I’ve recently been lucky enough to do some extended test flights both with and without a paramotor on the Sprint Evo from Gin. The Sprint Evo is Gin’s high-end EN-B/LTF 1-2 glider. The glider was released in the spring of 2011 as a higher performance (and lighter weight) alternative to the original Sprint.

I first noticed this glider in June of 2011, after the results of the Rat Race in Woodrat had come out. I heard second hand that Jeffrey Farrell had come 75 points shy of first place on it in the sport class primarily dominated by high end EN-C gliders. A quick look at the results of that race http://flyxc.org/files/sprint_final_sport.html, with some knowledge of the competing pilots’ equipment would lead one to believe this is one highly advanced “intermediate” wing.

So when I finally got my hands on one of them, I decided to test it out to see if the “fun factor” was there; as gliders with that high of performance are usually “all business”. In paramotoring, a high glide ratio can be nice but in my opinion comes secondary to things like safety, handling, ease of launch etc.

For my flights, I got the pleasure of testing out three different sizes, both in free-flight and paramotoring in all sorts of conditions. Here’s the technical data on me and what I flew:

All up weight paramotoring: 130kg

Sizes tested XXS, S, and M (21.87m2, 25.0m2, 27.0m2)

Unpacking and inspection reveals the detail, design and “finish” that goes into these gliders. The quality of materials used is top-notch for certain. The glider comes with thin kevlar paragliding style risers as standard, but is available with motor risers (with trim tabs) for no additional charge. The paragliding risers are equipped with split A’s and magnetic keepers on the brake toggles. It is a true 4-riser setup with unsheathed cascade lines, which Gin claims gives better stability in wild conditions than a hybrid 3-liner system that is becoming popular in the EN-B category.

The canopy itself has a lot of new technology invested in it, and seems to pay off in many ways. The leading edge is shaped by Gin’s new “rigifoil-T” construction, which is a form of flexible plastic reinforcements that shape the front of the wing. Construction of this type cuts down on the amount of mylar used to shape the cells, which provides a more sturdy architecture and lighter weight. Gin additionally added partial reinforcements to the trailing edge in between cell dividers, which gives the wing a cleaner, more efficient profile. The result is a glider that inflates incredibly easily in little to no wind, and retains it’s shape when unloaded (kiting, collapsing, etc.) One other thing that is noteworthy, is that the Sprint Evo uses the same Brake Gathering System found on many XC gliders. However, it uses this along the entire trailing edge vs. just using the outer two or three lines.

For my first paramotor flight, I flew the XXS at the Great Salt Lake (5000′) in nearly no wind. It was a confined area taking off from a gravel parking lot, and I was relying on the estimated 9-9.3 glide ratio to get me off the ground in a hurry. The glider came up with very little effort, and a short takeoff was no problem at all. Corrections on the ground were easy, and the glider started building lift at a pretty low speed.

I spent about 30 minutes flying this tiny little wing (way overloaded) and had one of the best paramotor flights I’ve ever had! The handling is direct and quick, brake pressure is progressive and makes perfect sense. It turns on a dime thanks to the brake gathering system and modest aspect ratio (5.3), but glides like something approaching a 6.0! This makes for a really fun experience for a pilot who likes to carve low. One of the most unique things about the glider that I found was discovered while doing ground spirals. I would dive into a spiral at about 60′ and build energy up with throttle, then round out around 10′ off the ground all the way until bleeding off the energy then climbing out. With your typical paramotor wing with an 8:1 glide, this means you end up doing a 360 and then running out of juice so you climb out on heading. With the Evo, I was holding the glider in the spiral full throttle for 2-3 rotations without losing that energy or altitude. I flew through my motor wake numerous times, and though the wing is dynamic it is incredibly solid!

Wingovers and asymmetric spirals really are fun, and forgiving. Usually with a glider that performs as well as this you have to be perfect on timing, but the Evo just does not care. It goes where you point it, builds energy if you want it to, bleeds it when you want.

I pulled a few asymmetric collapses, and it recovered as advertised. With the high wing loading the recoveries were extremely quick. The glider appears very pitch stable, I worked in some pretty gnarly brake/throttle induced pitch oscillations as well. With the glider way out front, it stayed solid throughout.

After fooling around I brought it in for a few touch and go’s. I basically had to set up my final as though I were flying an EN-C type glider. Meaning, you’re probably going to underestimate the glide and overshoot a couple times. When it came to the flare, the glider carries energy really well so it was a matter of applying an inch of brake to arrest the descent at zero altitude, then just waiting for it to stop. The flare is long, glide is long; and that’s a good thing because this glider is fast!

One more thing I wanted to comment on is the profile of the glider. It is the cleanest that I’ve ever seen, which I’m sure contributes to the overall efficiency of the wing. When the glider is inflated, it looks like it’s sealed and pressurized.

To summarize, it seems like the Sprint Evo is an excellent combination between performance and handling or “fun factor”. With a higher glide comes shorter takeoffs, greater fuel efficiency, less noise, longer distance, and easier landings. Yet when it’s time to throw down this wing is totally up for the task.

For some more info as well as in flight footage, check out the following video by Gin:

Here’s a link to the Gin website, which has tons of info including test reports on all sizes:

http://www.gingliders.com/paragliders/sprint-evo/

Check out this awesome vid from Shams Prod! The new base system from Sup Air looks like a bad ass system. Thanks Raul for putting it through its paces and putting on a sweet acro show too!

Jessica and I had one of the best powered paragliding flights ever and got to experience the beauty of the outer banks. Stunning footage provided by GoPro and the Xshot camera boom. Hope you guys enjoy the footage. It’s always nice to take people flying that enjoy the air as much as we do. Seeing her smile so much was priceless. We had a blast.

Every once in awhile there is a video that comes close to  capturing what flying is all about.   It’s not always about fast paced acro or intense low level carving.  Sometimes it’s just all about the beautiful scenery below and above.  This video by Rob Whittall and a New Zealand production team is truly enjoyable to watch and comes so very close to giving me the same feeling of flying that is so addicting.  Makes me want to go explore a new place by paramotor!

My Paramania GTR 20 arrived last friday morning on what happened to be the first flyable day of the week.  I am sitting here writing this review and noting that I will probably be stuck on the ground again for the next few days.   Crappy east coast weather!

Quick facts – All up weight – 108kg, 20m flat glider size, vittorazi moster engine, low fixed hang point paramotor.

The GTR arrived very quickly from the factory, it only took a week to get here from time of order to delivery.    When I opened up the box the first thing I pulled out was the pylon.  I didn’t realize it was going to be such a well made product, more or less thought of it as a kind of gimmick.   It looks like something that would sell on its own for hundreds of dollars easily.    Underneath the pylon was the Paramania backpack, sweet design.    Inside the backpack was the little black beauty – the GTR 20 ‘stealth.’     I didn’t weigh the glider but it’s definitely pretty light weight.    Inside the box Paramania also includes there stuff bag that looks like it came off the space shuttle.   They really give you a lot of accessories for a great price.     Other items are included – speedbar, stickers, repair kit, glider bag, pylon bag.

So after getting some work done it was time to head out to the field.    Upon arrival, winds were blowing light and variable-10 with gusts up to 15, not the best day for enjoyable flying but definitely doable.    I kited the wing for a bit to get a feel for it, make sure the brakes were in the right position for my low hang points and check out the handling.   It kites nice and easy, even with the gusty winds.    Being that this is a small 20m glider, it will overshoot you if you don’t check it when pulling it up.    I was messing with it to try and get it to overfly me and it definitely will coming up in gusty winds.    Totally fine though, it should be expected.    The Paramania GTR kites and launches like a 1-2 glider, it’s easy as long as you don’t mind a faster take off run.

After hooking up my motor I made an easy reverse launch and was in the air within a few steps thanks to a gust hitting my fayce.   The second I was in the air with the GTR I could already tell it was very stable.   The glider locks in nicely overhead and gives you a comfortable level of security.   This is my first uncertified glider and felt even more stable than my ENC rated Ozone Speedster.   I took off with trims about an inch out but brought them in to see how it handled in slow trim.    Trims pulled in, this glider still handles fantastic and its still fast.    Doesn’t take much brake pull to get a good bank, pull what your used to on your 1-2 glider and you may find yourself in a very uncomfortable attitude…. not me though, I couldnt get enough of it!

I performed a few touch and goes and instantly fell in love with the gliders long flare, you can skim the ground for a long while bleeding off energy, even on slow trim.     Once back in the air one of the things I need to mention is that the brakes are quite heavy on this glider.  It is definitely not a bad thing but your arms will get a work out.    Like I said earlier, it only takes a few inches of brake pull to gain a nice bank angle so heavy brakes are a good thing.

Gusting to 15 on the ground usually makes it pretty rough flying around my field.   I was active flying the glider the whole time as I always do but never once had to catch the surge… this glider never overshot me in the air.  My buddy keith landed early because of the uncomfortable air but I really didn’t feel it like I usually would on my old regular paragliders or even the speedster reflex glider (on slow trim).    It just cut right through everything and was begging me to throw it sideways.     So much fun!

As far as speeds go- I will update this section when I get some numbers recorded.  I’m sure its pretty fast being a 20m glider but the handling is just so much fun that i’m going to have a hard time flying straight and level to get some numbers.

Summary – This is an uncertified glider designed for pylon racing and low level manuevering.    It’s not a glider to take out thermalling but when it comes to low level precision paramotor flying, moderate acro with reflex technology, it is awesome.   It is the most fun glider I have ever flown.  Very efficient for a 20m glider too!   I’ll be flying with the pylon in the coming months, can’t wait to try that out.

Quick video of my first flights -

Now this looks like an awesome paramotor trip!! Just don’t have an engine out next to a lion. Wow, what an amazing experience that must have been for them.

Having lived just 3 miles north of Imperial Beach earlier on in my life, I can’t begin to tell you all how much this upsets me. Dell Schanze has gotten paragliding and paramotoring banned in Imperial Beach, California.  Imperial Beach is located just north of Mexico in San Diego County and is surrounded by Military bases.  This is really bad for our sport, we do not need bad press like this from individuals like Dell  because they want to show off.

Dell Schanze, also  known as superdell is the owner of the world powered paragliding association (wppga.org).  This group is responsible for getting lots of places shut down, as well as many stunts that lack ethics.  It’s an organization set up to boost his ego and to sell his products. Dell has had had numerous run ins with the law due to his reckless behavior.   We need to keep this sport alive but with behaviour like this and what happened in Oregon, we are going to lose it all soon.

Video and more @ 10 news – http://www.10news.com/news/30917325/detail.html

We have such an amazing sport, it really hurts when the public see stupid behavior like this and then associates it with all of us.