OZONE (Luc Armant) interview

Questionnaire for OZONE R&D designer and Team pilot Luc Armant.

1-Ziad : A new concept of gliders with many cells is emerging with low and high aspect ratio. What are your thoughts about this concept? Especially on moderate aspect ratio gliders ?

Luc Armant: The idea from Nova of proposing a glider for richer intermediate pilot is making fully sense. Any other serious mechanical sport industry is having such product. I have no idea what size is that market for paragliders. High cell number concept: for sure things are not simple like the higher the better. Zeno versus Enzo2 is a nice example showing that not only cell number count (78 vs 101). Not enough cells is not good and too much is not good too, even for performances. What we have experimented is that there is an optimum number of cell for a given design, and that optimum can be very different from one design to another.

2-Ziad : Almost every pilot is talking about the Zeno… The Manual is clear. Since you have flown both now, many pilots would like to know the difference in flying demands and feeling compared to the M6 and the Enzo 2. Can you also elaborate on brake response and dynamism?

Luc Armant: Flying demand and comfort is much closer to M6 than Enzo2. I still find that the M6 is a good wing, relatively safe, performant and without bugs, but the Zeno has more character, is more pleasurable, more exciting to fly. All that is without talking about the gain in performances.
Gliding on the side of an M6 or any other END wing, gives you an extra blast. Brake pressure is much lighter than M6. That’s my favorite brake pressure, and you kind of feel the thermal through your fingers a bit like on the Delta2. It can answer fast to roll input and turn in tiny radius with still nice climbing efficiency.


3- Ziad : Now that the Zeno is finished, any news on the Delta 3 project?

Luc Armant: No news yet, apart from the fact we are still working on that project, amongst other projects. But for sure the longest project ever in ozone !

4-Ziad : I know you already answered the following question but just to answer some pilots questions…Will OZONE see an advantage of building a high cell count on a Delta 3 for example? Or a Rush 5 ?

Luc Armant: Ozone will not see an advantage of building D3 or R5 with more cells than optimum for their design.
We try to build product with only necessary stuff.
It does not mean than the Delta3 will have 20 cells only !!!


5- Ziad: Some pilots said that the M6 and Enzo tendency to cravat are high after a collapse ,So did you make any re-arrangement for the Zeno design ,not to have cravats? or may be less...
Any comments?

Luc Armant: I’m not sure about that comment. And I would need to know what sort of cravat they are talking about. Pilots use the word cravats for many different things.
After collapses, sometimes the M6 or the Enzo2 does a small wing tip knot that you can remove by pulling the stabilo line.
I did not make special arrangement but the Zeno is not cravatting easily. For that reason we decided to remove the stabilo line.
Like on any wing, depending on the air and your piloting, you can have a collapse going to the front (sideways air flow), resulting in the collapsed part of the wing blocked by the air flow in front of the lines. But in that case usually two or three deep asymmetric pumping is enough.
 
 6- Ziad: Anything you want to add concerning the future of glider design?

Luc Armant: Like always, I can only talk about present and past. The future is still to be created.

Ziad :Thank you Luc !

Cheers,
Ziad

SUPAIR Leaf EN-B

SUPAIR Leaf EN-B

The Leaf (nice name for a paraglider ! ) is the first Supair certified as a B glider and intended for a larger group in this segment.
The take off is super easy for a B with no hang back or shooting forward.

I flew the Leaf in different conditions from weak to rough conditions and i have now a solid idea about it’s behavior.

In rough turbulent thermals the Leaf resembles the low B category gliders ex: Ion 4 by the comfort it delivers and ease of use.
Inside the thermals, the Leaf S (75-95) loaded at 92 is a real pleasure ! The brakes have moderate pressure similar to the M4 or the Ion 4. A little more pressure than the Swift or the Rush 4.

The brakes are linear, precise and direct, delivering a superb maneuverability!
I could place the Leaf exactly where i wanted even in the roughest of air. The Leaf reacts like an extension of the pilot arm. I re-discovered flying pleasure on board this colored ‘toy’ !

Climbing with reference gliders showed me an impressive climb rate ! I could easily stay near the excellent Swift 4 ! and in rough air i could out-climb easily many high end gliders. For sure the climbing ability of the Leaf puts it right among the top gliders in the mixed B category .

The speed system is easy to push with a moderate pressure, less than the Mentor 4, a bit harder than the Swift 4 pressure. The top speed of the Leaf is around 10 km/h over trim .

Doing lots of glide i noticed a nice trim speed in calm air for the Leaf slightly more than the Rush 4 . The glide however puts the Leaf in the first part of the mixed B category .

Big ears are stable, efficient and reopen by themselves.

Conclusion:
I enjoyed every second flying the Leaf. It was nice to feel like a ‘leaf’ again  :-) .
The climb rate and the handling will draw smiles bigger than the pilots faces !  :-)
The Leaf is a moderate B glider just in the middle of this huge B category. It is not a very low boring B nor a lively high B. It’s a balanced well behaved mid B.
The Leaf glide angle will share the first part of this B category.
I think the Leaf with its sheathed lines all over was created not to drag race the top B contenders with a knife between the teeth…. but to deliver comfort, ease of use, excellent climbing, pleasure and a lovely handling.

SKYWALK Spice XS

Skywalk Spice XS

After test flying the Cayenne 5 here’s the light version, the Spice.
I flew the Spice at 91 all up with a woody valley rated 6 .

The material used on the Spice is quite delicate resembling the LM6 cloth. Thin rises with a complete set of unsheathed lines.

The Spice with its light cloth is easier and faster to launch than the C5 especially in low wind take offs.

I have flown the Spice in multiple sites from difficult and turbulent conditions to average thermals with the company of the Cayenne 5 which let me to draw accurate conclusions on behaviour and performance.

The brake pressure on the Spice is moderate to light, less than the LM6 pressure and close enough to the C5 XS but with a slightly less direct feel.

The Spice is for sure an agile glider, that gave me some flying pleasure.
May be just only 5 % less than the C5 XS in direct feel and agility for the same loadings !
Flying it in turbulence gave me the impression that it has a slightly more neutral pitch or slightly pitch back sometimes than the C5 XS i had earlier for the test.

I would say that the Spice in XS size is slightly more comfortable than the C5 in XS size for the same loadings in moderate thermals.
That doesn’t mean that it’s an entry C glider. The Spice still needs more active piloting than the Alpina 2 in strong conditions.

The climb rate of the Spice XS loaded at 91 compared to the C5 S loaded at 99 is quite close.

In very weak climb (0.5 m/s ) the C5 S will have the edge in surfing upward those tiny lifts.

At trim speed the Spice XS (75-95) flown at 91 is slightly slower (-0.25 km/h) than a Cayenne 5 S (85-105) at 99 all up.

The glide at trim and accelerated is very close to the C5 which puts the Spice also as one of the best C performer for the light category.

The speed bar has a moderate to light pressure. The ability to control the pitch with the C risers is efficient in moderate turbulence.

Very small ears are stable but not efficient. Big ears are unstable. Pulling the B3, is stable. It gave me -2.5 m/s with full bar and the reopening is super fast.
Pulling the C3 with a slight bar is little more delicate and has also the same efficiency as pulling the B3’s.

Wing overs are super big and a joy to make.A playful glider for sure !

The Spice has a low stall speed and it’s efficient to top land accurately in narrow spaces. It stalls below the hip with a small warning sign which is easy to avoid for the keen C pilot.

The top speed with pulleys overlapping, over a 1 km run is 10 km/h over trim on the Spice XS size at 91 all up at 1000 ASL.

Conclusion: I had a fun time test flying the Spice. The agility and the energy are good for the C category coupled with top performance. The feel under it is slightly mellower than the C5 XS in moderate thermals. In strong thermals and turbulence it needs the same level of piloting as the C5 XS with a similar behaviour.
My only regret is the pitch back upon entering thermals on the Spice which wasn’t felt on the excellent Cayenne 5 XS or S i have flown…For sure it feels differently tuned !
I’m sure that many pilots will appreciate the overall feel and potential of this light, top performant C machine.

Cheers,
Ziad.

AD Pure 3 SM

AD Pure 3

I flew the Pure 3 from 90 to 95 all up.
Launching the Pure 3 needs a steady and pressured pull to reach overhead. The lift is immediate.

In the air the brake pressure is on the moderate to hard side and i couldn’t say that the pure 3 is an agile glider but ok. It has less agility and more firm brake pressure than the Peak 4 23 i have here as reference.

In turbulent conditions, the Pure 3 feels more as a block and moves as a whole structure than the Peak 4 does, but needs slightly more active piloting. The climb rate in weak and strong however is very good on the Pure 3, as the glider spring up very quickly inside thermals. Could be one of the best in climbing.

Gliding overall performance seems moderate to ok, for a 2 liner D glider (if loaded at top) .

At 93 all up the trim speed resembles the LM6 one.
At full bar i could see an increase of 13 km/h at 600 ASL. I think 96, 97 would give better results.
Gliding on the Pure 3 with bar and controlling it with the B riser is very efficient in moderate turbulence. In strong turbulence, a more pilot adaptation is needed to keep the glider overhead as the B riser pull has a stop limiter. But it’s really efficient in moderate stuff !

Big ears are stable ! Efficient and reopen quickly.
Conclusion: My last flown D gliders this year were the King S , LM6 MS, Peak 4 23. The Pure 3 felt that it needs slightly more active piloting than those three only in some quite turbulent conditions. The agility is moderate to low compared to those three above which lead me to think that it needs more pilot adaptation (getting use to it) to control it better.
 In moderate turbulence, it felt more as a block overhead. I think this glider needs some “exoceat” “XR7”  Type harness and a good pilot pushing along good lift lines.
 

Air Cross U-Cruise M

 Air cross ( U-Cruise M )

My last glider from Air cross was the U cross EN-C glider.
The U-Cruise is their new 5.6 aspect ratio intermediate B glider.
I flew the M size (75-100) from 94 to 98 all up.
I felt that 95-97 could be an efficient option in all conditions.

The U-cruise features a shark nose, thin unsheathed lines on top and regular covered ppsl lines on the bottom like the ones on the modern gliders like the M4, Rook 2…with a 3.5 line configuration.

The risers are thin and sporty, the speed lengths on the risers on the M size I’m testing is more than 15 cm long !
The overall construction is really nice, with plenty of details like the leading edge with the little half moon openings to the stabilo's of the U-cruise which  holds a complete rod to make it stiff in the air.

Launching the U-Cruise is smooth in weak or even in strong air for a B pilot.

First thermal and first tun showed an average pressure on the brakes which is slightly more than a Sprint 3 but with a more agile turn that could resemble the M4 one. Strong input on the brakes does get you in big wing overs and you will experience high energy coming from the glider.

The U-Cruise has the same excellent comfort in the air as the Nyos from Swing. It gives a more solid feel than the Iota or even the Mentor 4 ! I felt that the glider is extremely pressurized ! As it felt like an indestructible rock solid structure above my head ! Some pilot wouldn’t like but some will…I just saw today the certification report of the M with plenty of A’s, that confirmed my flying feel.
In entering thermals the U-Cruise has a slight tendency to bounce slightly back. But as I said the Roll and the pitch movements are dampened for an intermediate B glider.

Flying the U-Cruise in strong air does in fact give the (high-end B)  pilot a high degree of comfort ! This pressurized, tough structure does in fact dilute the feeling in weak conditions, and the pilot underneath must open his complete senses to feel those tiny bits of thermals as they are completely erased by the U-Cruise, that led me to feel that it’s not really a floater rather than a cruiser…

Flying next to a reference high-end B gliders, showed me that the gliding power are good on-board the U-Cruise which could place it exactly between the Base from BGD and the Sprint 3 from GIN.
The U-Cruise is “slightly” faster at trim speed over a Mentor 4 or a sprint 3 similarly loaded !
The top speed of the U-Cruise I have for testing is really fast…I think I could see for many times 16 km/h over its fast trim of 40 km/h taken at 1000 ASL. I think this is a fast one !
Big ears are a very good way to get down ! they are very efficient and reopen quickly by themselves.
Wing overs are super high, and they need a special attention for pilots who are not use to throw them around.

Conclusion: Again this is my personal opinion after test flying the recent B glider available and I am sure that each pilot will find his own preference after his test flight.
-The U-Cruise has an interesting fast structure for the pilots who likes a feel of a (Turbo Rhino) design :-) structure over a nimble agile small Gazelle like the Rush 4 for example. The comfort over the Rush is enhanced and also the glide and speed ! But the sensitivity and efficiency in small and very weak conditions goes toward the Rush.
In Alpine conditions I can imagine many pilots on the U-Cruise getting some serious XC distances with the extra comfort this glider delivers. The overall usability and especially the top speed are really good for the B category.