Saint Hilaire (Coupe Icare ) FRANCE 2014

Hello,
Some news ...

I have made lots of video interviews with the manufacturers, so you can hear your answers directly from them.
Here is some small infos before the videos are finished....Much more details...

-Triton 2,it needs more time to work on it. Not yet any date...
-Mentor 3 Light will be available to the market in Sept /October...
-Nova don't have at the moment a Factor 2 replacement. Some other options could be better as may be a 'C' triton 2...
-Nova will may be try to make a tandem based on the M3.
-Advance is focusing on the new Sigma 9 at the moment and should be released soon with a similar feeling in the air of the S8,with much better performances.
-Omega 9 still needs some work, and won't be released soon until they are satisfied with the protos.
-BGD are thinking of a high speed high end B glider...New category ( See video soon with Bruce explanation)
-BGD also have released their tandem the dual.
-Ozone M6 will be a 3 liner. OZONE say 'the perfect 3 liner' intended for M4 pilots with D certification. Handling and performances never seen yet on a certified D glider.
-Rush 4 is also on its way with a shark nose . It replaces the Rush 3 as a high end B ,but still with a comfortable use.(much more infos on the videos...)
-Ozone Geo 4 as a light wing and the Alpina 2 will be available in early 2014.
-Ozone harnesses .The Ozium as a light harness and the Exocet as a full on competition harness with two rescues. They say it is very comfortable !
-Triple Seven Queen is now released in M size .The S size is still in process. The Queen like to be flown at 75 % of the weight range for everyday use, and in competitions where the pilot needs the speed ,it is better to be on top weight.
-Triple Seven Pawn EN-A glider will be soon on the market, with some impressive performance for a starting glider with shark nose technology.
-UP Makalu Light EN-B , is also introduced and the Ascent 3 as a school glide.
UP is working on a C glider but still too to tell for any release dates.. Depending on the findings as they could aim for a comfortable C with maybe more perfs than the TXC2...But it is too early...
-Sky (Alexander Paux)30 years of designing wings !! Alexander is sure that if he found for example that a 4 liner glider is having more performance than a 3 liner ,he will immediately put it on the market regardless of the 'trend' going on around him. He simply explained that few supported lines implies sometimes thicker profiles....Meaning less forward moving. In the Atis 4 he could make a thinner ,well supported profile that cut through better. 



Niviuk:
-Artik 4 is still under work,with a shark nose and will emerge in spring 2014.
-Icepeak 7 will have two versions .One a replacement for IP6 with better overall usability, and one with higher aspect ratio as a full on race comp wing !
-A Takoo 3 is also emerging soon
-Two paramotor gliders ,the Cougar 2 and the Doberman.

Gradient:
-Aspen 5 is under serious construction,and will be ready hopefully in spring 2014.
-Avax XC4 is not yet on the menu...More time is needed at the moment.

Kortel harnesses:
-Kuik 2 with Pod is ready (Picture available very soon) No seat board but Denis Cortella said that there's a new connecting device that removes the shaking of a seat less harness with lesser roll movements...

BDG :
High end EN-D Diva (Pic soon) is under work...Very good looking glider. Today it was flown on a small funny glide comp by 'TYR' Bruce's smaller son ! and placed 2nd overall ! It showed indeed a super glide in calm air ( Fun Comp)

U-Turn:
-One class A glider replacing the bodyguard.
-One low B glider as the Infinity 4.
-a new C glider with shark nose is under study and development, but very early for now.
-Two new acro wings.

GIN:
-The light EN-D ,Boom X-Alps(The same Aaron used for the X-Alps) is ready for delivery with D certification.
-The Carrera in size M is ready for delivery. The S is still under work from GIN himself.
-The Rage ,is a freestyle and acro glider. 

More videos being uploaded now....

NEW WEB !

Dear all,
The new Website  :  www.dustoftheuniverse.com   has been launched.
It contains all the details and its easy to find your wing.
The information are still in process of getting uploaded.
Check it out.
The Blog  www.ziadbassil.blogspot.com will still be working in parallel.
Hope you like it   :-) 

SKY Atis 4

Sky Atis 4

Two months ago, i received seven B gliders to test fly, among those was the Atis 4.Unpacking the glider i was surprised to see four normal risers and sheathed lines from top to bottom.No plastic rods whatsoever…It was a really classic design..So i left  the Atis 4 until i finished all of those complicated high tech B design thinking that a simple design like the Atis 4 couldn’t really keep up to those new breeds….I was totally wrong !

The story :

Jumping from B wing to B wing, with some having very few lines and only seven per side was my main preoccupation those last months. Then came the day where i took the Atis 4 for a test flight.

Unfolding the glider on the take off, my eyebrows were lifted and i was confused by SKY decision to make a high end B glider with four risers and sheathed lines everywhere.

There were no plastic rods either on the glider.Pure simple, old fashion look….I told my friend (Blacklight M rider) on the take off, that he must stay near me all the time to assess the performance of this machine, as i was curious and puzzled.

After some adjustment on the brake lengths as they were a bit long to my taste, i took off in a breeze.The Atis 4 is relatively a light glider and this is shown positively on its light take off.

In the air :

Today we flew in our Cedars spot, west take off the at 2400 m .

It was quite solid thermal conditions, a bit turbulent as the east wind was coming from the top at 2600 m making it uncomfortable sometimes.

The Atis 4 is not a dampened glider in the B category. It is a bit alive in the air.Nothing much for the high end B pilot. A new comer for the high-end B category will need some time to adapt.

Handling and maneuverability :

Thermalling the Atis 4 took me back in time, where some artist designers used to let us believe that they could integrate their souls in a glider .

The Atis 4 turns could be described as ,precise,linear ,middle soft pressure,and on its tip…

Flying the Atis 4 26 at 94.5, just on top, next to a Blacklight M loaded also at top, for two hours, i can confirm that the trim speed for both gliders are the same.

Doing some 5 km glides wing tip to wing tip, showed the same glide at trim and same glide at full bar !…

Knowing that the Blacklight has one of the best climb rate, i could see that the climb rate of both gliders was nothing but brilliant !We could never be apart inside any thermal for the whole time of testing.May be the BL has the edge only in very weak thermals.

Conclusion :

The Atis 4 did really surprised me for the performances it delivers. The SKY designer did an excellent work creating a superb B glider with nothing but simple and elegant design, proving that with normal risers and line configuration excellence can be reached.Hats off !!