AERODYNE PARAGLIDERS
The story of how Jaco Wolmarans became the SA importer for Aerodyne

I went to fly Annecy in France two weeks ago, arriving there with the kind of shock that I'm sure many experience when they leave the Euro winter and arrive in SA high summer - strong thermals, turbulent conditions, valley winds, and the pilot lulled into winter stupor.

From my first flight (at 6 pm) I was wide-eyed: I was rocked around, thrashed and very uncomfortable, even on a DHV1/2 Flair. I could see everyone else getting high, but a 100m or so above launch I would just chicken out, leave the thermal and fly out, find a low save over landing and try all over again. Meanwhile everyone else was sitting at over a grand above launch, while I had to wait until the day cooled off before going for a mellow evening flight. As you might imagine, I don't do waiting for evening very well, and was marching up and down during midday!

It wasn't ever a case of sorting out collapses on my wing, but just that I was not enjoying it. What's the point, you ask yourself, if you're not enjoying it - and the question I have heard so many people ask themselves in the past few months, some of whom confided are considering stopping flying. This made me wonder again about my choice of glider and harness, and the combination of the two.

I've always believed that there is little to choose between the performance of modern-day wings of a similar class. When people ask me advice on which glider to buy, I often tell them that their preferred style of turning will probably determine which wing you buy and fly. After this trip, I suspect that one's tolerance to turbulence discomfort (and the glider's ability to blunt it without losing too much thermalling feedback) is another major decider.

Being in Annecy, with virtually every conceivable wing available for testing at the local schools, I did some experimentation to see whether I could find a DHV1/2 glider and harness combination that really worked and that I could recommend. What I was looking for was a combination that feels right, regardless of what my own style of flying is (I usually prefer higher-banking wings like the Freex and Ozones) - a combination that would leave the pilot with so much confidence that he or she could fly to her best ability, and push the glider to its utmost rather than chicken out when things really got going.

I had to have a good basis for comparison (same harness), so first I sold off Nicky's very unstable harness, and bought a Supair Profeel, one with slightly higher carab hang points for more stability. I have never been a Supair fan, but I have to confess to being very happy with it.

Then the testing began.

Part of the reason for my testing so many gliders was to find a replacement motor wing and also a "play" glider for summer flying, when a performance wing tends to be too much work for my liking. So I limited my choice to DHV1/2 or DHV2.

On most of them, the top speed was above 50km/h, the turning absolutely acceptable and overall, their performance so good that it is very difficult to choose between them. And also, there is very little point in flying anything higher than a DHV1/2 anymore. In fact, of the couple of DHV2's I tested, most scared me a little in our rough conditions and felt like comp wings of yesteryear!

So from the outset, I went looking for a glider that would not necessarily have the highest performance, best speed or best glide. I was looking for a wing that I could CRANK, outclimb everyone and burn height on speedbar with a big smile on my face all the time. I did not want to have to babysit a wing, or nurse it along in case something happens. I needed something that would allow me some all-out flying again, for a change.

The gliders I tested were:

Airwave Sport, Airwave Logic, Ozone Vibe, Astral 3, ProDesign Effect, Freex Moon, Gin Oasis and Aerodyne Jumbe. I won't go into detail on each, and certainly I won't mention what I didn't like about each, out of respect for the various dealers. Instead, I'll briefly name what I did like about each:

Sport - top speed performer
Logic - bomb proof
Vibe - sensitive handling
Astral - great launch
Effect - lovely thermalling
Moon - the most precise handling of all
Oasis - reassuring
Jumbe - my choice overall

But the glider I tested most thoroughly was the Aerodyne Jumbe (formerly Flying Planet, designed in Annecy and built in Vietnam). Nicky first noticed how well the Aerodyne tandem flew in thermals. It turns out Jacques Coetzee has bought one. When I arrived in Annecy, the shop had only a small Jumbe available, so I took it anyway and flew from the lower launch at Plan Fait. Since it it is usually difficult to get up from here, and me being 5kg over the top, I wasn't expecting much so early in the day.

In the light conditions, I was not surprised to find myself low over a hill upwind from the landing with not much height left over, but clinging tenaciously to a thermal. A Sky Bronte flying with me earlier had gone down, and the only other traffic was a super-fast UP Gambit, a guy leading an XC course who saw me circling and who came rushing over. We fought bravely, but, well, he landed before me. He landed and apparently muttered to Nicky, who helped me fold the glider (do this in your best French accent): "Djour friend, he flies well!"

Imagine my surprise when on my next flight, I went on a little XC jaunt, and found myself low again, on the same hill, with the same UP for company! Poor guy must have felt rotten after that because I outclimbed him by 300m!

I was really chuffed with myself, and feeling more confident about my flying than ever before. Sitting down later to analyse this wing compared to the others, I found it felt very much like the Gin Oasis. I had everything I wanted to be a reassuring glider: stability in the turn, the ability to crank it hard over, the glide and speed one would expect from this class of glider, but overall, the feeling that you can really FLY it without holding back.

The next day, I tried the Jumbe M, and for a joke, did an assymetric. It was a joke - a whole riser pulled in would not even make me shift in my seat. Several more assyms confirmed this.

My last flight at Annecy was again from Plan Fait. Faced with a mad student on a madly rocking Advance rocketing through my flight path, I tried getting out of the way, and the only way out was in a rough thermal over the back, which I took. Safely out of the way, I noticed that the wind was quite strong, and that trying to fly back to Plan Fait landing from 500m ATO was not going to be easy, so I decided to keep going downwind to Doussard, at the other end of the lake.

I picked up another thermal and shot up to 960 ATO, sitting in the middle of a heap of acro pilots doing helicopters and SATs. Behind me was Mont Blanc, 4800m of pure white, with the lake stretching in front of me.

At this height, I usually start s**** myself, because at this height you fly into the prevailing NE that comes over the back of the mountain, but I was quite relaxed and cold in my shorts and t-shirt.

For the hell of it, I decided to cross the lake - upwind - and then turn downwind to fly to Doussard, the landing place for Forclaz. It was a breeze. I landed after a 15 km flight from basically 1 thermal, at 7pm, and hiked to my hotel for a cold beer, saying to myself I really like this glider. In fact, I liked it so much, I bought it. Now I have to fight Nicky over who flies it!

(Warning: if you object to a bit of commercialism, stop reading right here.)

I realised that this wing would be very good for punchy SA flying conditions - it moves slowly above you, doesn't pitch back or forward much, easily positions itself into the middle of a thermal easily and stays there, and seems extremely collapse-resistant. I liked it especially for its "rough conditions" ability Still, it doesn't seem to "dull" over the feel of the thermal - I reckon it just allows enough feeling for you to work with, without moving around so much that you suffer from information overload.

Further, I was so impressed by the company, after chatting to them about their range, workmanship and the like, that I offered to represent them in SA. They agreed. Their prices are very competitive.

And if anyone want to try the medium Jumbe, ask me or Laura. Suitable for pilots around 70kg, although I suspect it flies best when loaded well. Just ask the frustrated UP pilot if you don't believe me.

(-:

Jaco Wolmarans
23 June 2003

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