Gin Atlas Small Paraglider Review 2013

Finally got my hands on a new crispy Gin Atlas size Small from our local shop SuperFly Inc.

This paraglider is a joy to fly and definitely cutting edge design in the easy B paraglider choices.  It inspires confidence with its tight direct feeling above you.  It does not rock around too much and feels solid going in and out of thermals.  The Gin Atlas, I would say, is a must buy purchase for the paraglider seeking a second wing after school.

Highlights

• Great color schemes and build quality Gin is known for.
• Very few lines!!  Super easy to clear and lay out your lines.  They are sheathed too, so this wing can go anywhere including your local rocky hike and fly.
• Felt rather light weight compared to other wings I've flown recently.
• Can do a flat turn on a dime.
• Roll and pitch feel dampened which for me is a much more fun and relaxing flight when in rough air.
• Brake pressure felt high, took a lot of pressure to put into a spiral which starts out slow but then after a few rotations hold on as it will go into turbo spirals.
• Performs really nice wing overs.
• Climbs soooo easily, this wing will get you up to the top of the pack as well as any wing any level.
• Glide performance is amazing, I almost completely missed my landing field first time landing this great wing, it just keeps gliding and gliding.
• The low friction loops are awesome, say good by to that squeaking brake pully!
• Front openings are nearly impossible to close thanks to the creative design of the front wires which naturally keep the vents open.  This also makes inflation off the ground very easy.
• I did not feel any difficulty in launching or overshooting tho I'm in the habit of moving towards my wing on launch.  

Challenges

• Folding the wing with both front and rear plastic wires can be a challenge if you want to pack your wing up small.
• Brake pressure is a bit high for a really long flight or if you like to fly dynamically.
• Speed bar pressure felt heavy as well and my legs got a bit tired holding it for more than a short time.

Conclusion:

I like this wing a lot.  It provides amazing performance and feels very secure.  One of the biggest problems in paragliding is pilots getting in over their head with performance which lowers how much fun they have and sometimes scares them out of the sport or leads to injury.  This wing provides both performance and a real feeling of security.

credits to the awesome: Gin Paragliders, SuperFly Inc and Rob Chrisholm.

More tips for the paragliding bum, ditching working for the man and living in a van!

http://www.vice.com/read/talking-surfing-and-vans-with-Foster-huntington?utm_source=vicefbus

Paraglider Control: Finding Your Stall Point

Flybubble Paragliding has been producing some fantastic, possibly the best, paragliding reviews and tutorials on the web right now.  I especially like this one to really get to know your wing and it's stall point and flying characteristics.

Aaron Durogati kiting his Gin Carrera

This is a beautiful looking wing with fantastic performance!  Looks pretty stable in kiting for such a high performance wing and I expect it to feel pretty good in the air but that remains to be seen...  Waiting impatiently for the demo to come into to SuperFly Paragliding shop in Utah.

Gin Seok Song talks about the new GIN Carrera

To me Gin Seok Song is the BOSS of paragliding.  The godfather.  I love his philosophy and devotion to the sport of paragliding.

His latest wings the Gin Atlas and the Gin Carrera are wings I am very very excited about.  The mix of performance and safety is exactly what I'm looking for.  Gin paragliders are beautifully constructed, with excellent craftsmanship in the sewing and a beautiful design.

Hoping to have some reviews of these new wings soon.



1

Paraglider Review - Zephyr size small - Initial thoughts at the local training hill

Pilot Weight all up: around 90kg.

Harness: Gin Genie Lite without pod attachment. 

Location: South Side, Point of the Mountain, Utah.

Wind speed: around 12-15 mph nearly straight in 9:30 AM.

Construction: The fabric feels solid and the sewing well done. Plastic ribs in front only. 3 thin risers with a snap/button clip for brake lines, I prefer magnets. Feels well manufactured.

Design: Ok nothing special.

Weight: a bit lighter than other wings.

Launching: very easy to launch, wing tips stayed folded in for longer than I would like but came out with a quick pump of the breaks. Does not hang back or overshoot even in relatively strong winds. 

Soaring: Soars well and communicates the lift. I was able to stay above most other pilots on the training hill although to their credit many of them are relatively new pilots. Windtech web site says this "The trim speed is the highest among all the wings and the glide ratio is clearly above 9 as it is proved and tested by the best magazines wordlwide." and that is impressive.

Turning: I was not able to get high enough and far enough away from other pilots to put this wing through some hard spirals but was able to pull the brakes down pretty hard. It felt rather slow to react, with heavy brake pressure required and a tendency to level out. Perfect for newer pilots, think I'm just getting used to EN C or 2 rated wings and smaller wings.

Landing: Wing is able to retain a lot of energy and I was even able to soar the bottom of the hill for a while before landing which is unusual, meaning this wing may give you some low saves and has quite a good glide ratio. When I did set up my landing it almost set me down then lifted up again then settled down and gave me a sweet two step landing. I would say that this wing is very easy to land for any intermediate pilot with over 15+ hours.

In conclusion: Not really enough time to thoroughly test but I think I can make some accurate impressions of this wing. It is constructed well and will not deteriorate quickly which is very important value when making a paraglider purchase decision. I would recommend it to the advancing newer pilot with solid skills. It does talk to you and can take a beginner off course but with good training and active piloting skills easy to manage. Takeoff and launching are very easy. Feels pitch and roll stable while still doing a good job of communicating where the lift is. It does not feel as directly connected to me and solid as the Gin Sprint Evo which is still my top choice of the paragliders I have so far reviewed and use a benchmark. By solid I mean the wing will cut through turbulence and retain its shape vs soft where the wing may flutter and/or slightly change shape temporarily as it hits different wind elements. Overall I would say this is a really nice intermediate wing with easy take-off and landings and a surprising ability to stay up in marginal conditions. Not quite as sporty as I would like but that really can be a good thing for the intermediate pilot and a safer? more comfortable experience in flight.

http://www.windtech.es/en/products/zephyr/index.html



Special thanks to The BirdMan Acadamy for letting me demo this wing, they primarily teach hang gliding but also import WindTech paragliders.

Tandem paragliding Grandeur in Salt Lake City, Utah.

tandem paragliding with david boures from Flying Drifter - Paragliding on Vimeo.