Ozone Photon

Technical data

SIZES	XS	S	MS	ML	L	XL
Certified Weight Range (kg)	60-75	70-85	80-95	90-105	100-115	110-130
Number of cells	71
Projected area (m2)	16.1	17.4	18.9	20.2	21.5	23.1
Flat area (m2)	19.1	20.7	22.3	23.9	25.5	27.3
Projected Span (m)	8.7	9.0	9.4	9.7	10.1	10.4
Flat span (m)	11.1	11.6	12.0	12.5	12.9	13.3
Projected aspect ratio	4.7
Flat aspect ratio	6.5
Root chord (m)	2.17	2.25	2.34	2.43	2.5	2.59
Glider Weight (kg)*	4.28	4.47	4.75	5.00	5.27	5.55
EN/LTF	C

* Weights may vary up to 50gm per size due to slight variations in the manufacturing of the fabric used.

Colours

Standard colours: RAL/R, OAL/O, ULA/U, PIW/P, AUY/A.

Custom colours: Choose your colours and email us the colour reference with your order. Include a screenshot if you can. Full payment required upfront to confirm your order after which it cannot be cancelled.

Package

• Special Folding Pillow
• Concerto Light Folding Bag
• Key Ring
• Bottle Opener
• Certificate of Authenticity
• Two Sheets of White Sticky Cloth
• Riser Bag

Optional extras

• Glider Backpack
• Easy Bag (quick stuff sack)
• OZONE Clothing and Accessories

Ozone production times

Ozone wings are made to order. Ozone gives their current approximate production time on their website in working days, for example: "The current production time is approximately 173 days from order to shipping". Add 1-3 weeks for shipping, and allow for unexpected delays. Some may claim shorter delivery times however we're unsure how they can supply faster than the manufacturer themselves can produce and ship! ;-)

Ozone Photon: Sport Class 2-Liner

The Design

The Photon was developed from the Zeno 2. The aspect ratio is slightly lower, and the cell count is more moderate. Ozone have also used a more inherently stable profile. By increasing the arc, several comfort and handling factors have been improved, and winglets have been added to compensate the effect of increased arc on roll stability and spiral behavior. The end result is the most accessible 2 liner they have ever developed.

Character in Flight

The Photon feels compact and solid throughout the speed range thanks to the stable profile, and the span & chordwise sail cohesion. It is trimmed for safety & ease of use, with great handling. The performance of the wing is immediately apparent - Ozone team have never flown an EN C wing with so much glide. It is a true 2-Liner wing, allowing the pilot direct angle of attack control throughout the speed range, which has safety benefits for experienced pilots and allows for higher average speeds whilst gliding in turbulent air. The rear riser control is intuitive and confidence inspiring. This wing is an ideal stepping stone for those new to this type of flying.

Performance

The glide performance is close to that of the Zeno 2 but the improved sail cohesion and lower aspect ratio makes it less demanding and more comfortable to fly. In terms of speed, it is the fastest EN C wing Ozone have ever built, faster than the D4, M7 and Zeolite and the top speed is only slightly less than the Zeno2. Importantly it is solid and comfortable at these speeds and the winglets improve the roll stability for higher levels of efficiency in accelerated flight.

Passive Safety

Extensive in-house collapse testing by the Ozone R&D team has proven that the wing easily meets the safety requirements of the class, with side and frontal collapse behaviour very similar to the Delta 4. Ozone don't only test their wings in calm air, and the Photon is no exception. They have spent hundreds of hours pushing this wing hard, in real conditions, to confirm real life solidity and its true recovery from collapses, to ensure the wing is suitable for sport class pilots.

The Pilot

Certified EN C and available in six sizes, it is suitable for experienced pilots who have prior time flying EN C category wings and possess a high level of glider control skills with recent SIV experience.

Designer insight

For XC Magazine designer Luc Armant explains what pilots need to know, including why this glider has winglets and what they do, how it behaves in stall, what the performance is like, what sort of pilot it is designed for, and what you should do when you go SIV. Filmed at the Stubai Cup, Austria, March 2023. More in the video below.

Features

• Based on the Zeno 2
• Incredibly stable throughout the speed range in real XC conditions
• True 2-line design with intuitive rear riser control
• Near comp wing glide and speed performance
• For experienced Sport Class pilot

Materials

• Top Surface Cloth: Dominico N20D
• Bottom Surface Cloth: Porcher 7000E71
• Rib cloth: Porcher 9017E29 (hard) / Porcher 7000E91 (hard)
• Upper lines: Edelrid 8001 & Edelrid 9200
• Mid lines: Edelrid 8001
• Lower Lines: Edelrid 8001

Flybubble review

“So, first impressions of the Ozone Photon, a few hours including the ground handling, playing around. First of all on the ground. I found that the glider just takes a little bit more to get inflated. The Photon was just required more finesse and was less forgiving. Totally fine for the class. But once you got the air and inflate it, then the glider came up really nicely. I was pleased to see that actually it wants to come up even from near the ground, so it's not like some other two-liners and some other Ozone gliders that I've flown. So, that was just something I found is that you tended to need to hold the glider down a bit. Actually, once it taken its shape in the breeze. I found to step towards the wing quite important, otherwise, the glider can build up a lot of speed and want to come up fast and need quite heavy breaks to stop it and could pluck you, again, obviously, for the level of pilot that's flying that glider. They should be totally fine with that. I'd say there, comparing it to the Delta 4, the Photon, these, yeah, I found it reasonably more demanding on the ground in that way and just, well, in fact, just managing it on the ground and the launch, it requires a bit more precision and a bit more finesse and is a bit less forgiving than the Alpina 4 or the Delta 4. Testing the stall on the ground.I think it's very good. The stall point, I found more obvious, easier to feel and to control than, say, the AirDesign Volt 4, and possibly, this needs to be checked but possibly a little easier than the Niviuk Artik R, but probably quite similar. I think on the ground the Artik R and the Photon seem quite similar. I could feel quite clearly before the glider stalled. Also of note, once I stalled the glider, and let it drop back a bit into a stall, and I put my hands up, the glider had a tendency to come back up and fly, and I could catch it again.

In the air, a bit of a different story. So compared to the other EN C two-liners I've flown, the Volt 4, the Artik R, and the Bonanza 3. I'd say that, in the air, that the Photon moves around more. It moves more as two wings. That's what I was finding. I was flying with my Advance Lightness 3, which I have flown some of the other gliders with as well. It was a bit more of a higher-performance glider. It had more of a sort of slightly a D-class kind of feeling to me. That's how it felt in its movements and how it sort of talked and moved around.

In terms of handling, I found the brake pressure is moderate to slightly on the the firmer side. In terms of agility, it's moderate to slightly on the steady side. Another thing that surprised me with the Photon is the brakes are really quite long. So when you're just holding the brake toggles, they're quite low like down here, so you definitely take a wrap with them obviously, which you do with all of these wings. Today in smallish thermals, I was having to really pull the brakes down quite a bit and use quite a bit of weight shift to get the glider to come round. So, yeah, so good agility and good handling but felt more tuned to the kind of efficient flat turning and, you know, stable and efficient rather than agile and dynamic. I could quickly build up energy with the glider. It really keeps its energy nicely, so I could very quickly build up. I didn't do particularly big wing-overs today. I didn't have a lot of height and didn't do any particularly big wing-overs, so I just played around a bit and you could quickly build up energy, and 'cause the glider feels really solid and very efficient, it can really carve round and do some very nice wing-overs, so it was great for that. But in terms of, like, thermaling and working little bitty corse and stuff like that, it's a little bit more on the steady side.

In terms of performance, well, what I saw today, the Photon goes very, very well, yeah. It's definitely gonna be at least one of the top of the EN C two-liners, and it's certainly right up at the top. It's got a very good glide, very efficient, really punches up wind nicely. On the speed bar, it really picks up good speed. This is a glider that's made for performance and speed. As an example, sticking within the Ozone range, I'd say that at trim, the performance has gotta be at least as good as the Mantra M7, which is a low D. And so that's an idea, and I think the performance is good as that, and then accelerated, my feeling is that the Photon is noticeably goes faster and is more efficient as you'd expect from a two-liner.

In terms of the climb rate, I think it's really good. It's got a very good climb rate. My feeling so far of the EN C two-liners is that the two best ones, so far, this is my feeling.

So overall, on my first impressions of the Ozone Photon. I am really, really impressed with it. I think it's a really great glider, very, very impressive, as I think all of these new EN C liners that have come out are and, but they've got a very different And really, it's gonna be down to personal preference, which is the right glider for you, which is what's most important for you. Whether it's the out and out performance or it's the pilot demands or the climb rate, the sink rate, the handling, or just the pleasure of the glider feedback.”

- Carlo Borsattino, Flybubble

Other reviews

“In the air the overall movements under the Photon MS are surely more pronounced than its bigger sister, but not that big difference. It is just the dynamics of smaller gliders versus the bigger ones which is logical. In 2 hours in some moderate turbulent air, the overall movements are quite acceptable for the C category. For sure it moves but the overall movements in some daily average turbulence, don’t go too far, even if lightly braked. I could feel that sometimes it moves but also it stabilizes by itself…Felt like I’m on an auto-pilot sometimes… That’s why when I flew the bigger ML-size glider the movements were slower and I really felt on auto-pilot, just because I had more time to react on the brakes.

The Photon brake connection was enhanced by 30 % and the control is really nicer! At trim, the roll is slightly more present, but really guys, this is definitely a smooth glider. Once you push the speed bar, the roll calms down even in turbulence! I always use a wrap on all gliders in order to keep my hands high, as the wrist muscles are less powerful than the forearm or the shoulders muscles but much more accurate in thermals! The Photon had a longer travel, now it seems slightly shorter but with a slightly more wrist feel! I wish that they could also improve it even more! turbulence, the tips are still very well pressurized. The top speed is 18 km/h over trim with a solid leading edge. Nothing changed! but the little more brake connectivity and turning ability"

— Ziad Bassil, Dust of the Universe (full review)

Ozone product registration

Register your Ozone product here.

Downloads

• Manual: EN
• Manual: DE
• Manual: FR
• Rigging Diagram

Certification Documents

• Size S
• Size MS
• Size ML
• Size L