Gear Guides Archives - Flybubble Blog

Safety Notice: Woody Valley X-Rated7 reserve elastics (2) 30.03.2020

Further to the safety notice Woody Valley issued back in August 2018, they issued another similar safety notice about the reserve elastics on the X-Rated7 harness on 30.03.2020. The elastic loops securing the reserve pins on the XR7 gradually tend to overextend, eventually compromising the reserve deployment. There's a risk of one elastic loop looping over the other. All X-Rated7 owners must read and act on this safety notice before flying. The check and fix are simple and easy. Download the full safety notice (pdf).

The best colour for your wing?

The colour of your wing can make a difference in terms of visibility. Brighter coloured wings are generally more visible than darker ones. In the case of an accident in a remote place, a brighter-coloured wing could increase the chances of being spotted by the emergency services.

BGD CURE 2 sports paraglider review

The CURE 2 from BGD (Bruce Goldsmith Designs) is a Sports Class wing (rated EN-C) that promises high performance with low stress. “It’s fast on glide with excellent stability in wind and turbulence,” says BGD. Flybubble tested it in the British winter and the South African summer to get a true picture of its character.

Woody Valley Wani Light 2 harness review

The WANI LIGHT 2 is a reversible airbag harness with integrated back protection and reserve, similar to the Supair Altirando Lite and Gin Verso 3, intended to help you get your kit really compact and still have some back protection. Although the Skywalk Breeze and Advance Easiness 3 are similar, they are split-leg designs with no seatboard. The WANI LIGHT 2 has a broad lightweight seatplate that helps to improve the minimalistic (but certified) crash protection and provides maximum weightshift control and feedback.

Safety Notice: Kortel T-Bone link

In randomized tests on the strength of T-Bones links, Kortel found a break at between 16 and 18KN. There is no immediate safety risk for solo use of T-Bone link harnesses/risers or even rescue/rescue risers. However, due to their non-compliance with the 24KN announced, Kortel are recalling and exchanging all T-Bone links delivered as a stand-alone product or with the Kruyer III since October 2019.

Naviter Oudie 5 review

The Oudie 5 offers everything you need to fly at any level, including XC and competitions. It has a very bright screen with 100% touch screen interface. The Oudie 5 Pro is a big update on its predecessor. It has Electronic Conspicuity (FANET+) for the first time, a higher capacity battery, and a more advanced main processor board. In this review we provide an overview of the functions, a guide to setting it up and a report of our experiences with the Oudie 5 in flight.

Ozone Mantra M7 Review

The Mantra M7 fits well in Ozone's paraglider range midway between the Delta 3 (EN C) and the Zeno (two-liner EN D). What's it like to fly, and who should buy one?

Safety Notice: Gin Gingo Airlite 4 + Verso 3

Early production models of the Gin Gingo Airlite 4 and Gin Verso 3 harnesses have been noted to have issues with the rescue handle being too short. This may cause the handle to work loose after prolonged agitation of the harness due to transportation or ground handling. To determine if your model is affected, please refer to the PDF which gives details of the recommended action.

Safety Notice: Supair ACRO 4

Supair have identified an ACRO 4 harness with missing safety stitching. One of the shoulder webbings was not correctly sewn with the ventral cross strap, but only pre-glued before the automatic manufacturing phase. Although Supair perform two inspections of their harnesses, the procedures for the ACRO 4 were less rigorous before September 2019, so all ACRO 4 harnesses produced before September 2019 should be inspected!

Safety Notice: Supair SORA 2 42

In two seperate incidents, A lines have separated in flight on the Supair SORA 42 tandem glider. While investigations are underway, Supair advises all pilots to stop flying this wing.