Woody Valley GTO Light size M

My main and long tested harnesses were the GTO in L and XL ,The connect race XL, which was the WVGTO slightly modified for more options, The X-rated 6 in L and XL. 

I personally liked the configuration of those harnesses and the way they transmit roll movements in the air. Probably the GTO and Connect race transmits a bit more the turbulent and sharp airmass sometimes, but in overall conditions they are really nice to fly. 

I have here the GTO Light in size M and L. Woody Valley changed their sizing and the new GTO Light in M size is ‘slightly’ bigger than the old GTO L size ! 

For my 1.81 and 73 kg, the GTO Light M size suits me perfectly. I also tried the L size but it seems a bit big for me. Could be ok…But i prefer the snug fit of the M size. 

The GTO Light doesn’t have a seat board, but the pilot sits on a firm and flat back protection which gives more or less a good solid sitting feel. But it’s not a solid seat board feel. 

The rescue compartment seems large enough for big rescues. A Rogallo type, can fit easily. 

The comfort sitting position of the GTO Light for the back, hips is excellent. It resemble the best comfortable harnesses. The GTO Light is much more comfortable to sit in than the old GTO, Connect race, X-rated 6. It comes very close to the Forza and the Lightness 2 in terms of back support and comfort. 

As for the roll movements, they seem to be less informative than a Lightness 2 for example and quite close to the old GTO. Weight shift capabilities are excellent ! 

I could really weight shift efficiently by balancing my weight to the turning side much better than the Supair Delight 1 or 2 and for sure better than the X-rated 6. 

I can say that there’s some balanced roll movement in the GTO Light to ensure a pleasurable flight as the movements are precise and accurate. In the Lightness 2 and the Impress 3, the induced roll movements by entering thermals were not really homogenous, as i already mentioned it in those tests, but in the GTO Light, they deliver exactly what’s the air is doing without parasitical or unnecessary yaw movements. 

The legs are naturally supported and doesn’t require any effort form the pilot to keep them straight. 

The speed system is the same as the old GTO with 3 steps, and still easy to use. 

The chest strap is easily adjustable as the adjustment lays flat on top on the front strap. The Cockpit is placed on the right angle, the adjustments can be altered in flight if they are not secured by a loop. But it’s preferable to adjust them before the flight. 

The pod seems warm enough. But must wait until winter to be sure... 

The GTO light doesn’t look as fragile as it weight. I mean it look solid enough for a light harness. There's also good back compartment for storage. 

I have added a small ball with an elastic on the front pod to ensure proper entry into the pod like the one on the Forza, because i had difficulties to enter. 

Conclusion: Overall i like that harness. I think Woody Valley has created a very nice light and comfortable to sit, harness with a rear inflatable for more aerodynamics and has practically everything a pilot needs.

Cheers, 

Ziad 

Supair Delight 3 size M

Supair Delight 3 size M

I already have flown the Delight 2, and still have one over here with a friend. So i can compare both harnesses. I will also compare in this test the Delight 3 M with the GTO, GTO Light, Lightness 2 M.

At first, it looks like all the materials used on the Delight 3 are an upgrade over the Delight 2. The overall construction seems also much better. The rear back storage compartment is slightly bigger. 

The rescue system operates in an innovative way and it looks very neat. 

What looks and feel the same is the chest strap system and sitting position. The chest strap lays flat on top of the buckle, and can be easily reached and adjusted, like the GTO Light ,Gin Race 4. 

Getting into the pod is easy without any ball attachment. 

I flew the Alpina 3 in S size at the same load both on the GTO Light and on the Delight 3 for 3 consecutive days…In our Cedars site which is know for it’s rough air at mid day in August.

 ”Finally the weather is improving … :-)”  

In turbulent air and sharp thermals, the GTO light and the Lightness 2 would shake my body at higher angles right or left, and needed a quick weight shift to counter steer in order to keep levels , the Delight 3 abs system would provide 60 % of that work, enabling the pilot to focus on the thermal quality and steering direction and precision.  

Under the same tested glider which is an easy C, i found out that the Delight 3 would largely compensate those dynamic drops from left to right in strong bumpy air.  

It’s a matter of personal feel if someone would like this feature or not.  

I personally like the feel under the GTO Light which let you feel like a swallow …But one thing for sure, is that in strong air i was able to turn faster and easier “on rails” those bullet thermals just because i wasn’t thrown around…and that’s a quite interesting feature to consider also when flying in strong air even when the chest strap is largely opened.  

In weak stuff, the GTO Light weight shift authority is remarkably easier to induce, and also the feel in light air. But i was happy to open the chest strap on the Delight 3 to feel those tiny movements when the thermals are weak at the end of the day. The roll feel are still there, but much less. 

The size of the Delight 3 M size for my 181 and 73 kg are perfect. I feel I’m in the middle of it’s weight/ height range.

The back support and sitting position on the Delight 3 are fairly comfortable.  In this matter i cannot compare seatless harnesses with seat board harnesses in terms of comfort as the seatless like the GTO Light or the Lightness 2 would offer that homogenous hammock feel, but i can clearly confirm a very good back comfort on the Delight 3. 

The front instrument holder is in the right angle, and it’s front pocket is large enough for storage. 

Under the seat a 5 kg ballast can be easily fitted. 

The accelerator has two steps and the pulleys deliver a smooth push.

The one thing i was expecting, is a rear inflatable cone, on that seat board harness !  and that light harness would be a very interesting one…But i’m being picky… 

Conclusion: The Delight 3 offers an excellent comfortable ride and will deliver a smooth and well balanced feel about the air. 

What i would say that i think the Delight 3 would be quite an interesting harness to fly under some dynamic handling gliders.  

For sure ,it’s a matter of adaptation and getting use to any harness, but IMHO, flying in strong places for hours, some pilots will save also the extra energy in compensating glider movements and will be more efficient at the task at hand.  

Nice materials used, light, can be stored with an average compact size, comfortable for a seat-board harness. If you know the feel under the Delight 2, then you have a large idea, otherwise demoing one could be an interesting ride.

SKY Aeon M (80-95)

SKY Aeon  M (80-95)

The Aeon is the new EN-D from Sky-paragliders with a D rating. It has a 7 aspect ratio and three lines configuration.

The launching is homogenous and easy. It resembles the LM6 launching behavior. 

In the air at 93 all up, the brake travel to induce a turn are relatively moderate to short and the reaction of the glider in homogenous but strong thermals is quite nice and the Aeon could be described as fairly agile. In turbulent air and choppy thermals, an implication is needed to make a clean turn as i could sense the aspect ratio. Much like the LM6 in that matter. 

The difference is that the LM6 brake are slightly firmer and it feels more as a block, the Aeon feels quite tamer, slightly less feel on the brakes, and less dynamic movements in overall conditions. 

The trim speed of the Aeon M at 93 is around +1.5 km/h than an LM6 S (70-85) at 85 all up or an LM6 MS at 95 all up.  The glide in still air is very close. The glide in turbulent air is also quite similar. The difference came slightly at first bar in turbulent air where the Aeon comfortable movements could have a slightly floatier results. But it’s really very small…And practically the differences will come from the pilot in that case. The C controls work well on this 3 liner. For sure not comparable with 2 liners but still nice to prevent moderate pitch behavior in turbulence. 

However, i was impressed by the climb rate of the Aeon that showed me on several occasions a slightly faster climb than the LM6, especially in sudden thermals or strong cores. It seems that the Aeon is converting every move to a climb which gives a quite efficient tool in XC.  This was also felt in moving air where the Aeon could be a nice efficient floater in those conditions, surfing the airmass rather than bumping and loosing the glide. Actually the 7 aspect ratio Aeon was giving me a D class performance which is different than a high C class performance glider in it’s ability to convert the turbulent air into good and smooth gliding properties.

The differences in behavior between the LM6 and the Aeon are very different, as one pilot will appreciate the stiffer feel of the LM6 and brake pressure connectivity, to the slightly softer canopy feel but (still very coherent) of the Aeon with a softer but still responsive brake feel. 

Saying this, i could also feel that in relatively strong air, the Aeon gave me the overall feel of a D glider, as it needed a precise pilot handling which confirm it’s placement in that class. 

Ears are stable and need pilot input to reopen.

Conclusion: Sky has created a comfortable but efficient EN-D glider for the required pilots. Very good climbing behavior, very nice glide at bar. Light weight, and comfortable to fly for pilots flying gliders in the D category. 

This is only my opinion. Make your own !

GIN Atlas 2 S

GIN Atlas 2 S size 

Five years ago, i flew the first Atlas in S size also. I still remember the crispy and agile handling, and the very good float ability into wind. Now i have the new Atlas replacement to see what are the changes. 

Launching the Atlas 2 at 92 all up, in multiple conditions showed me no hang back or overshooting whatsoever. It feels very balanced and super easy to launch. 

First thermal and turning inside the core is done with 25-30 cm of brake travel. The pressure on the brakes are not light nor heavy, just perfect. The Atlas 2 S response is relatively quick and the turning ability is good for the low B category. The precision on the brakes are also nice for the low B category. The Atlas 2 doesn’t have the tendency to dive in turns unless the pilot is aggressive on the brakes. It tends to flattens the turns but stays nicely in the core. The brake travel are slightly longer than the Ion 5 XS, and the agility or sharper brake authority is slightly less but still excellent for the low B category. 

In the same turbulent air the Ion 5 XS needs more active piloting than the Atlas 2 S. I found that all the movements coming from the Atlas 2 S are very comfortable and reassuring, and exceeding the ones on the old Atlas 1. Pushing the full extend of the bar in turbulent air is very usable and the Atlas 2 stayed very solid overhead without too much movements. The C controls can in fact control some pitch movements in turbulent air the Atlas 2 in full speed mode. Overall GIN made a glider more comfortable and easy to access than the Atlas 1. 

Gliding in turbulent air with a mix of gliders, including a Buzz Z5 S gave me an idea about the overall performance of the Atlas 2. At first the trim speed of the Atlas 2 S is slightly faster than the Buzz Z5 S similarly loaded. In still air the glide is comparable to some low B gliders. In windier or difficult conditions, the Atlas 2 S could be placed in the mid of the low B category in terms of efficiency and float-ability on glides. 

The Atlas one profile was more dynamic and probably could be a better ‘airmass surfer’ at the expense of much more movements. 

Climbing next to low B gliders showed me also good climbing properties of the Atlas 2 in multiple conditions with balanced and calm reactions in turbulent air. 

Top speed is around 7 km/h over trim. Big ears are stable and easy to use. They reopen without pilot intervention. 

Conclusion: It seems that GIN has created a more accessible low B glider than the Atlas 1. It behaves like a school glider. In fact it seems that this glider could be a first glider to talented students. 

All the lines, even the full brake lines are sheathed. 

A stress free glider to enjoy the flying sites with very nice smooth handling on a low B with an option for XC if the conditions are strong and consistent. 

Cheers, 

Ziad 

This is only my opinion. Make your own !