Richard Westgate

It is with great sadness that I write this post about the passing of a friend a team mate and a true xc legend. Richard Westgate lost his battle to regain his health on the 12-12-12. Richard was an exceptional pilot and an inspiration to many. He was also an influential part of the UK Gradient Team, Multi UK XC Champion and former World record holder. He was passionate about the sport and very encouraging to others entering the sport. He will be sorely missed by many but will live on in our memories as a generous and genuine man and a true cross country legend. R.I.P. my friend.

Aspen 4 - A short flight test

Finally got the opportunity to have a go on one of our own demos - Ok it wasn't the correct size but I just had to have a go.
So off to my local site for an afternoon boat about. My first impressions was it wasn't unpredictable or maybe as nimble on the launch as I'm use to but there was certainly no tendency to want to overshoot making it a very simple wing to get up and go.

In the air it was certainly nimble and after effortlessly gaining height on the dynamic ridge lift it was time to see what it was like in the air. Spin point is easy enough to find but you had to go deep to get to it . This gave me the confidence that my customers are unlikely to encounter it by accident. The leading edge feels very solid but I did let it front tuck once to see how it reacted and recovered. It was reassuringly predictable giving plenty of warning and was fast to recovery though being over the weight here may have changed the feel so won't say any more. In wingovers it was easy to get smooth high amplitude wingovers without feeling you were on the edge. A real pleasure and very hard not to spend the whole flight doing just that.

I was now joined by three other pilots - so an opportunity to compare. though knowing i was overweight on the wing I wasn't expecting to sit on the top of the stack. How wrong was I the Aspen 4 drifted effortlessly to the top without any particular effort, with my reward being more wingovers and asymmetric spirals. It was becoming addictive. Condition did shut down for a time and it wasn't long before we were at ridge height or below and slowly the others were forced to bottom land while the aspen 4 was able to maximises and opportunities for lift - I held out for a further 20 mins after the last had conceded before conditions resumed normal service again and it wasn't long before I was toping out and my previous altitude gains. - Time to fly home. The speed bar is smooth and progressive with only a noticeable drop in glide after 3/4bar. This should be a very good mile muncher for the xc pilot and although it hasn't quite got the range on the xc3 is pretty close. Edit. While managing Team GB at the recent European Championships I would often hear reports from the team in disbelief that the Aspen 4 pilot was often in the mix and was not being dropped by the gaggle that easily. My conclusion is the Aspen 4 is very much a player in the new generation EN -C and a real pleasure to be on board with.

Gradient reserve -GRP1

For those that might not be in the know Gradient have been working on designing their own reserve - The GRP1 is now a reality.See link for details.

Gradient Nevada EN - B

Here is a short tube from Team Freestyle demonstrating the simple delights of Gradient New EN -B wing the Nevada. Demo wings are now in the country. Call to arrange a test fly and explore the invisible.

Team Freestyle in UK

We have just received confirmation  from the organisers of this years Lakes Charity Classic / Buttermere Bash events, that they have  booked the Gradient Freestyle Team (former Renegades) to absolutely Rock the skies above the Buttermere valley during the this years Lakes Charity Classic.

This is a ticket only event so make sure you book yours now ( see Lakes Charity Classic link for more info).

My XC3 For Sale

Well you would think I would be pleased with losing some weight - and I suppose I am however it means sadly I am no longer within the range of my trusty XC3 so reluctantly I am putting it up for sale.


I am not an hour counter but it has 18 months use it has not be abused through acro, or flying at the coast and has always been concertina folded. I will add some photos when it stops blowing a gale here but it is in good condition and will serve its new owner for a couple more seasons yet. I will include two new stab' lines as my hand position while flying means  my brake line rubs the bottom of the stabs' otherwise very good condition.

£1200 free postage in the Uk everywhere else at cost

Aspen 4 review By Ziad Bassil

For those that look into the 'Pg forum' site they will be quite familiar with "Zen" objective wings reviews. I have just read his latest review, this time for the Aspen 4 and feel compelled to repost it here for pilots information.

GRADIENT Aspen 4  (link for Flight test report - size 26)

When GRADIENT first released the Aspen 4 ,with minimum line configuration ,my eyes opened wide, and I was concerned about the stability and how they could manage that. The first Aspen 1 was fast, quite alive but it had a very nice crispy handling.

Now I have in my hands the Aspen 4 to fly. Here’s what I found:

Launching this glider in nil wind requires a gentle but steady pull for the first 80 % .The Launching is a non-event.

Immediately after take off the feeling of security and comfort is present .It is like you are riding exactly in a big smooth American car.

The Aspen 4 flown at 100 all up in turbulent conditions showed a very homogenous character. Strangely, I could see the risers moving, but I was not feeling strongly the roll movements. It is indeed a new sensation for me! It is like the carabineers are working like shock absorbers, but actually it is the internal structure of the wing that is doing all the hard work. Gradient's DD system 1
What struck me also is that when conditions were shaky and turbulent inside an inversion and when I was finding it a bit hard to turn some agile gliders inside 'spaghetti thermal's ☺, the Aspen 4 was still very maneuverable and could be placed whenever I wanted regardless of the conditions.

It is one of the strongest points of the Aspen 4!

After some glides with some new “C’s”, I can confirm that the Aspen 4 is among the top performers. To talk about pure performance is always hard, but the Aspen 4 has a very usable one. The accelerator is soft and very easy to pull. Second bar has an impressive glide among the best, with a high stability and is user friendly.

I flew the glider in some weak and strong thermals, next to some “C’s” to conclude that the glider is not reluctant to any thermal. In fact it slides comfortably in, and climbs without delay.

Big ears are “BIG” because of only two lines on the “A’s” Using the second bar with big ears is very efficient with decent rates over -5m/s, depending on how much lines you pull.

Conclusion:

GRADIENT have now a new hidden weapon inside those Aspens, with this efficient 'DD' internal structure.

Pilots moving from high-end “B’s” to the “C” category will immediately feel at home under the Aspen 4.

My opinion about that glider is very positive because it has everything without the lacking anything. As I stated before, performance alone cannot make a good glider. On board of the Aspen 4 a pilot can have a very good glide, a very competitive climb, superb handling, a comfortable ride, and with big ears as a very efficient descent method.

It has everything to make a pilot smile after a long XC flight.

Cheers,

Ziad.

1
Gradient's Double Diagonal System (DDsystem) was developed especially for the Aspen4 and is the heart of this model. (with equililent systems now being added to the Nevada our new EN B Wing). It provides a stable profile and the best possible tension in the upper sail, the lower sail and the leading edge. A carefully chosen combination of different materials has been carefully selected to work with the DD system. The result is wingswith exceptional balance. Reinforcement is used where needed, including the leading edge which is strengthened with nylon rods. Uniquely shaped rib reinforcements further optimise the wingloading across the canopy: a big advantage in case of collapses.

New EN B wing in development from Gradient

Gradient are busy preparing a new glider within its range. The Nevada is being positioned between the Golden3 and  the new season release Aspen4.  Gradient state that they are already at the stage of final testing. With the local weather getting better every day they are able to complete their final pre certification test flights in the real thermic conditions.  Feedback from these test are very positive  both in   thermic and  dynamic soaring flight, with very easy flying characteristics as expected of an planned EN B wing but also with a good high performance potential  gained through the use of the new Aspen 4 technology and the perfomance increasing DDsystem.

Gradient would like to be ready with sizes 24,26 and 28 in time for the  European spring, with the size 28 being nearly ready for EN B certification now.  We look forward to providing more information soon.

Aspen 4 online review

The new Aspen4 size 28 & 26 has arrrived at the Uk importers and the 24 will follow by mid feb.
The final testing was done in the South African Karoo and the test team reports that Gradient have exceeded their targets for this new Aspen. The innovative DD (double diagonal) system massively reduces line drag bringing a big gain in performance.  Test pilots comment that it is easier to fly than the Aspen3 and that the glider can make very nice flat turns in weaker conditions while still being easy to handle in the strong thermals. We can't wait to have a go!
  
And will review it here once we get a reasonable  spell of weather.


In the mean time here is some pilot feedback about the wing I don't know the pilot but have a link to direct you to his review this from the Pg forum thread
http://www.paraglidingforum.com/search.php?search_id=bestposts&return_chars=-1&topic=37410&quality=3