U-Turn CrossRock EN-B size S

U-Turn Cross rock S (70-90)

The last U-Turn paraglider i test flew was the Black light2. Here’s the light version of the BL2 but it seems it’s a completely different story …

The Cross rock has a shark nose, unsheathed lines on the upper cascades, and normal lines on the lower part.

Launching the Crosssrock is a non event, very easy in nil wind, and doesn’t overshoot in strong breeze.

I flew the Cross rock S with two harnesses. An X-rated 6 with light cloth and equipment at 87 and on the Ozium 2 at 84 all up.

In turbulent air, and flying those different harnesses didn’t affect the glider stability or even handling whatsoever. The Crossrock turns well, stays calm, and climbs remarkably well.  

I mean the cross rock resembles the cool character of ‘Fillmore’ in Cars Movie !

Saying:  Hey dude …hang loose…man…  :-)

The Crossrock has a soft, cool, very relaxing character in turbulence. The brake response are direct, but the Crossrock doesn’t dive at all in turns. It has an efficient turning radius in thermals. The agility is good for the category. I can say it’s fairly agile and respond well on command. 

So overall it has a moderate to good handling, and quite an impressive comfort ! especially for an S size (70-90). 

Flying the Mentor 5 (70-90) and the Cross rock S in the same conditions and on the same harness and loads, showed me that i need almost half the workload to fly the Crossrock. 

The brake pressure are on the moderate side, not too light, not too firm. (The B comparison will be updated for all characteristics)

The crossrock doesn’t have a pitch forward neither back, it feels more toward a neutral pitch. The climb rate in weak is very good even among the high B category. I can say it’s definitely a floater.  In strong thermals and head wind, i think, this is the one of the best U-Turn glider that has an efficient nose to dig in surf the airmass quite gently and move forward with an impressive glide angle that is very close to my reference in the high B category. 

In strong air it doesn’t loose it’s ‘very soft’ biting power.  

On one crossing into difficult conditions and head wind, i was a bit low, and since that day my GPS was taking a day off …my shadow on the ground was barely moving forward and i thought ill never reach the narrow landing field, and i began to look for a place to land..but kept my feet on the bar to try to move forward…Honestly i know that path by heart, and it was very difficult to cross that day with that low altitude, but i was really surprised by the Crossrock efficiency to dig slowly and softly through, little by little. I thought it will never go through, but it did…and got myself a thermal just 20 m above the landing, and high again !  

Afterward, i flew next to a Mentor 5 and  i can confirm that the Crossrock has a good float ability in glides. 

The first part and the second part of the speed bar are very usable and super efficient ! It doesn’t loose on full bar ! the speed over trim at 87 is 10 km/h taken at 500 ASL. 

At top speed, flying also next to a Mentor 5 XS at same loadings showed me also a very competitive glide angle that places the Crossrock among the best ones in that matter. 

I also tried a glide on the Crossrock S size (70-90) with a Chili 4 S (85-105) in difficult conditions. The glide result with the Crossrock did also impressed me. In fact, the Crossrock had a very efficient glide that was very competitive and very close with the top high B. 

The Trim speed of the cross rock at 84 was slightly less than the trim speed of the Chili 4 S at 102 all up. 

Conclusion: U-Turn has created a really nice machine. Light, comfortable, high performance in both glide and climb, with good overall handling…The Crossrock accessibility and ease of flight is remarkable and i could place it in terms of piloting level among the mid B’s. This glider is a very good option for pilots looking for a light, XC companion for flying in strong conditions, in the B category.

This is only my opinion. Make your own !

NOVA Ion 5

Nova Ion 5 

I flew both sizes, the XS size (70-90) at 84 all up, and the S size (80-100) at 91 all up. 

Launching the Ion 5 is nil wind is very easy without any hard point or delay. In moderate breeze, it’s even easier without surge.

The Ion 5 turns on every centimeter i pulled on the brakes. It can be steered with only 10 cm of travel, yet the long brake when pulling 50 cm are very forgiving. 

The difference between the Ion 4 XS and the Ion 5 XS with same load is that the Ion 5 is much more agile and more precise, letting the pilot at first enjoy every thermal with the ability to core it very narrow.

The feedback coming from the glider is more pronounced on the Ion 5 over the Ion 4, but in a more subtle and positive way.  Some pilots commented that the Ion 4 is a bit too stiff and has a heavy feel sometimes. 

The Ion 5 is more informative about small thermal movements, and nicer to fly overall , but still being a comfortable low B glider. 

The pressure on the brakes on the XS and S are moderate to slightly hard if pulled more than 40 cm, but i don’t think that much brake will be uses ,as just a little pull will initiate a turn. 

When flying in lift, i had the feeling that the Ion 5 embraces the thermal and the information by the brakes felt like a 3D picture on that particular thermal. I think many of you will feel that. 

Kind of pulling you gently into the thermal and grabbing it. 

I flew the XS (70-90) at 85 and the S size (80-100) at 92, and i think, this Ion 5 could easily be flown at mid weight range, and i didn’t feel the need to load it, but if i did, it will preserve the same feel.

The trim speed is similar to the Ion 4, but it seems that the Ion 5 has more float-ability into wind. Its seems to cut through much better with that searching for a thermal feature, which i really appreciate on a low B !

That feature gave a better glide in moving conditions. 

In the older…older …days, it was a blessing to find even on a DHV 3 certified glider (competition class) that can surf efficiently through the airmass…

Nowadays, the new generation of pilots flying low B gliders like the Ion 5 will find an easy way to push forward and go easy on long XC’s… 

Big ears are stable, easy to induce, and reopen without pilot input.  The Ion 5 could be flown at low speeds, with hands on the hips and can accurately top land on narrow places. 

Conclusion:

After flying the Phantom, and Sector, it seems that NOVA is doing a little more work on the handling, which was needed i think at least from my part. The Ion 5 brake response, precise input, and overall handling on a low B is a cool step ahead, entering the golden circle of the nicest handling gliders.  

The climb rate in weak and strong is similar to the Ion 4 one. The Ion 5 feels is like an enhanced Ion4 in handling, glide, and overall feel. 

A pilot upgrading from the Ion 4 will enjoy the Ion 5 evolution upgrade especially in terms feel of thermals, swift handling and gliding performance in cross country flights.  

  
This is only my opinion. Make your own !

OZONE R&D department. Luc Armant interview ( 28-March 2018)

OZONE R&D department. Luc Armant interview ( 28-March 2018) 

Luc Armant was so kind to answer a few questions for all of us flying vultures :-) 

1- Dustoftheuniverse : What your personal insights on future paragliding designs? Will we experience some revolution projects? like the first BBHPP ? 

Luc Armant : Great stuff still to come. Yes !  some revolution should come. Future will tell…

2-DOTU: What can you tell the pilots of the future M6 replacement project? 

Luc Armant : Still experimental stage. Long term project. We want to create a new reference 3 liner wing.

2- DOTU: Will you be able to get more overall performance than the 6.9 aspect ratio M6 on a lower aspect ? and is it possible considering that the competition has lower aspect ratio close to 6.5 in the C class.

Luc Armant : Yes, it’s possible. Current prototypes have 6.5 aspect ratio with much more performance. 

3- DTOU: I personally Consider the Alpina 3 until this moment to have the best ratio of overall performance /comfort ever built on a C performance glider, what would your design philosophy toward the M7 project to be ? 

Luc Armant : I’m glad to read that. Delta3/Alpina 3 was a long and difficult project to get finished. Design philosophy for the M7 is simplicity, pleasure and high performance.

4- DOTU: What kind of handling the M7 would have ? Are you focusing also on handling ?  especially having a lower aspect ratio than the M6 ?

Luc Armant : Handling is very important. We currently have very pleasant prototypes in that matter. Lower AR helps as well.

5- DOTU: Will you consider one version? a 3 liner ? or two versions with one as two liner ?  

Luc Armant : Only one version.  

6- DOTU: Do you consider that the top speed is important for you to insert in the D category ?

Luc Armant : Yes. But it needs to stay reasonable in term of safety after collapses at full speed. It can’t be as fast as current CCC.

7- DOTU: Any release in 2018 ? 

Luc Armant : Yes.

8- DOTU: Is there any new materials ,as lines, cloth, that can increase future safety and performance ?

Luc Armant : No. Light material and light construction helps a bit safety. It’s more new design feature and setting that can help a lot.

9-  DOTU: what category do you forecast that will get the most benefits in performance in the near future?

Luc Armant : D category remains the most interesting for evolution specially since the others have been banned of collapse lines, but this may be revised in a near future. Many are now realizing the downside of this ban.

  

DOTU: Thank you very much Luc for your answers. Looking forward.

Cheers,

Ziad.