The Supair DELIGHT 3 is a lightweight pod harness with a fairly upright seating position which makes it easy to transition to for pilots unfamiliar with the reclined style of harness. With the traditional rear position for a reserve parachute and a simple ‘get-up’ leg strap design it is easy to get into and prepare for launching. It has a well-finished look and eye-catching style, but what is it really like in the air?
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The Supair STEP is a 'high B' suitable for pilots with some experience wanting to 'step up' from their first wing or progression wing into the top part of the EN B category focused on XC flying. Carlo and Nancy flew the wing in a range of summertime conditions in the UK, with some good thermals and quite choppy conditions that gave the STEP a good testing.
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The TENOR (EN B) is bigger brother to the SYMPHONIA ('super-high A'), which the Flybubble Crew are extremely impressed with, so we were excited to try out this new Hanesh Papesh design billed as a ‘kick-ass’ wing. Carlo Borsattino tested it in exceptionally summery conditions in the UK.
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The Skywalk TEQUILA 5 (EN B) is intended to be a Progression class wing (‘low B’) which can be accessed by both flying-school graduates and pilots moving up from their First wing (EN A). It replaces the TEQUILA 4 which we reviewed: a fun and sporty wing with outstanding performance but with more turn energy than usually found in the class. What does the Tequila 5 do differently? Let’s find out.
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Phi burst onto the scene last year with experienced designer Hannes Papesh at the helm, supported by testing ace Mike Kung and a highly motivated team with a fresh approach. They surprised pilots by announcing three EN A wings in their range. We recently reviewed the SYMPHONIA, a ‘super-high A’ wing with fantastic handling. The SONATA is their wing for high-flying students and graduates – what we’d call a First wing.
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The Nova ION 5 replaces the very successful ION 4 in a very popular position in the marketplace – a wing that appeals to pilots in the cross-over between school and solo flying. As such it can’t have any ‘hot’ characteristics that would frighten students, but it must offer enough control freedom to satisfy more experienced pilots and have enough performance to begin XC adventures. The ideal compromise is hard to achieve. I tested the wing in sporty spring conditions in the UK, and added Carlo’s experience from XC flying in the mellow thermals in Colombia.
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The Advance Omega XALPS 2 is made for adventure and racing, and builds on the success of the winning XALPS 1 design (1st and 2nd place, Red Bull Xalps 2015). Light, fast, and with balanced handling, the original XALPS was hard to beat. Has it been improved upon?
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The Symphonia is a new ‘super high A’ wing from a new brand called Phi. This suggests it offers EN-A passive safety but also high levels of performance and energy. I’d flown the Phi Symphonia already in winter conditions and was impressed with it. We wanted to know how the Symphonia would behave and perform during long cross country flights in thermic air.
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I was very much in love with the original Advance IOTA. I flew it for a whole season and had some great flights on it. So I was very pleased when I first flew the IOTA 2 that I could feel the similarity with the original, but I could also feel that the glider had progressed.
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The Nova SECTOR is a mid-level EN-C rated wing (Sports Class) that aims to provide easy handling with stability and good performance. It is a step up from Nova’s popular MENTOR range and is intended for pilots with a few years of flying experience. Carlo flew it extensively in Colombia.
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