Air Design Rise 3 S

Air-design Rise 3 

I flew both the Rise 1 and 2. Here’s the Rise 3 from Air design. A high -end B with 5.95 AR and lots of design technologies from a Lightweight construction, to the Stabilo Winglets which are an interesting funny looking new feature, a Shark-Nose 

and  Vortex Holes on the extremities , Mini-Ribs, Race unsheathed lines but it looks not that skinny, and tough enough, Thin performance Risers with a C-Control System ! 

Everything is there to show that AD are aiming for performance at first…Lets see…

Launching the Rise 3 is very easy without any hang back or surge. The light material has its benefits in the launch characteristic.

I flew the glider from 85 to 92 all up, to discover that flying it near the top weight is really efficient.(90-92) on the S size. 

At 90 all up, the Rise 3 S has a short, precise brake travel and could be described as fairly agile. 

The pressure on the brakes are moderate for the 10-15 cm of brake travel that actually are needed to steer the glider in all thermals. After 15 cm the pressure are slightly on the heavy side.

While flying through mild turbulent air, there’s some wobbles and small yaw movements coming from the glider. I flew in the same air the Chili 4 XS size at 94 all up, to conclude finally that the Chili 4 XS move as a block compared to the Rise 3 S. After some flying hours, alternating the two gliders, the overall comfort is similar with a slight ‘shock absorbent’ feel to the rise 3 S that Air design i famous for. The chilli 4 XS has slightly more sharper reaction to strong thermal punches.

After some hours, i got used to those tiny wobbles that doesn’t amplify their energy when conditions got stronger. They are just here.

The overall piloting level is above the Rise 2 and is similar to the Chili 4 XS or the Mentor 5 XS.

Flying next to my reference B glider, the Chili 4 XS, i found out that the Rise 3 have an impressive climb rate ! After many attempts on the Rise 3 S (72-92) @ 90 with the Chili 4 XS (75-95) @ 93, i was convinced that this Rise S size climb has a slight edge ! I was really surprised about that, knowing that the Chili 4 XS is one of the most efficient climber on the B category. 

At 90 all up, the Rise 3 S doesn’t have some annoying pitch behaviors, but rather an efficient nose to surf those thermals and climb, like any good high-B glider.

I noticed that every thermal is quickly converted into climb very efficiently. And the brake authority helps a lot by putting the Rise 3 S inside narrow cores, without any reluctant behavior of the leading edge to dig in.  Sometimes i need to insist slightly to turn it inside the thermals, as it flattens out sometimes. It shows also the ability for a flat efficient turning behavior. 

I must say that the Rise 3 S is a nice floater in the high B category ! Racing facing the Valley breeze is as efficient as on the Chili 4 XS !

At those weight load above, my friend and i made a few glide comparisons on an exceptional August day with high cloud bases! 

Trim speed is similar and the glide at trim seems also identical ! 

At 5 km/h over trim, both glider are also inseparable in glide ! 

Pushing the full bar on the Rise 3 S at 90 all up, gave me a +14 km/h taken at 1300 ASL ! which is around 2-3 km/h over the Chili 4 XS. 

Big ears are stable without using the speed bar, they slightly shake using the speed bar.

Conclusion: 

The overall piloting level is not far from the mid aspect ratio B gliders, despite it’s 5.95 AR and i could say it’s an accessible high end B glider with a fairly good handling.

I think the lines used on the Rise 3 S, will not move that easy…They all are unsheathed, and slightly thicker than the contenders .   

The Rise 3 in size S has those small wobbling movements, but they are very easy to get used to, and could be an advantage for the pilots who don’t like the ‘block feel’ above their heads. 

Finally i can say that the Rise 3 has joined the circle of the top contenders in the high B category for it’s overall efficiency in climb and glide, and it’s certain that any pilot flying the Rise 3 won’t miss any performance whatsoever racing against the new 2017 Mentors and Chili’s ! 

It seems that Air design has worked very hard on the Rise 3! And it surely paid off !

C Comparison "Notice update"

Important notice:
This comparison has been made with lots of accuracy and details, but please consider that other sizes, other weight load for the same tested glider can have a different impact on the result below. Some small sizes usually have a different feel, and different data. Also the bigger sizes will give you different feel in (brake tension, brake response, brake length,) not to mention the performance gain in 95 % of the cases.  
For instance an important factor in 2017/18 creations, is that manufacturers are working on the internal structures ,that may have a better cohesion and efficiency in turbulent air, BUT with the exact weight load ! Those gliders will have a large weight window to be flown, BUT they are mostly efficient in a smaller one ;-)  ... Example : The Zeno SM goes from 80-100. The most accurate result will be to fly it from 96 till 98. 
The Sigma 10 size 23 weight range (80-100) but the best result is around 96-97. 
Of course it flyable at 90 but you will get pushed by strong thermals ! As you will if you fly a Zeno at 90 ! 
The Cayenne 5 XS is best flown at 92-93 for all conditions. If flown at 89, the internal structure will be unstable in strong air. 
Some probably think that ± 2-3 kg won't matter...But i say it surely does ! :-)
S size 2 kg will matter, M size 3kg, L size 4-5 kg...
Cheers,
Ziad
(PS:  Many pilots cares for performance...But IMHO, my best gliders are the ones that gives me that magical handling feel like an extension to my arms ... in better words  "Wings"   :-)    

Gradient Aspen 6 size 24

Gradient Aspen 6 24 

The Aspen 6 is the 2017-18 C glider from Gradient. I have flown all the Aspens, and after the 5th version which has a slight yaw movement but very good glide ratio especially on top speed, here’s the Aspen 6 test in size 24. (70-90) 

The take off for a 6.4 aspect ratio C glider at 90 all up, is moderate to easy. In the air, the Aspen 6 feels like you are flying a higher rated glider. At 90 all up it feels quite good.Not really overweight…I mean it’s exactly the weight it supposed to be .88 till 90…and could be nice at 92 also. 

In turbulent air the Aspen 6 needs good active piloting for a C glider. It needs slightly more pilot control than a Cayenne 5. 

The brake travel is moderate and on the light side. Much lighter than the Delta 3 and Sigma 10 i had for testing. The ability to turn the Aspen 6 is not as fast as turning the S10, Delta 3 or the Cayenne 5. The Aspen 6 needs a little input and more finesse to get a similar turn. But it could be described as ‘fairly agile’ 

The climb rate compared to a Delta 3 MS is very good ! I think after some flying side by side and swapping gliders, (Delta 3 MS at 94 and Aspen 6 24 at 90) The Aspen 6 showed a ‘slight’ better climb ! 

especially in weak conditions, where i could sense a float ability for the Aspen 6.Even in strong air, the climb rate of the Aspen 6 was very nice ! 

Getting both gliders for some gliding lines showed me after a while that the Aspen 6 24 is really keeping up…very close ! even at 5-7 km/h over trim. 

Underneath the Aspen 6 the feeling is like you have a fine tuned 7 aspect ratio glider in a 6.4 aspect ratio glider…Well that’s the feeling… In turbulent air, there’s no annoying pitch movements. But some efficient ones. The Aspen 6 likes to dance a bit in turbulent air 

 … But much more comfortable than a Poison 3 XS for example. Similar to an LM6 S in feel, but with longer and lighter brakes …I’m trying to place it in order to give you an idea. 

Big ears are stable and reopen on pilot action. 

Conclusion: The Aspen legendary swift handling is unfortunately not available anymore as it was on the Aspen 1-2-3 ...That's the plain fact. But it seems Gradient is aiming for performance efficiency as main target with fair handling. 

Indeed, the Aspen 6 like the Aspen 5, showed me a very efficient C glider in that category. It requires active piloting over the easy Sigma 10 or even the Delta 3. But a good pilot could…have a slight edge for efficiency. I didn’t tried the Aspen 6- 26 (i think it must be loaded at top +105 ) and could feel differently …Hope many pilots out-there will test fly it and report back. 

Cheers, 

Ziad