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Thursday, June 2, 2016

GIN Sprint 3 M



GIN Sprint 3  M

Test flying wings is the most difficult thing to do…Not only by flying them…But by typing the letters…

Test:
GIN, for all of us flying pilots, is one of the top leaders in paragliding industry. With the state of the art Boomerang 10, what should we expect when he releases a 2016 B+ glider? knowing that there are lots of very good new B+ gliders…
Please answer…
 a normal B+ with average performance and handling ? 
or a contender for the top places in speed, efficiency and glide?
Lets see…
After the amazing Carrera + , GIN has introduced the Sprint 3 to the market with a moderate aspect ratio but targeted as a B+ which logically has to compete with what the current B+ gliders of today has to offer.
Here’s what i found flying the Sprint 3 M from 98, 101, till 103 all up .
Launching the Sprint 3 is an easy task, especially with the light cloth. It climbs steadily and solid.
Flying he Sprint 3 M at 101 feels fine in moderate conditions. I sensed that 103 and above could be its best aspect for XC flying in strong conditions.
At 101 the Sprint 3 M has a moderate to slightly more pressure after 40 cm of brake travel. 
The glider can be steered with 25 cm after the 10 cm slack. I cannot say that the Sprint 3 M is a super agile glider, that you can swiftly adjust in turbulent conditions, but “fair enough” with an efficient turning radius in weak stuff ! 
It is “slightly” less agile than, the normal Atlas S, Mentor4 S, Iota 26, Apollo M, Kibo S…i was testing at the same time.
Not to say it’s not agile…It has a moderate agility to be precise.
 The Carrera plus S and M has a slightly more dynamic turn with a narrow radius and a slightly lighter brake feel toward the end.
In average thermals, the Sprint 3 M has an average to good climb rate that could place it “close enough” to the good ones…
The Sprint 3 M can be steered with precision and little input with average agility in moderate thermals. In strong cores, applying little more brake input, do get the Sprint 3 in a good turn with a good climbing ability if loaded beyond 100 to get that compact feel !
The comfort is high under the Sprint 3 M, which is very good for the category ! Slightly more comfortable than the M4 and Iota . It is for sure much easier to fly than Carrera plus, and not really more difficult to handle over the Atlas…which could be a very good step for a pilot looking to upgrade.

Gliding with my reference glider the Mentor 4 S showed a very good glide angle at trim for the Sprint 3 which place it better than Rush 4, Summit XC3, Apollo… placing it close enough… to the Eden 6, but not as good as the Mentor 4, Iota one which still is a reference in glide and efficiency.
What surprised me is the limited speed travel (very short) . The Sprint 3 M at 101 has only a 7-8 km/h speed over trim ! Taken at 700m ASL.
Big ears are easy and stable .They reopen fast. Induced asymmetric collapses are a non event, and quite easy to counter steer. Induced frontal collapses reopen quickly after less than 2 sec. 

Conclusion:
The Carrera plus has already marked the paragliding world of today .Of course it was targeted for the C pilot but it’s incredible climbing efficiency and gliding power at trim and especially at 45 km/h did out-perform or at least match top current C’s but also with a B rating… That’s an “achievement of usable performance”

What about the Sprint 3 M ? Many will like the comfortable feel, and the glide. It is logical and certain that a good pilot can achieve great XC flights on the Sprint 3 M…No doubt about that !
Sometimes being the benchmark really hurts …If the Mentor 5 of tomorrow or the Chili 4 that will come won’t offer more efficiency or at least more fun or ease to fly…than their predecessors then they will be totally unacceptable.
In this case the Sprint 3 is much better than the Sprint evo by a very large margin…not to compare…
But i would have dreamed for a super B+ especially coming from GIN that i’m certain, that just a little more time on it, would have been largely beneficial… 

What i was hoping for the Sprint 3 M was:
-At least a top gliding machine, but i’ll say ok. It’s good enough !  
-A more fun handling, with nimble brake response…remember the Sprint evo ! A delight  !!! 
-Little bit more top speed ! Above 50 km/h please…
-A more efficient ‘feel’ for the B+ 

This test is my personal opinion. Please try, test and fly the Sprint 3 , because it remains close to the 5 leaders in the B + gliders in comfort, efficiency, and climb.  
GIN is working on a new machine in a different category as far as i know…Lets hope it would out-dream us by the accessibility/performance/efficiency ratio …And i hope that the R&D will take their full time as, IMHO, the Carrera + still holds the “title” for comfort/efficiency/performance/rating !













14 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for this long awaited and good review of Gin Sprint 3! I am an owner a Gin Sprint EVO looking for my next wing. I am looking for something similar in performance but no less security! I have been thinking about Epsilon 8, Iota or Sprint 3. How would you say Sprint 3 is compared to Iota? Are they similar? Thanks/ Stefan

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi,
I will update my B comparison shortly, so you can have a larger idea.
Cheers

Stuart said...

Hi Ziad,

Will you also be reviewing the Small size?

thanks,

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi,
The S isn't yet certified. ..I don't think so...
Cheers Ziad

Urs said...

Hi Ziad!

"...because it remains close to the 5 leaders in the B + gliders in comfort, efficiency, and climb."

Let me guess at which five gliders you think: Mentor 4 and Iota for sure and the others? Nyos? Eden 6? Carrera? Ikuma?

Cheers
Urs

Ziad Bassil said...

Not close to the Carrera for sure...may be "close" to the Eden 6 ...
It's overall a very good wing.
Cheers

Unknown said...

Can you a little more describe how much more demanding the Sprint 3 compared to the Atlas X-Alps is?
Currently I fly an A-Wing and wanted to buy a X-Alps but this is not available for weeks and now I got an offer for a Sprint 3, but im not sure if the step is to big...

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi,
I think you will do fine on the Xalps !
The Sprint 3 is intended for pilots wanting to fly at bar for XC use.its more demanding than the Xalps but you will progress immensely on it in a very calm way ! The Sprint 3 is for later. ..

Unknown said...

Hi Ziad, Im Diego from Peru. I fly a Gin Carrera L from two years ago 113 K. all up. Have a question thta maybe isnt part of this topic. I dont have any problems with the Carrera and i like a lot its perfo but sometimes we have strong conditions in the highlands (Cusco, Ayacucho, etc) and as i told before i never had a bad episode with the carrera always maintain the glider on top of my head (only normal colapses part of strong thermals sometimes) The thing is that im looking for a glider that doesnt keep my attention all time in control it and the most important that if there is a problem it doesnt come back with plentifuul energy (in a case of full bar asymetric colapse x esample) Im thinking in the bgd base or the mentor 4 (inclining more for the mentor 4 because of what you mentioned about its glide perfo) but i want to also prioritize the behavior of the glider after colapses, stalls etc. Thank you very much for your time and help. I still with the carrrera but i want a glider that make me feel totallu confident that after a hughe assim full bar colapse (example) things not gona be worse. Best regards. Diego

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi Diego,
Many 5.0 to 5.6 aspect ratio gliders of today's technology have a good behavior in collapses recovery for intermediate B pilots. M4 have similar performance as Carrera and it's easier to handle but very dampened over the Carrera.
Cheers
Ziad

Lee said...

Hi Ziad
I'm an Atlas pilot and I'm looking to move up a little. Which would you choose the Sprint 3 or the Eden 6

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi
Sprint 3 is a very good B after the Atlas.
Cheers
Ziad

Unknown said...

Hi Ziad,

Enjoy reading your comparison and reviews alot, I'm looking at the sprint 3 with flying weight of 104. I see you tested at 103, do you feel the M (85-105) is still good at this weight or would you suggest I go to the L (95-115)? Many thanks in advance.
Henry

Ziad Bassil said...

HI Sorry for the late reply...The M at 105 is very good at 104 for sure ! Cheers,