Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 1: January 2014 | Page 18

level as well.
About a year in, I decided to buy
an 18-meter hybrid wing, which
taught me a lot and really helped my
regular flying. If you decide to go this
route, I recommend getting specific instruction on this type of wing. Having
two different wings is a great tool for
opening your mind to the mechanics
of flight, requiring that you fly based
on actual wing feedback and brake
pressure, as opposed to a set hand
position. Two wings also open up for
you a wider range of operating conditions. At this point, I consistently
got thermaling flights that were a few
hours long, and I started to play with
making small transitions from ridge to
ridge in a particular zone. These transitions required me to use my speed
system and to focus on efficiency.
My EN/A wing did not let me
make these transitions as efficiently as
I desired. In some cases, other pilots
were clearing ridges and making it to
the windward side, while I was not.
I felt as if I was milking the wing for
all it could give me, and I wanted
more performance. The question then
became, “AM I ready?” By trade, I
am a kayaking professional, and am

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

by nature a product guy. I help folks
answer this question all the time for
boats, and my favorite piece of advice
is: “Demo, demo, demo. Explanations
of design, catalogues, websites, and
stats are great, but they are no substitution for actually paddling a boat.” I
found the same to be true for wings.
The products of each company/designer will have a certain feel. Some will
work for you and others won’t. That is
OK. Don’t rush the process; it takes
time. That is part of the fun!
My instructor had three 13’ EN/B
wings for me to try. I kited all of them,
ridge soared all of them, and then took
my favorites to the lake to put them
through the paces of an SIV/maneuvers clinic. The ability to put the wings
in an aggressive situation in order to
feel how they responded was worth its
weight in gold. Full frontals, full speed
asymmetricals, and a host of other
maneuvers were totally manageable. It
was a blast to do wingovers and asymmetric spirals, while feeling the extra
performance in an EN/B wing.
Now I am back at home and have
taken a few flights on my new wing. A
hotter wing is better in every respect,
until something goes wrong. At that

point, it is not as forgiving. I am
making sure to actively pilot my wing
to avoid testing that.
At the end of the day, demo! Be
sure to check with your local school/
distributor to see what is available for
you to try. Try all of the good brands.
Some distributors will send you a
demo wing to try at home, giving you
the opportunity to fly all of the top
brands. Make sure to get a namebrand wing currently in circulation
with a track record. That way you
will know the wing you are buying
does not have any issues. My selection criteria were performance and
safety. I wanted the perfect blend of
these two— who does not want that?
Comfort equals fun, and that’s what
flying is all about.
“Comfortable pilots fly better” is
the best advice I got during the process. A pilot who is comfortable on an
EN/B will fly further than an equally
skilled pilot who is uncomfortable on
an EN/C. At this point, I don’t need
an EN/C. Perhaps one day! A buddy
with a similar level of experience opted
for an EN/C wing, and it is working
for him. Take your time and enjoy the
journey.
Colin Kemp learned at Super Fly in
Utah and did all of his maneuvers with
Chris Santacroce; he made a number
of trips to Utah to get dialed in over the
last two years. His first wing was a Gin
Bolero 4, and his hybrid-type wing is an
18m Gin Bobcat. He has test flown the
Nova Mentor 3, Gin Atlas, Gin Sprint
Evo, Advance Epsilon 7, Ozone Buzz
Z4, Skywalk Tequila, and Skywalk
Chili.
For Colin, the gliders that were
available for demo over the water stood
out. He chose the Advance Epsilon 7
based on the combination of feel, size,
look, color, brand name, reputation, warranty and price.