Welcome

We have finally succumbed to the world of blogging.


The purpose - to help keep our customers and interested pilots fully informed about the arrival of the newest equipment and to endorse other items from our product range which we feel warrant further attention. We also aim to provide reviews/feedback direct to you from our customers, as well as broadcasting news of any special promotions which from time to time we may run.This blog will also serve as a simple portal for other interesting 'snippets’ of flying related gossip.


For an enlarged view of any of the posted shots just double click on the photo



Wednesday 18 May 2011

Gradient's new Freestyle2 - No limits!

The successor to the famous Aspen2-Freestyle is now here. After a year of prototyping and development in collaboration with top Austrian acro team(Freestyle) during international competitions and extensive tests, the new FREESTYLE2 is born .

Perfect in form the FREESTYLE2 maintains a very compact shape, it is easy in stall manoeuvres and is said to be much easier to 'backfly' and the entry-point to good smooth 'Heli's' is far easier to find than its predecessor. It is very effective in thermic flight, thus as a mini wing on strong wind days it is both fun and dynamic with its direct handling it will allow pilots to fully express themselves, while they explore the invisible!

The load test at 12G gives the opportunity to participate in the FAI aerobatic competitions. It is produced in sizes 20 and 22, while there is a 24 planned, this will be a more all-round spirit and will arrive soon ...


Monday 9 May 2011

Montana 2011



The Montana for 2011 is now available. It is Gradient's new light-weight allrounder. Ondrej Dupal has designed the wing to be universally suitable for the target group of Walk & Fly mountain pilots. With the XC-qualities of the Montana 2011 large distances are also possible (Martin Mueller, 180km FAI). Its agility shows, in addition, its qualities in the Freestyle range. Flight figures such as SATs, Helicopters and Loops can be conducted without deformation of the profile. The lightweight construction developed by Gradient provides a good balance between weight and stability, as well as aerodynamic behaviour in extreme situations (e.g. tendency to shoot forwards). For travelling, the Montana 2011 easily fits into hand luggage. The new Montana 2011 has a new color Design and is available in sizes 22, 24, 26, 28, 30. The glider has received the certification EN/CLTA 1-2. Series production began in April. Contact us for a test flight and special offers on this model.

Thursday 5 May 2011

Comparitive musing

I have watched the ever growing M4 Thread on PG forum ( like many others probably) with avid interest. And have flown along side the first few M4's in the Uk. My immediate impression was ozone have created a nice wing which is certainly an improvement upon its predecessor (which of course is how it should be).
It is my observation the obvious benefit to the M4 pilot is its into wind performance - As said somewhere amongst the many reams within that thread, it is like climbing stairs- forward and up. However this benefit in my view, is only realised when wing loading is fully optimised. This is certainly becoming more critical across this particular class as designers are developing their designs and apply more refinement to their models so is the need to find that precise sweet-spot in the weight range to fully maximise the benefit, and is now something I am taking a more critical eye, so that I match my weight to my intended flight plan for the day and anticipated conditions.
I have been flying the XC3 since it first came out and I certainly felt I had the edge on the M3 though not always in weak thermic conditions (I don't think size was the advantage as this pilot was on a 28 but he was also very current have just completed a PWC season).

Since then the M4 has been released where I am flying at 115kg on my size 30 ( very lightly weighted) I have lost out a bit on the into wind performance to a mid weight loaded M4, but am still better than a comparatively similarly loaded M4.
The trim speed of the XC3 is slightly faster and it seems to turn tighter but that maybe because the M4 pilot I generally do a lot of my flying with is very proficient at thermaling flat and wide.
Is the M4 a class beater? In my view it is not on the same parallel as the R10 was in the open class. But volume of sales will muddy this picture a bit.

Interestingly in 'lumpy' pre-frontal air where the air can feel a bit like a holey Swiss cheese ( generally solid but with occasional bits missing). I felt at home, reassured by the solidity and feedback, without the need to overly control or contain the wing. This has been the immediate impression I got from the very first flight, where I was keen to see what the wing was like in what others felt were not ideal conditions to fly let alone go xc on. The wing behaved impeccably and I realised after years of flying open and prototype gliders how now unnecessarily busy my flying style had become. Now I could fully enjoy hands free flying (not that I do much with my free hands) but I am able to free up my concentration efforts which were given over to wing control to more strategic decisions of say route choice. I cannot say this is the same for the the M4 as I have not flown one, but I have had other well respected pilots comment to me saying that they seem to be going OK when conditions become more demanding. Back to the lumpy pre-frontal day neither wing collapsed but only one of us decided to stay in the air. This is not to say I am a pilot with more balls or that I was being more reckless (in fact I believe we have a very similarly matched outlook to our flying, albeit he is often more strategic to my intuitive nature ).

So what am I getting at - well there are a number of good wings on the market just be sure you are choosing the right wing for your needs and style of flying - it is all too easy to simply follow the herd, and if there is one piece of ozone advice I would take, it is... sometimes being the Black sheep can reap its rewards. Follow the herd and you will remain just another number.