Hi all,

Is there a new category of wing, THE PARAMANIA ACTION? I think so.

This a long post, so read at your leisure or delete.

As usual, please correct my thinking concerning this post.

Several years ago I posted here concerning 3 wing categories. This
was mostly for students and new pilots - an interesting way to look
at wings for some. The post was to assist in trying to understand
the wings out there and eliminate some of the confusion.

There were 3 categories:

Reflex
Silex
DHV 1/2 Wings

Not that there are not differences in DHV 1/2 wings, but they were
much alike compared to the Reflex and Silex at the time - excluding
the DHV 1/2 wings that were hard to inflate, had heavy brake
pressure, or hung back during launch.

Today there are some nice handling DHV 1/2 wings, but the Silex is
still considered the most fun handling ppg wing.

So is there a new, fourth category of wing for ppg? I think so - The
Action. Why? There is simply no other wing like it to my knowledge.

Is the Action better than the best of the Reflex, Silex and DHV 1/2
wings? No

Will it out stable, safe a Reflex? No

Will it out handle a Silex. No, not for most pilots.

Will it out core a small, weak thermal like a DHV 1/2 wing? No

Does it have the worst of the disadvantages of the Reflex, Silex and
DHV 1/2 wings? NO, NO, and No.

It is a hybrid with very close to the best of the Reflex, Silex and
DHV 1/2 wings with no where near the disadvantages of those wings!

First, a little of what I wrote concerning the Reflex, Silex and DHV
1/2 wings for students, and new pilots about 2 years ago. Please
scroll on down if you know these wing's advantages and disadvantages,
trade-offs.

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Hi Steve,

I'll take a shot at this. To simplify it, I will go with 3
categories, not 13.

1) Reflex

2) Silex

3) A modern DHV 1 or 1/2 wing like the Arcus, Matrix, Electron,
DK, ADG,........ There are several more really good ones. Or for a
4th category if you want to call it that, a modern DHV 2 or 2+ wing
like the ....... lots of them.

Which wing and why? It depends on what you want during the flight.
Sorry, you can't have it all (cake and eat it too) during the same
flight. The 3 categories:

1) REFLEX - Nothing else compares for turbulence and safety! And you
get high speed with the most safety.

The downside compared to the other 2: Ease of launch, less lift, more
brake pressure turning, handling not as fun, cost, and more thrust
required (more noise too).

2) SILEX - Nothing else compares for fun turning, carving around low
in between trees, tall giraffes, water towers ........, and a higher
speed compared to a DHV 1/2 wing at a safe trim speed.

Downside compared to the other 2: Not as safe in turbulence as the
Reflex, and less lift and less lift yet in turns as the DHV 1/2 wings.

It requires more thrust to cruise than the DHV 1/2 wing but less than
the Reflex.

3) Modern DHV 1/2 wing - More lift than the Reflex or Silex with less
power to cruise. Better at coring thermals and scratching around in
lift.

Downside compared to the other 2: Not as safe as the Reflex, Slower
at a safe trim speed or trim out speed than a Silex, much slower in
some turbulence than the Reflex, not as fun turning, handling, as the
Silex.

So if you could have it all, you would own all 3 - the Reflex, Silex,
and a modern DHV 1/2 wing.

Again, please correct my thinking here. Thank you.

Good wing hunting Steve.

Bud


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So back to the ACTION! The Action vs. the Reflex, Silex, latest DHV
1/2 wings.


The Action vs. Reflex:

The Action and Reflex are the only paragliders with the reflex
section built in. Not as much as the Reflex at trim speed, then
more as you accelerate it with the trimmers and speed bar. Not as
stable/safe as the Reflex but with more hands off flying than a DHV
1/2 wing , then more stability/ safety as you accelerate the Action!

Fast like a Reflex. And like the Reflex, the more you accelerate the
wing more stable the wing becomes............

None of the downsides of the Reflex . So the Reflex is now only for
Big, Big Time Turbulence.

The Reflex uses heavier fabric that will have a little longer life
span but is harder to inflate in no/low wind.


The Action vs. Silex:

The Action has a flat turn for coring thermals with very little
brake where the Silex does not. After that it banks up quick like a
Silex - very linear, Silex like handling. Or skip the flat turn and
it is Very Silex Like. According to the manual the Action will roll
45 degrees in 1.2 seconds. Still, most pilots prefer the Silex
handling - it is close though.

With trim out the Action banks up quickly, nicely but with slightly
more brake pressure just like other wings.

It requires less power to cruise, climb than a Silex, but more than a
DHV 1/2 wing. I launched at sunrise, but there is virtually always
lift and sink out there. For now, about 5% more than a DHV 1/2 wing,
but less than a Silex or the power hungry Reflex - 5% more power,
not rpm - or about 2.3% more rpm at a 4300 rpm cruise with a 6200 max
rpm paramotor. This evening at the beach, I would lower that to
about 4% more power. Since my wing has Lots of hours (out of trim
maybe, etc.), maybe compared to a new DHV 1/2 wing only a tiny bit
more power would be required. It is not a deciding factor, or you
are under powered now.

It seems to me that the Action is more efficient than most DHV 1/2
wings. But with the increased speed, it is requires only a little
more power to cruise. When you land in no wind with the Action and
after the round-out, you will notice the increased distance to bleed
off the speed.

This is an interesting subject and is very related to min sink and LD
figures. Paraglider manufactures have the same problem. They can
measure speed. But sink at different speeds (polar curves) is not
easy. They get up very early and launch when there should be the
least sink and lift going on. But there still is. LD is just speed
and sink figures, you need both. They have the most fancy varios/gps
computers and end up averaging the numbers from many flights from
what I understand.


The Action vs. a DHV 1/2 Wing:

The Action has more Stability/Safety at speed, is Faster, and has
Silex Like Handling!

DHV 1/2 wings are better for scratching around in light lift and small
thermals. Some will inflate easier than the Action and some not as
easy, but I can't imagine that this would be a deciding factor, not
at all. You can inflate the Action in no wind without power, no
problem. I'll use some power though for several reasons, another
post.

That ends the comparisons.


If you decide to purchase an Action and like to hot dog low to the
ground, please be careful. It is fast and will go into a nice, High
speed spiral dive Quick! If you like to time your fun just so for
the spectators, you can trust the wing. You won't screw-up any
quicker, but any tiny screw-up will be amplified, Big Time. It will
not be pleasant, and you will be using a four letter word I bet - if
you still can. And it will not be Ouch or Oh Ouch. Oh Ouch just
doesn't sound right anyway.

I don't ride sport bikes anymore, and it is not the other drivers on
the road that concern me so much. I don't trust me on one. I
approached ppg differently, and I plan to behave myself with the
Action.

Adjusting the brake length was the opposite of what I expected,
trimmers in vs. out. With the trimmers out there will be More free
travel, not less - about 2 inches.

My old wing has about 325-350 hours, so I may sell it. So as maybe my
only wing, I decided on the Action - In the best color! Ok, the best
color for me, The Blade. Very minor, but I also like the very high
aspect ratio look of the Action and The Blade.

http://www.flyparamania.com/images/image4.jpg

For me, The Action is versatile and Fun with an enormous speed range.
Oh, and it smelled so new and crisp when I removed it from the
backpack. I plan on using The Action to complete launching, flying
in all 48 contiguous US states. I have launched in almost every
state west of the Mississippi, but only 6 east of the Mississippi.

What's not to like about The Action:
1) I did not receive the really nice MultiBag with my Action.
2) I'm still working on it. Maybe I'll think of something later.


Why the Action? None of the above - rather, I have been paid $10,000
to write this post by Eric Dufour and the Fly By Ranch.

I enjoy those Paramania Boys too - Michael and Pascal along with
Eric, Richard, Elisabeth, John, Helen and Sandy Good!

Now the truth: I would be happy flying a Silex or DHV 1/2 wing. If
I was certain that I would also be pg this summer, it would have been
the sting, winner of the parastar's competitions - big deal. It was
Eric, and he would have won under a pig wing like mine. If I do pg,
I'll fly the Action and/or my pig wing depending on the conditions.
Still, Bill Hocker will be thermalling with his sting this spring
rather than one of his other wings. Per the manual, The Action cores
best with min sink using weight shift and some outside brake too. I
have not had an opportunity to check this out yet, but Bill may have
by now.

For more of details go here:

http://www.flyparamania.com

The Action manual has some additional information too, or ask the
Action Pilots on this forum.

Again, please correct my thinking concerning The Four Categories and
The Action.

Thank you.

Bud