The respected French paragliding magazine "Vol Libre"
tested gliders in 3 categories, Vol Libre One, Two &
Three, which basically correspond to DHV 1, 1-2 & 2
ratings.
All three Sky gliders were judged best
in their class!
The Fides
Vol Libre category ONE - Gliders for your enjoyment
2003
We need to define our classification, as it is easy to confuse
our language between beginners, school, easy, intermediate, intermediate
performance, intermediate acrobat, standard, DHV X or Y etc.
School Gliders – Vol Libre catigory1 includes: wings for
beginners or for infrequent flyers
In usual terms, a ‘school’ wing is one that
allows teaching in a school environment. It should therefore
not be very different from a so-called ‘normal’
wing, with the majority of its qualities and faults. Just
as you won’t find a Porsche in a driving school, all
the cars still have 4 wheels and a steering wheel! These
wings are not old bangers either, but more a ‘spunky’
Clio for example.
Vol Libre category 1
Vol Libre favourite: Sky Fides
We Did Like:
Amazing level of performance in its category
excellent stability in turbulence
progressive brake pressures
We didn’t like:
Handling is better when banked
General comments:
The performance was a pleasant surprise in this category
given the aspect ratio of less than 5. The Fides glider is a real
surprise. It’s a wing that is easy to pilot, yet fun to
fly. A far cry from the old-style buses that you usually come
across in the school environment. Its price should make it a favourite
for schools. This glider suits pilots who fly infrequently or
who are looking for a wing which is easy to fly, lots of fun,
stable and safe.
Other gliders tested:
Independence – Avalon
Nova – Pheron
Vol Libre category THREE
– wings for experienced pilots who fly regularly and
are looking for a performance glider.
These wings are aimed at experienced pilots who fly more than
50 hours per year and have mastered all aspects of flying. They
are generally faster, more powerful, high performance and sometimes
more inert. Their behavior is nothing unexpected for a pilot of
this standard and they are therefore completely controllable by
a pilot who knows what he is doing and with a sense of anticipation.
All pilots should ultimately aim to fly one of these more ‘rewarding’
wings.
The comparison to a sports car can again be made – everything
is designed accordingly – road holding, braking, power,
tyres etc, without sacrificing safety.
Performance gliders come under the Afnor, DHV 2 and DHV 2-3 classifications.
Vol Libre Category 3
Vol Libre favourite: Brontes
We did like:
Clean profile
Quality of finish
Superb maneuverability and handling at all speeds
Consistency and ease of turning
Sink rate
Comfort in turbulence
We didn’t like:
Sky web site
(Now updated)
Certification is Afnor rather
than DHV
(This is no longer true. It is now certified DHV 2)
So good it’s irritating
General comments:
A gem in the intermediate category, manageable by even
the slightly experienced pilot. They will master it very quickly.
According to Sky, the Brontes is within the limits of the AFNOR
standard category. They go on to say that ‘we developed
a DHV2 wing whose passive safety flirts with the DHV1-2 category,
as the testers themselves noticed, It gives the opportunity for
pilots to sometimes fly above their real level.’
The Brontes is without doubt a good choice compared
to the Astral 3, Hornet, Sigma 5 etc, for a pilot looking
for easy flying combined with incredible performance. This
is the sexy side of the intermediary category without its
drawbacks. Its turning ability makes this lethal machine
the pick of the bunch.
Other Gliders Tested:
Advance – Sigma 5
Firebird – Hornet
ITV – Diamant
OL – Korsair
Pro Design – Titan
Ozone – Proton GT
Swing – Astral 3
XIX – Form 2
Links to more reviews on the
Brontes can be found here
