We were excited to receive the new EN A wing for new pilots by Supair, the EONA, for testing. Although Supair has been manufacturing paragliding equipment since 1984 (!) they are relatively very new to the wing market, launching their first paraglider, the tandem SORA, in early 2014. Carlo was very impressed by the SORA, and it has been a great success with tandem pilots around the world, so we were keen to see what Supair would come up with their first EN A wing.
First we tested forward and reverse launches, with or without holding the risers, and the EONA came up easily every time, with very little tendency to either hang back or overshoot. In a nice steady breeze we could launch and ground handle the wing without using the brakes at all.
Then we tried abusing the controls, as a new or heavy-handed pilot might do, to test the stall point and search for any unfriendly tendencies, and found that the EONA gives plenty of warning before stalling positively, not too aggressively. If we abused the brakes a lot, and managed to stall the wing, then it was easy to get it flying again, by easing up the brakes, without it diving too aggressively. Nice, forgiving stall behaviour!
Although some manufactures like to advertise that "it's impossible to stall" their EN A wing without taking wraps (wrapping the brake lines around your hands to make them shorter), we like the fact that it is possible to stall the EONA without having to take a wrap as this makes it more manageable in stronger winds.
In flight, the EONA's handling is surprisingly pleasant for an EN A wing, with moderate brake pressure and progressive travel. A very enjoyable wing to fly, nimble enough to steer your way around obstacles or through busy skies without being too nervous or active for the level of pilot it's intended for.
Looking at the design touches, we like the nice simple risers with labelling for clarity and luxury padded control handles. We also like the easy to see and grab big-ears kit (red webbing loops on risers) and new wingtip cleaning system.
One thing we aren't so keen on is the double-pulleys for the speed system on the risers as we think that some new pilots might find it tricky to work out which way round to connect the speed system line; but this is a minor issue and of course they can (and should) ask their instructor or an experienced pilot to assist them.
We haven't been able to do conclusive performance testing against other EN A wings - and anyway performance should of course be of secondary importance when it comes to this level of wing - however it's clear that EONA's performance is very good for its class.
Our first impressions of the EONA are that it's an excellent, easy beginner wing with desirable launch and safety characteristics.
So, the EONA gets the thumbs-up from the Flybubble team. Nice job Supair!
See more photos from our EONA test session here.
