If Sir David Attenborough narrated the tale, he might presume the following: at the end of the summer, paragliders and hang gliders flock to the Alpine hamlet of St Hilaire du Touvet, to breed. There always seems to be more of them, and every year, without fail, they all return to the same spot, to show off new manners of plumage, perform rituals, watch displays of prowess and try to find something to take home that will impress their mates.
Ozone placed their bold concept-in-dyneema harness at the front of their stand. At 100g, it’s a showstopper. Formed by individual threads stitched on a fabric substrate, it apparently withstands a 15G test load of 100kg. The contrast to their new aerodynamic battle-cruiser Exoceat (9.5kg) couldn’t be greater. Wings wise, their Swift 4 is due for release (it’s a Rush 4 light), and the Enzo2 has attained CCC certification in all sizes. Looking ahead, the Mojo 5 (an EN A with a shark nose) and a cost-effective school wing are in development.
.jpg)
Lightweight specialists Neo were dangling in their new String Pack, a minimalistic and effective reversible harness design that uses the same shoulder straps for both harness and backpack, making a package of 1kg including a folding/concertina bag.
Kortel offered a photographer’s cockpit for those who fly with bulky SLR cameras, demonstrating their dedication to developing highly specialised gear for niches overlooked by mainstream manufacturers. They also revealed a tandem module for the superlight Karver II harness that includes a 10cm removable foam protector and reserve pocket. The complete system weighs just 2.2kg (most tandem pilot harnesses are around 3.5kg). The stand proudly displayed the X-Rockies team achievements, along with the original Kolibri harness Nelson de Freyman used for the monumental 2500km vol-biv with Thomas Punty. Kortel revealed they are working on a light backpack to complement it, with a strapping system that pulls the compressed wing tight against the back to add some structure to the bag for carrying comfort. Also in prototype stage was a new harness Kool for schooling that has a removable tough base fabric and an airbag/foam combination protector.
Swing released the Sensis, a mid EN B wing, offering a more dampened and accessible ride than their high end EN B wing of last year, the Mistral 7. Their new Sting 2 updates their popular beginner wing in their paramotor range, certified for both freeflying and paramotoring. It has an extendable speed system that changes the wing from EN A to EN B (with more speed) when the pilot is ready for the upgrade. The Orange Cross is a light square reserve with four air vents that reduce the gliding tendency. The Connect Reverse Evo is a refinement of their popular hike-and-fly reversible harness, built for carrying and flying comfort. Looking ahead they’ll be testing prototypes of a new Core 4, but will only produce it if delivers the best performance in the CCC class.
Niviuk showed off their new Artik 4 (EN C) wing and the paramotor wings Kougar 2 (all-rounder) and Doberman (freestyle/slalom), and promised an October release of the Icepeak 8 for the CCC racers.
Advance pulled the crowds with their long-awaited Lightness 2 harness, a blend of Lightness 1 and Impress 3 that takes the best from both and results in a 2,8kg pod harness with underseat reserve, certified foam protector and the clean lines we’ve come to expect from the Swiss innovators. Complete with the redesigned Lightpack 2, it reduces the total pack weight by over 2kg. Having just released the Sigma 9 (EN C), their development focus is now split between a new three line compact Omega 9, and a ‘modernised’ Alpha 6, both of which we can expect to see next year.
The Skywalk Range Air harness was impressive up close. It passed the certification tests at 20G due to the large segmented airbag which fills very fast. It blows up like a puffer-fish, but no doubt their extensive wind-tunnel tests have informed their design to minimise drag: it packs down ridiculously small and weighs just over 2kg! Skywalk’s Cayenne 5 is under development, a shift to the very top of the class for a high-performance EN C, with higher aspect ratio than the 4 and sporty, direct handling. Test pilot Paul Guschlbauer is hoping it will be everything he needs for the next edition of the Red Bull Xalps.
With the Delight 2, Supair have updated their bestselling lightweight harness by adding a little weight to gain comfort and useability. Refinements like a removable pod make it a truly all-purpose harness. The Delight 2 has clean contours, certified foam protection, a large storage area and zipped reserve channel that keeps it neat. After a successful season with the tandem SORA, Supair will release their first EN A and EN B wings next year. Also Clement Latour has begun his training for the next Xalps, so expect their lightweight developments to continue.
Woody Valley have a new way of ensuring their airbag on their new Wani reversible harness is effective even before launching: there’s a 30cm spring inside the airbag! It compresses easily during packing. The Wani has a nice cut, achieved by designing the reversible backpack to be somewhat separated from the airbag to minimise the compromise, so you get a well-padded bag that looks tidy.
Gin Gliders offered the first glimpse of the production Genie X-Alps harness (as flown by Aaron Duragati in the X-Pyr), which uses a new dyneema fabric that is superlight and seems very strong. This means that they can boast of the lightest (1.7kg) adventure racing pod, complete with a large underseat foam protector (certified), a neat little cockpit and a small rear storage area. Beside it, the ‘work of art’ competition racing harness, the Genie Race III, seems really plush. It is full of features, like an integrated hook knife, two reserve compartments, and aerodynamic fairing, despite being 2kg lighter than the previous edition. Next up from Gin will be the GTO 2, a ‘classic’ 3-line EN D.
Nova surprised us with the release of the Mentor 4! We’d seen a new model every three years, but only 1.5 years since the Mentor 3 (high EN B). Designer Phillip Medicus explained that they aim for a 2 year cycle with this class, but had been delayed on prior models. The new Mentor offers more roll stability, 0.5 more glide and slightly more top speed. The Triton2 is their new EN C wing, aimed at the same target group as the Triton 1 (which was EN D) – it’s an advanced glider with the same aspect ratio and reduced line consumption. There are no plans to go beyond this point in the Nova range.
Icaro presented a new superlight helmet, the 330g Transalp, a one-size fits all shell with changeable inserts and ratchet strap to secure. The heavier Nerv at 530g offers more comprehensive protection. And hang-glider pilots were happy to see the new MR (named after Manfred Ruhmer) with soft earpads and classic teardrop styling.
Flymaster showed off their new SD range of instruments, two of which offer live tracking - the GPS SD+ and LIVE SD. For competition pilots, there are impressive task sharing and coordination features on the Live SDÂ which allow pilots to report safety levels from the instruments or receive task cancellation notifications whilst flying. Live tracking scoring capabilities will make check-in queues and data cables thing of the past.
.jpg)
Syride showed off their new Sys’Nav, an incredibly light instrument that is capable of task routing, airspace warning, and mapping of significant terrain. They have responded to feature requests by updating the firmware of all their units, and are planning to include SIM-less live tracking next year.
Naviter were enthusiastic about their new Android app which extends the capabilities of the Oudie 3, making live tracking with minimal battery drain on the phone due to the Bluetooth pairing. Hang-gliders could ogle the new Oudie 3 droplet, contained in a sleek housing and basebar mount.
After a long delay from the leading instrument manufacturer, new head of Flytec Jorg Ewald revealed a 6015 replacement called the Track, with a similar design but for new colours and some protrusions on the buttons for easier use with gloves. Significant new features of this entry level GPS-enabled unit include simplified operation, simple airspace warnings, optimised route guidance for competition tasks, USB plug and play connection, flight data as IGC or Google Earth files and GPS altitude above ground. The ‘big release’ of Flytec’s mysterious flight computer remains in prototype stage as they research and improve the software. The base unit has a crisp glass-covered greyscale touch screen, with large buttons below. Due to the limitations of the screen it will not offer topographic mapping but will display a graphic representation of airspace. Joerg hopes to have the first instrument in this range available in time to place beneath the Christmas tree. The key feature is connectivity: it will have Wifi, allowing for automatic updating of firmware, airspace, and uploading of tracklogs after flying. As the range evolves to higher-spec units, features like live tracking and live updates (weather, airspace, etc) will be offered.
By Sunday, the tents were becoming smelly and the exhibitors had glazed expressions, but I was delighted to stumble across the Razeebuss stand, presenting a sleek, well-finished electric paramotor that boasts 4000 recharge cycles on the battery. It’s beautifully installed in a Supair Skypper harness, and the propeller is now situated at the end of a propeller arm, reducing the need for a cage and increasing the thrust by 25% by escaping the pilot’s wake. At a total €13,000 it’s still twice the price of its noisier motor-brothers, but when you consider the cost of fuel, and the limited maintenance an electric system requires, it’s a serious contender for those who want to extend their freeflight options.
FILMS
There were entrants from all disciplines: a vibrant and healthy mix of ballooning, skydiving, acro, animation and paramotor antics, ranging in level from helmet-cam compilations to Red-camera visual wonders (500 Miles to Nowhere) and punchy edits from Youtube superstar directors like Devin Graham (Parabatix).
Touch by Jean-Baptiste Chandelier scooped the Best Images and Public Choice awards. Judge for yourself: http://youtu.be/L62faWn-sa8
2014 is the year of bivi adventures: Robert Heim’s film about Stefan Bocks’ epic solo crossing of the Pamir mountains, François and Auréliane Le Hen filmed their tandem monster bivi from Nice to Slovenia (yes, Dave Turner wasn’t the only one doing the route this year), Jordi Valldaura shared a film about the first X-Pyr (2012) hike and fly race and in ‘les matinales du off’ there was Himalayan Oddysey and Parashyut Man (bivi flying in Tajikistan).
With over 7 hours of viewing in the official selection shows alone, it was impossible to watch them all, but with some intrepid searching you can find some of the programme online for home viewing.
http://paragliding.rocktheoutdoor.com/videos/palmares-icares-du-cinema/
Here’s an appetite whetter:
Aerobatics from Shams http://youtu.be/ao0UQNQ4HWA
The spectacular 500 Miles to Nowhere Michael Paul JONES https://vimeo.com/92836853
Cade Palmer’s Mystic Mountain (hike and fly) http://vimeo.com/104658931
Or, if you dare, you can enter the mind of Steve hams’ in The Collector https://vimeo.com/93072251
AU REVOIR
The 41st Coupe Icare was an overwhelming array of freeflight activities. Somewhere beyond the tented world, paramotors did slalom races, children made paper planes, acro pilots delighted the crowd, test pilots showed off the new wings, and scores of fancy dress flyers made the public ooh and aah as they staggered off the green carpet towards the cliffs. No doubt those are the images that will reach the mainstream media, but I’m glad I got to interview the manufacturers that are at the heart of this thriving sport. There’s no doubt that the equipment keeps progressing, and there’s no doubt that next year, the freeflyers will return from their migrations to share their tales, knowledge and innovation in the great gathering that is the Coupe Icare.
Coupe Icare 2014 video interviews by Flybubble
We made 15 video interviews with the top manufacturers. See them all in our youtube video playlist below...