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Airborne Hang Glider enews 6th
November 2006 Issue #1
The New C4-13.5 has now been released.
The 13.5 with all of the new sail mods was released prior
to the Canungra competition. Rick Duncan and Scott Barrett
showed that the glider is of a world class standard with
3rd and 6th position in the competition. Adam Parer finished
9th on the new C4-14. The most improved award went to Andy
Schmidt on his new C4-13.5
Instead of us coming up with words to describe the awesome
new C4 we asked the pilots who received gliders from the
first production run read their comments below:
First a word from Al D. our sailmaker
guru
C4 -13 and C4-14 sail improvements
The sails on the new C4s have been totally reworked.
Our focus was aiming at tightening the fit of the sail, improving
the twist/washout lines at all VG settings, and controlling
tensions across the wing.
Internally the curves and shapings that govern so much of
the handling, co-ordination and performance of the wing are
all new. The improved twist lines result in a "nicer"
feel when climbing, gliding and landing, and the tighter fit
helps stability, building pilot confidence in all conditions.
Controlling and directing the static and in-flight loads has
sweetened the handling in the loose and mid range VG settings
and will keep the wing performing and looking good.
Externally the new Dimension TiO2 cloth looks sharp and
crisp (and will remain so - the yellowing with age problem
with the older PX cloth has been eliminated). The sail sets
very cleanly and closer inspection will reveal some interesting
new patching layouts. About the only common factor with
previous sails is the high degree of workmanship and the
attention to detail you always find on our sails.
We are very proud of these new wings and trust they will
give many enjoyable hours of high performance flying to
anyone lucky enough to grab hold of one.
Now read the pilot reviews
Ashley Wilmot (13.5):
I took delivery of my new Airborne C4 13.5 at the Canungra
Classic after not having flown XC for a few months. My first
flight was from Mt Tamborine on a very light overcast day,
but it felt easy to work the light lift and I was impressed
with sensitivity it had to seek out and stay in light bubbles.
The glide between thermals was impressive, the best I've ever
had. My first landing was in nil wind in a small field, and
I amazed myself by pulling off a no step landing due to the
large flare window on the glider. The ease of landing the
13.5 gave me extra confidence to cross tight, hilly terrain
on all my subsequent flights.
From Beechmont the flying had to cover all ranges of conditions
in one flight. The 13.5 excelled in the changing conditions
from weak bubbles at launch to booming conditions over the
back on course and long glides over areas with minimal landings.
I felt comfortable at all times with the ease of handling
in rough thermals and the straight tracking at full VG with
lots of speed. Topping up in thermals at full VG was also
a treat, the handling was lighter than expected. This performance
enabled me to achieve my longest flight to goal ever, 203
kms. Needless to say I am extremely happy with the new C4
13.5 and I can tell this is going to be a great season of
flying with the best glider I have ever flown.
Scott Barrett: The new C4
- 13.5 has really proven itself at the start of the competition
season. I received it as a standard C4 -13.5 off the factory
floor, moved the hang point back by one hole and took it
racing without making another single adjustment through
the comp. It handled the choppy air well and I was impressed
with the ease of handling. I flew it with a light wing loading
and was impressed that I had as good a glide as anyone out
there and it climbed so well. I found that landings were
a "no brainer".
It is a very competitive, pleasant and reassuring machine
to fly right out of the box, I love it.
Rick Duncan: Canungra was
the first comp I have flown in for 18 months and I haven't
had much airtime this year. I was very competitive on the
13.5. The Canungra comp was a mixed bag with overcast days
providing very light lift to booming days with 5 m/sec thermals
allowing tasks of up to 205 km. I found the glider easy
to fly and behaved extremely well in the most turbulent
conditions. It is the perfect size glider.
Ed note: Rick as head of our wing design team may be a
little biased, but his results at Canungra are a real indication
of how the glider is performing!
Phil Schroder: For those who
know me, you'll be aware that I've been hassling Airborne
for a while now about getting the 13.5 up and going. I've
flown several C4-13s and have one of my own; its a great
glider. The 13's got a "sports car" feel to it
allowing you to put it in the sky where you want it without
a lot of the hard physical work. Its also a size which us
smaller blokes appreciate when ground handling. I've also
flown the C4-14 and consider it to have the best thermalling
characteristics of any glider I've ever flown. But in a
real world, with varying conditions, I've always felt that
my 75kg weight suited something in between. Well finally
its here! I just flew the 13.5 (Miss America - red, white
and blue) that Ricky took to 3rd place at Canungra last
month. The glider was stock and I didn't "tune"
it or felt that it had been "tuned". The 13.5
ticks all the boxes for me - it handles just like a C4-14
in thermals, it has C4-13 A frame size for easier ground
handling, tows and glides like its on rails and lands like
an intermediate glider. Whilst the air was pretty rough
with strong 5m/s+ climbs, the glider felt stable and predictable
and I always felt in control. If you are looking for the
same thing in a glider that I am, have a go on a 13.5. Be
warned though, once you fly it, you'll want one just like
I do!
Rob Wenban (C4-14): My first
flight was intended to be a quick sleddie from Mystic in
the morning just to get my head around it and to get the
feel of flying a topless glider for the first time.
Two hours later I had topped out at the inversion at 6000'
after climbing up through the paragliders, flown over to
Porpunkah, up over Buffalo then back down for a three-step
landing in nil wind at the airstrip. Bloody brilliant!
Specifications
Click on the button to the right to go to C4 specifications.
You can also download the specs in printer friendly pdf format
from this web page.
click here www.airborne.com.au
to go to the Airborne web site!
The Bottom line - Pricing
Click on the the links below to take you to C4 pricing.
Australian customers click
here
Overseas export customers click
here
C4-13.5 on the Airborne test rig
The C4-13.5 was put on the Airborne test rig for load testing
prior to Canungra.
Stock Colours and the Wing Colour Picker
We have introduced stock colours to help streamline production
and to help reduce production costs. Non stock colours are available but incur a surcharge. Stock colours options
are available on the web site at click
here The colour picker allows you to see what your chosen colours look like.
Once the colour picker has loaded you can play colouring in,
customizing the online wing to your preference.
We do carry stock wings for immediate shipping. To go to the wing stock page click
here
C4 Factory Upgrade for C2 Owners
We now offer a factory upgrade from a C2 to a C4. The upgrade
includes sail, all wires, batten upgrade and all other frame
modifications to bring the glider up to the new C4 standard.
The frame is striped down and thoroughly inspected, rebuilt
and test flown. Contact the factory if you require any further
details.
The Latest Airborne Tug XT-Outback
Soon to be released the XT-912 and XT 582 Outback. This trike
comes standard with the Tundra undercarriage. Because there
is less weight especially in the front end due to the instrument
binnacle, it will make for a perfect hang glider tug. Certification
of the tow release for the four stroke model will be completed
soon. Keep an eye on the web site for latest updates.
Latest news on the manufacturing
system
The system Visual Enterprise, encompasses the whole of our
operation from purchases through to manufacturing, engineering,
spares, sales and quality control . After a few teething problem
we are now starting to see the benefits, an increase in efficiency
is being seen as we continue to fine tune the system..
We believe the C4 is the finest high performance glider available
right now. Australian Clubs can call the factory and arrange
the demo for a test fly. OS customers, call the factory and
see what sort of a deal we can do for you.
Blue Skies and Happy Landings,
Team Airborne
    
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This issue of the newsletter features:
Adam Parer flying from Hunter Valley launch back to coast.
