I have enjoyed testing the Gin BONANZA 2, which is a modern reinforced Sports Class wing. For the last couple of years I have been flying my Niviuk Artik 4, which I know very well, so this is mainly a comparison between the two, to give a flavour of these two sports class gliders and an idea of how new wings have progressed in the past few years. Over the few weeks I had the Bonanza 2 I managed 25 flights ranging from 2-90 minutes and a total of 10 hours airtime over three different sites. These were in conditions varying from light to strong and thermic to soaring with a couple of short (17km) XCs.
The Gin BONANZA 2 makes it clear, it’s aiming for Sports Class, and the EN C rating leaves no room for misunderstanding: it’s only suitable for experienced pilots. It looks especially clean, high aspect and racy. Is it too hot? Carlo Borsattino tests the wing in a range of conditions in Tenerife and the UK to analyse the handling and features.
We were lucky enough to join Gin Seok Song and Michael Sigel at the Coupe Icare for a very insightful discussion of the new designs being produced by Gin Gliders. As well as discussing new products for 2017-2018, Gin is celebrating his 40 year anniversary as a free flying pilot since he began hang gliding, so has a very good feel for what the pilot needs. We took the opportunity to ask him some wider questions about the paragliding scene and the development of Gin gliders.
