your slung beneath a different beast. Do you have the skills to handle
a collapse or to pull a spiral in order to loose altitude? Just somehing to
think about
The state of the technology
Currently the advances in designing and manufacturing technologies for paragliders
are going gang busters. Wings are being made to perform better and better with
remarkably little if any decrease in the safety of the wing. Todays dhv 2/3
wings easily outperform yesteryears competition wings. It's amazing. The primary
safety concern though is as it always has been the pilots decision making ability.
Advanced wings don't make advanced pilots. Advanced skill make advanced pilots
What is dhv and afnor and acpul
and cen and all that
The dhv test is the test derived by the German Federation to classify the skills
needed to fly a paragliders. They run from 1 through 1/2, 2, 2/3, 3 which numerically
identifies the increasing skill level needed to recover from a flight abnormality.
The Afnor classification was developed by the French but to their credit it
has nothing to do with recovery but it determimes how easily a flight abnormality
can be induced. It comes in Afnor Standard or Performance.
The upshot is that you need both of these systems to give you an idea
of how a wing behaves in varying flight conditions. Keep in mid though that
testing is subjective and based on the individual test pilots skill, feel and
how much sleep he had the night before. It's only a guide.
Cen is an attempt to come to a middle ground terminoly. It's still developing
As of 2010 the LTF rating system is becoming more common but is still based on the testing undertaken by the DHV. (maybe one day we'll get a true standard that's recognized by everyone!)
Helpful websites for test results
and comparitive statistics.
Para2000
The following link will take you to the DHV testing site. It's a bit difficult to navigate so I've given you the page in which you have to fill in a blank or two to get to a particular wings rating. For example just type in Advance in the manufacturer box and hit go.
This is just a beginning. You'll go through the same process
every time you buy a wing and eventually you'll understand what feel is.
Above all have fun and fly safely!