Ozone Zeolite S | First impressions (Stall)

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Ozone Zeolite S | First impressions (Stall)

Am 29.03.2019 veröffentlicht

I am sure many people are curious about the new wing from Ozone “Zeolite”, a 2-liner XC wing made for Red Bull X-alps with only 2,85kg sounded first unbelievable to me! Luckily I could test the first wing from the production and want to share my impressions with you. The video ( https://youtu.be/MjYpagcHQps ) is mainly to show the details and the handling of the wing. About the glideperformance I can tell some things in words: We had only the chance to make one comparisonflight and had only my LM5 S for comparison available, flown with 86kg weight. The Trimspeed of the Zeolite is pretty much the same like the LM5, so quite slow. The Zeolite has a huge accelerator traval way (I guess more then 200mm) which works super nicely soft (good for the legs), so fullspeed was quite a bit higher (I guess 5kmh then LM5) and you could really nicely feel how good it penetrates against the wind. In speed you have to get used to, that there is not sooo much load on the B-Risers. So you really want to make sure not to pull them too much / often down. We glided maybe 6km over the valley, the air was not dead and some little thermals. You could see, that the Zeolite was definitely performing better, especially in fullspeed. But I guess I would need more flights and other wings to say more about the glideperformance. Stalling works really easy. I experience there and also my impressions from the groundhandling, that the linelayout of the wing is really nice, so little gravats are not tending to stuck very likely (the LM5 was sometimes quite nasty with this behavior), its really easy to get everything out with a pump or from itself. When you get to the stallingpoint you have to be careful, at some point the profil gets pushed a bit together (you can see it in the middle in the video) and in this moment the wing tilts backwards, but it allways starts to fly immediately as soon as you put the hands up. First “vertical landing” worked really good like this. Similar to a LM5 handling. Overall I am super super happy with the zeolite. I can allready say, that OZONE Paragliders​ set again new standarts about 2-Liner-handling, -weight and the impression of the performance is really good if you compare it with similar wings.

Ozone Zeolite – Red Bull X-Alps Schirm – Gesamt 5,5 kg 🙂

Die Ausrüstung für die X-Alps 2019 wiegt mit Schirm, XC-Gurtzeug und Rettung unter 5,5 kg. Der Zeolite selbst bringt gerade mal 2,85 kg auf die Waage. Er wurde speziell für das X-Alps Rennen entwickelt, das heißt für kleine und nicht unbedingt gute Startplätze, technische Top-Landungen, kleine und eingeschränkte Landebereiche und harte alpine Bedingungen.

Das R&D Team sagt dazu: „vergiss alles, das du glaubst über Kompromisse im 2-Leinen Design zu wissen. Der Zeolite ist einfach zu starten, in kleinen/eingeschränkten Landebereichen einfach zu landen, und verfügt über die angenehmste B-Kontrolle, die wir kennen. Das ist ein völlig neues 2-Leiner Design.“

In den kommenden Wochen werden wir weitere Infos zu dieser spannenden Ausrüstung veröffentlichen, und wir wünschen allen in diesem Jahr teilnehmenden Athleten für dieses Rennen viel Glück.

Vielen Dank an Manuel Nübel für diesen Bericht.

Quelle: https://www.flyozone.com/paragliders/de/news/a-peek-at-the-zeolite

 

TESTREPORT BASSIL ZIAD: THANK YOU

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Tuesday, June 9, 2020

OZONE Zeolite GT MS

OZONE Zeolite GT  MS
The original Zeolite was used in the latest X-Alps. Ozone released a little sturdier version, but still quite light as it weighs 3.5 kilos, the Zeolite GT.
The Zeolite GT is a 2 liner, with a little wooden handle on the B’s.
Launching the Zeolite GT at 93 all up, in nil wind is very intuitive. The glider inflates well, and fast. I think it reacts like any C glider in terms of launching. In strong air, the brake authority is present to stop the surge.
The brake pressure is on the moderate side. Firm brake pressure, linear handling, and very good authority for a 6.7 AR glider with very few lines! Turning in thermals is quite nice on the Zeolite GT. A very good authority on the brakes that enables its pilot to have a direct response and feel. The turning behavior is surprisingly nicer than the M7 for example, in homogenous conditions. In turbulent conditions, the authority is still present but the Zeolite movements are quite pronounced, and the work on the brakes is to keep it overhead and turn later… The Zeolite never collapsed on me, not even a tiny tip! I felt it is well pressurized!
The Zeolite GT is like a beautiful very happy Brazilian lady, dancing the Samba all the time! And sometimes in turbulent and strong air, I was a bit concerned, why is she so happy and I’m not 😉  Seriously, it’s a very nice machine, but talks too much!
I have to add that those movements are due to that special internal light structure. The heavier Zeno doesn’t talk as much in turbulent air.
The climb rate of the MS at 93 versus the Climb rate of the M7 MS at 93 is on the Zeolite GT side! It climbs really well!  Sometimes in headwind conditions, it seems to slow a bit before entering the thermals. So I found that better not to touch the brakes in that matter!  and to leave it fly into that airmass. Or accelerate a bit.  Just because a very slight pull on the brakes, gets the Zeolite a bit slower.
Doing some glides with the M7 MS showed me that the glide at trim in moving air is on the Zeolite side as it floats a bit more. Pushing the first bar is also competitive, but at the second bar, I think it stays like the M7.  I felt that the full speed of the Zeolite is similar to the full speed of the M7 with the same loadings.  I can place the Zeolite between the M7 and Zeno in terms of performance.
The pressure on the bar is moderate. The most amazing feature of the Zeolite is the B handles.  At trim or at bar, the B handles works beautifully on that 2 liner! I could steer the glider in all conditions with the efficient B handles. They stop some serious surges while on bar. If I can describe the feeling, I could say that those handles look like driving a Kart!
Ears must be pulled from high up. They are hard to pull, but when they fold, they are stable. They reopen with pilot controls.
 

TESTREPORT BASSIL ZIAD: THANK YOU

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Red Bull X-Alps 2019 Paragliding.TV

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Red Bull Xalps 2019 official video

How we define the route

Ahead of next month’s Red Bull X-Alps route announcement, we talk to race director Christoph Weber and safety director Jürgen Wietrzyk for the inside story on how the Turnpoints are selected.

Why have Turnpoints? Wouldn’t it be more fun without them?

JW: The purpose of a Turnpoint is simply to have a given direction for the race. Of course, we could say the route is from Salzburg via Mont Blanc to Monaco. But Turnpoints make the race more structured, force athletes to make different plans and find smart and new tactics from race to race.

What makes a good Turnpoint?

JW: The only fixed criteria a Turnpoint has to have is that it’s located somewhere in or along the Alps, this fascinating mountain range which stretches 1,200 kilometres from Austria to Monaco. Unfortunately, we cannot influence restricted flying zones. If we could, we would probably remove them every year. But the airports are not happy with this suggestion!

CW: We look for a challenging and interesting route. The Turnpoints should bring the athlete to interesting and nice spots in the Alps. We try to put them in a way that ensures restricted airspaces are not on the course line and we try to avoid restricted flying zones in general – but there are so many!

Gaspard Petiot (FRA2) is seen during the Red Bull X-Alps in Aschau, Austria on July 5th, 2017

“The Red Bull X-Alps is more than a paragliding competition, it’s an adventure race.”

Whose benefit are Turnpoints for – athletes or fans?

JW: Turnpoints give fans the opportunity to meet the athletes, that’s one reason why some are on the ground, some in the air.

CW: Turnpoints [exist] as a guideline to get an interesting and exciting course and to give the fans the chance to meet the athletes.

Do you try to put in specific challenges like high mountains or lakes to cross?

JW: Every Turnpoint opens a certain range of different routes, and each route includes specific risk potentials. For example, in 2017 we had Monte Baldo, which meant that most of the athletes crossed Lake Garda in the air. We were happy to be supported by the local paragliding club and water rescue teams for managing this. But it’s not an intention to create this kind of risk.

But, the Red Bull X-Alps is more than a paragliding competition, it’s an adventure race. And that means that we all – organisers, fans, and athletes themselves – want to face mountain climbs, glacier hikes and big mountain crossings, not just the most economical and fastest route from Salzburg to Monaco.

CW: We try to have exciting Turnpoints and that means that sometimes there are these kinds of obstacles.

Is there a temptation to make the course longer every edition?

CW: Yes, it’s tempting, but it’s not a must.

Why are there more Turnpoints at the start and not so many at the finish?

JW: The last section – let’s say the range roughly along the western side of the border between Italy and France, is more or less a sprint to the finish, where the focus is on reaching the goal, not so much on tagging another Turnpoint. There is not much room for tactics any longer, there is only the goal, and everybody just wants to get there as fast as possible.

CW: The bigger the distance between the Turnpoints, the greater is the variation of the possible options.

Is there a perfect number of Turnpoints?

JW: The number depends on how long the route should be, and where the journey should go – and this again depends on the unknown wishes of athletes, fans, sponsors and everybody else who follows the race and is curious about what will happen from 16th June 2019 on Red Bull X-Alps Live Tracking.

 

To find out where that will be, tune in to our channels on March 12 when we reveal the 2019 Red Bull X-Alps route.

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