AirDesign Rise 4 (PAST MODEL)

Technical data

* 50-65kg is the standard payload, 65-72kg is an increased payload (both areas EN-B)

Colours

Standard colours: Ocean, Orange, Lilac.

Custom colours: Choose your colours and email us the custom colour reference with your order.

Package

Your Rise 4 – #thermalmonkey package

• Glider
• Backpack Comfort
• AirPack 50/50 (concertina packing bag)
• Repair materials
• AirDesign stickers
• Goodies

Rise 4 – #thermalmonkey

We were driving back from Austria. Supposed to go back to work… but we had the new Rise 4 in our trunk! We passed by Annecy, nobody in the air but who cares? The Rise 4 was there, waiting for us. Gosh that was too tempting! We stopped the van and hiked up to the take-off. It wasn’t London’s calling, but the call of the Rise 4 instead! We were laughing like kids. Unexpected flight in sight. The excitement to have a new toy, right there.

Rise 4 – the wow effect!

It felt so good to have a lightweight backpack while we were walking to our improvised take-off. Christmas time was in the air as we opened up our present: a beautiful new Rise 4 made with love and passion to offer fun and durability. We felt young and beautiful, like in the song! The launch was a formality. Once in the air, the game was on. Whereas we were expecting a long and nice glide, the vario started to friendly sing and opened up our perspectives. We began to play in the light thermals. We were having so much fun and it all felt so natural. The Rise 4 was moving nicely and appeared to be totally reliable above Lake Annecy. The carve was light, smooth and progressive. Pushing the bar put a grin on our faces. What a flight! We had the Rise 4 so we went, and the day just proved us right. AirDesign Rise 4: Break your own rules.

Suitability

• Advanced pilots 100%
• XC 100%
• Hike&Fly 80%
• Expert 75%
• Competitions 60%
• Beginner 25%

How to describe the Rise 4 …

• … in one word? Intuitive!
• … in one image? Gliding home at the end of an epic XC flight an April day in the Alps
• … in one dream? Some bivouac-flying with tons of top landings, the Rise 4 is made for it!

Designer’s words…

“For every AD wing, we use a claim and a hashtag. For the Rise 4, we chose The Wow Effect and the #thermalmonkey. We really had this moment on the first flight. We were just amazed by the simplicity of the wing. Everything is just simple. And at same time it’s a performance monster. The glider is simply perfect!”

- Stephan Stiegler, Designer, AirDesign

The Rise 4 is a high-end EN-B wing. Nevertheless, we were able to make the flying characteristics well balanced and forgiving. With the Rise 4 you get a really comfortable wing in this kind of class.

Construction & Features

The increase of performance was mainly achieved by a modified profile and refined inner structures.

We added some cells for more profile consistency and chose material optimized to get a light canopy resulting in a low glider weight. Still, passive safety is striking higher than you would expect in this class.

The trailing edge looks optically cleaned by adding a brake-raff system.

The new designed riser has got a B-C control which is effectively working throughout the whole speed range.

We also added to the accelerator RONSTAN ball-bearing pulleys for a soft feeling at the speed bar.

Materials

Sail

• Top surface: DOKDO-20DMF(WR) 35 gr
• Bottom surface: Porcher Skytex 27 classic II
• Ribs: Dominico DOKDO-204432FM

Lines

• Top lines: Edelrid 8000/U-070, 090
• Middle lines: Edelrid 8000/U-130, 190
• Main lines: Edelrid 8000/U-190, 230, 280

Risers

• Webbing: 13mm Aramid
• Maillons: 4.3mm JOO-TECH/Korea

Technical Features

• Duralight
• Winglets
• Vortex Holes
• S-Nose
• Rigi-Rods
• 3D-Cut
• Mini-Ribs
• Razor Edge
• Swivel brake links
• Maillon clips
• Unsheathed Lines
• 13mm Aramid Risers
• BS pulley Connector
• B/C control

More details below.

Duralight

Semi-light construction, mix of most robust materials where needed, lighter when not impacting overall strength and durability, for every pilot everyday use, everywhere.

Winglets

Winglet profile shape at tips, similar to modern airplanes. Enlarges the projected aspect ratio, improves performance by also reducing drag and enhancing directional stability.

Vortex Holes

Vortex holes help reducing the drag at wingtips, and increase performance. Besides, they allow a continuous removal of dust and particles otherwise trapped inside the canopy. Also helping to deflate the wing when packing it.

S-Nose

Shark-nose type leading edge. Here the leading edge is formed by a unique S-shaped constrained rod, for optimized performance. The leading edge is aggressive, but remains light for easy take off and rigidity is optimized for a better glider feel.

Rigi-Rods

The clear and stiffer transparent rods are used mostly on performance wings – giving maximum stiffness for profile consistency. It requires a proper packing of the wing to durably ensure its form.

3D-Cut

All panels designed and cut according to state-of-the-art 3D technologies to improve profile consistency and control ballooning deforming, reduce wrinkles on 3D-formed shapes with soft materials. Cleaner surface is more performance.

Mini-Ribs

A clean trailing edge is key for reducing drag, improving performance. One way to do this is to reduce deformations, by adding short ribs for a more stable surface finish.

Razor Edge

A specific way to control the ballooning at the trailing edge. The thinner the trailing edge, the smoother the airflow, the lower the drag. That’s the aim of the razor edge, to channel out the airflow in the most efficient way.

Swivel brake links

In order to reduce the risk of line twists, the brake lines are equipped with precision-machined swivel connectors (not to be mounted together with low-friction rings without specific protection).

Unsheathed Lines

Air-Design is only using the best grades of Edelrid aramid lines. Smooth handling on the ground, strong, highly durable, and dimensionally stable. Linesets are designed and dimensioned to last as long as your glider with proper handling.

Low drag 13mm Aramid Risers

Clean, clear, efficient and light risers are equipping our gliders. With their racy look, they remain easy to handle, and improve aerodynamics.

BS pulley Connector

AirDesign gliders are designed to be reactive to “Brake-Shifting”. Pull the brakes more inward, you’ll turn tighter, pull outward, you’ll turn more flat. The pulley connector is specially dimensioned to allow the best Brake Shifting efficiency.

B/C control

3-liners can also be controlled with rear risers. However, pulling only the Cs will destroy the profile, (make it even more concave), and ultimately could bring the leading edge incidence closer to collapse. By pulling straight down with the green strap forming our B/C systems, you’ll play only on the full glider’s incidence, reduce the drag while maintaining a clean profile.

Did you know...?

The RISE first of its name arrived on the market in 2012, the M size weighed 5.8 kg. Thanks to its design and chosen materials, the Rise 4 weighs 4.5 kg. An even lighter version with an optimized construction is planned for spring 2020.

As already known from our other gliders the Rise 4 has got the WINGLET design and the VORTEX hole technology – for improving further performance. Vortex holes also allow automatic dust clean-up of the glider.

Reviews

"Looking over the wing, build quality seems generally excellent. The semi-light construction (size S 4.25 kg) seems durable enough for standard everyday use. The Rise 4 has many interesting technical design features (winglets, shark-nose type leading edge, stiffer rods, mini-ribs, vortex holes, B/C control system... ) and nice details (high quality Edelrid aramid lines, 13mm Aramid risers, decent-size Ronstan ball-bearing pulleys for the speed system, high quality swivel brake links, maillon clips... ) throughout, giving the impression of an all-round well-considered high-quality design.

For my first flight on the Rise 4 (also my first flight in a few months due to a bad winter followed by COVID-19 lockdown) conditions were towards the top end of what I felt comfortable with (strong and gusty) . After ground handling a little (it was hard to stay on the ground in the given conditions), I launched and was pleasantly surprised to find it was quite easy and well-behaved in active air, especially considering its relatively high aspect ratio (5.92 flat) for a High B (XC class) wing.

I took off straight into a punchy thermal cycle and, since the wing felt well-behaved enough, decided to hook into it as soon as I felt I had enough height and separation from the hill to do so. Not yet knowing the wing's turn radius I left it a little longer! That first climb took me straight to cloudbase, at around 4000ft ASL, where I found it was freezing cold. I was very glad I'd put on some extra layers, and was flying in a pod harness with the optional windscreen fitted!

I found brake pressure on the Rise 4 is moderate to a bit on the heavy side, and brake travel is relatively short for the class (although this actually varies significantly even in higher classes). Responsiveness is very good, and agility fairly high for the class. AirDesign say their gliders are designed to be reactive to "Brake-Shifting"—pull the brakes more inward, you’ll turn tighter; pull more outward, you’ll turn more flat"—and that their pulley connector: "... is specially dimensioned to allow the best Brake-Shifting efficiency." This "Brake-Shifting" is something I do anyway on all wings (some acro pilots take this a stage further, removing the pulley connector completely) and I find that it's more effective on some wings than others. It did seem to be nicely effective on the Rise 4.

Flying in sporty conditions for a few hours I felt the pilot demands of the Rise 4 are right for a High B (XC class) wing, around the middle of the class - or a bit above, mainly due to the relatively short brake travel, high agility and high aspect ratio. Most of my testing was done in combination with the Advance IMPRESS 4 pod harness, which gives a very comfortable feeling, so, from experience of testing many wings with many harnesses, I expect this also contributed to the very comfortable feeling I experienced.

All-round performance—climb, glide, speed—seems excellent for the class. I can see why AirDesign have nicknamed the Rise 4 the "thermal monkey", it does seem to climb especially well! From my testing I'd put it more towards the floaty than speed-racer end of the performance characteristics scale, but it's an excellent all-rounder and certainly not slow.

In summary, the Rise 4 is a well-built semi-light high-B wing with many nice design features and details. It's relatively agile, with short brake travel and moderate brake pressure. It performs very well all-round, with excellent climbing abilities, and has pilot demands around the middle of the high-B class."

— Carlo Borsattino, Flybubble

Other reviews

"They call it the #thermalmonkey for a reason – this glider can climb! But more than that, there’s an attitude to this wing that will speak to any pilot who wants more than just miles out of their everyday flying. The climb on the thing seemed to be very, very good... The glider just loves to climb. As well as the frankly brilliant climbing and coordination in thermals, I was impressed by the comfortable ride too. There is a real 'WOW' feeling you experience after flying this glider.

So I was starting to like this Rise 4, with its groovy handles and its B/C riser-steering system and its dialled-in thermalling, the way it simply seemed to stick to the best air (I am not making this up!). All this time the glider simply behaved itself, telling me what the air was doing and where the lift was.

This is a glider with performance, safety and comfort all built in, but the secret ingredient, the one that makes it stick in my mind and my heart rate speed up when I think about it, is just that: soul."

— Ed Ewing, Cross Country Magazine (full review)

"Conclusion: The difference between the Rise 3 and 4 is that the Rise 4 feels much more comfortable and easier to handle. I could describe the Rise 4 as an agile high B glider, with top-end glide efficiency, and great comfort. If only it could have more pitch into the airmass… but probably other sizes may differ. With an aspect ratio of 6, the comfort level is high on the Rise4. I have to add that the authority on the brakes is very good on that glider delivering a nice pleasurable feel while circling in thermals."

— Ziad Bassil, Dust of the universe (full review)

Nicely done, informative first impressions video review of the AirDesign Rise 4 by Australian paraglider pilot Brad Pat, who's been flying the AirDesign Rise 3 for a while:

Backpack Comfort

The AirDesign Backpack Comfort offers you exactly what the name promises: It is very comfortable to wear. With smart features such as retractable straps (perfect for travel) and its extremely good build quality, it is your perfect companion.

Size / weight:

• 100 L / 1000 g
• 130 L / 1050 g
• 160 L / 1100 g

AirPack 50/50 concertina packing bag

To find the correct size of AirPack 50/50 concertina packing bag for your gear, take the length of the AirPack, double it, and compare with the maximum chord length of your glider, with a tolerance of plus or minus 15cm. Example: The maximum chord of your glider is 2.85m, you need the AirPack M (135 × 2 = 270, with 15cm of tolerance it’s good!)

AirPack 50/50 weight / length:

• XS: 200 g / 105 cm
• S: 225 g / 125 cm
• M: 250 g / 135 cm

Downloads

• Brochure - Certification - Lineplan - Manual - Test report FTR