Paraglider Performance Comparison
version
Version Information
See also Availability of Vol Libre data

2008/5/31. Added wings : Ozone / Geo 2 (Vol Libre), UP / Ascent (Vol Libre).

2008/5/13. Added wings : Paratech / P11 (Vol Libre), Airwave / Alpine (Vol Libre), Airwave / Gecko (Vol Libre).

2008/4/7. Added wings : Nervures / Kailash (Vol Libre), Team 5 / Green (Vol Libre).

2008/4/4. Added wing : Advance / Alpha 4 (Vol Libre).

2008/3/3. Added wings : Aerodyne / Joy (Vol Libre), Apco / Vista (Vol Libre).

2007/12/3. Added wings : Swing / Astral 5 (Vol Libre), Gradient / Golden 2 (Vol Libre).

2007/11/27. Added wings : Sol / Synergy 3 (Vol Libre), Sky Paragliders / Antea (Vol Libre).

2007/9/10. Added wings : Niviuk / Artik (Vol Libre), Sol / Ellus 2 (Vol Libre).

2007/8/14. Added wings : Advance / Omega 7 (Vol Libre), Trekking / Vanquish (Vol Libre).

2007/7/27. Added wings : Ozone / Ultralite (Vol Libre), Pro-Design / Accura (Vol Libre), Skywalk / Chili (Vol Libre), Sky Paragliders / Brontes 2 (Vol Libre).

2007/4/10. Added wings : Dudek / Shark (Vol Libre), Skywalk / Cayenne 2 (Vol Libre), Apco / Karma (Vol Libre), Airwave / Mustang 2 (Vol Libre).

2007/3/16. Added wings : Nova / Rookie (Vol Libre), Trekking / Boxster (Vol Libre).

2006/11/27. Added wings : Sky Paragliders / Ares (Vol Libre), Niviuk / Hook (Vol Libre), Gradient / Aspen 2 (Vol Libre), UP / Summit 3 (Vol Libre).

2006/10/10. Now recognizing EN-rated wings. See Universal Rating.
Added wings : Sky Paragliders / Atis 2 (Vol Libre), Icaro / Incanto (Vol Libre).

2006/10/6. I have unsubscribed from Parapente Mag.
Added wings : Apco / Karma (Parapente Mag), Nova / Rookie (Parapente Mag).

2006/9/11. Added wings : Sol / Prymus 2 (Vol Libre), Pegas / Fenix 2 (Vol Libre).

2006/8/22. Added wings : Axis Para / Vega (Vol Libre), Paratech / P44 (Vol Libre).

2006/8/14. Added wings : Axis / Pluto (Parapente Mag).

2006/8/2. Added wings : Swing / Mistral 4 (Vol Libre), ITV / Tsampa (Vol Libre).

2006/6/5. Added wings : MCC Aviation / Borea H 2 (Vol Libre), Windtech / Tempest (Vol Libre).

2006/6/5. Added wings : Firebird / Eagle (Parapente Mag), Windtech / Kali (Parapente Mag).

2006/5/2. Added wings : Apco / Lambada (Vol Libre), Nova / Tattoo (Vol Libre).

2006/4/13. Parapente Mag seems to be back to reporting L/D for some wings, which will be included here.
Added wings : Swing / Mistral 4 (Parapente Mag), Bio Air Technologies / Bionic 2 SE (Parapente Mag).

2006/4/4. Added wings : Advance / Epsilon 5 (Vol Libre), Aerodyne / Shaolin (Vol Libre).

2006/2/10. As of the February 2006 issue of Parapente Mag, they are no longer reporting L/D of wings in their reviews. With only minimal performance data remaining (stall/trim/max speed and min sink rate) there is little value remaining with respect to comparing polar curves, so that information source is abandonned.

2006/1/29. Added wings : Mac Para Technology / Eden 3 (Vol Libre), Firebird / Spider (Vol Libre).

2005/12/27. Added wings : Sol / Synergy 2 (Vol Libre), Airwave / Sport 3 (Vol Libre).

2005/12/7. Added wings : Advance / Epsilon 5 (Parapente Mag), Gin Gliders / Zulu (Parapente Mag).

2005/10/26. Added wings : Dudek / Nemo (Vol Libre), Independence / Dragon 3 (Vol Libre).

2005/10/12. Added wings : MCC Aviation / Boréa 2 (Vol Libre), Sky Paragliders / Fides 2 (Vol Libre).

2005/10/6. Added wings : AirCross / Trialp (Parapente Mag), Trekking / Alpine (Parapente Mag).

2005/10/5. Added wings : Pro-Design / Thema (Vol Libre), Swing / Arcus 4 (Vol Libre).

2005/8/3. Added wings : Independence / Merlin (Vol Libre), Paratech / P80 (Vol Libre).

2005/7/7. Added wings : Nova / Mamboo (Vol Libre), Trekking / Alpine (Vol Libre).

2005/6/7. Added wings : ITV / Pawnee (Parapente Mag), Ozone / Geo (Parapente Mag).

2005/6/1. Added wings : Icaro / Cyber 2 (Vol Libre), Ozone / Rush (Vol Libre), Apco / Thrust (Vol Libre), Ozone / Geo (Vol Libre).

2005/4/25. Added wing : Nova / Tattoo (Parapente Mag).

2005/4/14. Added wings : Advance / Sigma 6 (Parapente Mag), Swing / Astral 4 (Parapente Mag).

2005/3/30. Added wings : Advance / Sigma 6 (Vol Libre), ITV / Tomahawk 2 (Vol Libre).

2005/3/5. Added wings : Dudek / Airlight (Vol Libre), Nervure / Kenya Expé (Vol Libre), Swing / Astral 4 (Vol Libre), Axis / Pluto (Vol Libre).

2004/12/8. Added wings : Advance / Omega 6 (Parapente Mag), freeX / Arcane (Parapente Mag).

2004/12/3. Added wings : Dudek / Manta (Vol Libre), Aerodyne / Dune (Vol Libre).

2004/10/11. Added wings : Gin Gliders / Yeti (Parapente Mag), Independence / Excalibur (Parapente Mag).

2004/10/4. Added wings : Sol / Eclipse (Vol Libre), Skywalk / Tequila (Vol Libre).

2004/9/3. Added wings : Bio Air Technologies / Bionic 2 (Vol Libre), Swing / Axis 3 (Vol Libre).

2004/8/14. Added wings : XIX / Form 3 (Vol Libre), Icaro / Ice (Vol Libre).

2004/8/14. Added wings : Aerodyne / Dune (Parapente Mag), Gin Gliders / Zoom (Parapente Mag), Ozone / Mojo (Parapente Mag).

2004/7/9. Added wings : Nova / Syntax (Vol Libre), Airwave / Sport 2 (Vol Libre).

2004/6/17. Added wing : Sol / Ellus (Vol Libre).

2004/6/7. Added wings : Swing / Mistral 3 (Parapente Mag), Windtech / Pulsar (Parapente Mag).

2004/5/6. Added wings : Ozone / Mojo (Vol Libre), ITV / Tepee (Vol Libre).

2004/4/27. Added wings : Pro-Design/Effect 2 (Vol Libre), Gradient/Golden (Vol Libre).

2004/4/7. Added wing : Nervures/Valluna (Parapente Mag).

2004/3/7. Added wing : Nervures/Valluna (Vol Libre).

2004/2/8. Added wings : Trekking/Sebring (Parapente Mag), Firebird/Grid (Vol Libre), Apco/Tetra (Vol Libre).

2003/12/9. Added wings : Swing/Arcus 3 (Vol Libre), Trekking/Sebring (Vol Libre).

2003/12/5. Added wings : Gradient/Golden (Parapente Mag), Sky Paragliders/Atis (Parapente Mag).

2003/11/5. Added wings : XIX/Smile (Vol Libre), Airwave/Wave (Vol Libre).
Revised : Swing/Astral 3 (Vol Libre) as per "Ousékonafo" on page 4.

2003/10/2. Added wings : Advance/Alpha 3 (Vol Libre), Bio Air Technologies/Bionic 2 (Vol Libre).

2003/9/10. Added wings : Nova/Artax (Vol Libre), Pro-Design/Jazz (Vol Libre).

2003/8/13. Added wings : Independence/Dragon 2 (Vol Libre), Gradient/Aspen (Vol Libre).

2003/8/8. Added wing : Gradient/Aspen (Parapente Mag).

2003/7/6. Added wings : Apco/Keara (Vol Libre), Icaro/Force (Vol Libre), Aerodyne/Yogi (Vol Libre).

2003/6/13. Added wings : Sol/Synergy (Parapente Mag), Swing/Arcus 3 (Parapente Mag), Trekking/Xenos (Parapente Mag).

2003/6/4. Added wings : Nova/Aeron (Vol Libre), Trekking/Xenos (Vol Libre).

2003/5/3. Added wings : Calipt'Air/Serenis (Vol Libre), Gradient/Bright (Vol Libre), Sky Paragliders/Atis (Vol Libre), Advance/Epsilon 4 (Vol Libre).

2003/4/18. Added wings : Aerodyne/Jumbe (Parapente Mag), Nova/Artax (Parapente Mag).

2003/3/5. Added wings : Paratech/P43 (Vol Libre), MCC Aviation/Boréa (Vol Libre).

2003/2/13. Added wings : Windtech/Quarx 2 (Parapente Mag), ITV/Tomahawk (Parapente Mag).

2002/12/15. Added wing : Swing/Cirrus 3 (Parapente Mag).

2002/12/10. Ability to set a minimum air speed with reference to stall speed. This promotes a minimum sink rate which is safe to use.

2002/12/9. Added wings : Swing/Astral 3 (Vol Libre), Edel/Live (Vol Libre).

2002/11/5. Added wings : Ozone/Vibe (Vol Libre), Sky Paragliders/Brontes (Vol Libre).

2002/10/17. Added wings : Advance/Epsilon 4 (Parapente Mag), Firebird/Hornet (Parapente Mag).

2002/10/4. Added wings : Sol/Synergy (Vol Libre), ITV/Diamant (Vol Libre).

2002/9/10. Added wings : Gin Gliders/Oasis (Vol Libre), Flight Design/Stream (Vol Libre).

2002/6/25. Added wings : Apco/Presta (Parapente Mag), Edel/Live (Parapente Mag).

2002/8/6. Added wings : Pro-Design/Titan (Vol Libre), Independence/Avalon (Vol Libre).

2002/7/12. Added wings : Nervures/Altea (Vol Libre), Firebird/Hornet (Vol Libre).

2002/6/25. Added wings : Ozone/Vibe (Parapente Mag), Swing/Astral 3 (Parapente Mag), Trekking/Elise (Parapente Mag).

2002/6/5. Added wings : Apco/Presta (Vol Libre), Airwave/Sport (Vol Libre), Sol/Yaris (Vol Libre).

2002/5/7. Added wings : Advance/Sigma 5 (Vol Libre), OL/Korsair (Vol Libre), Ozone/Proton GT (Vol Libre).

2002/4/18. You can now disable the Polar Curve - Natural Cubic Spline if you want to.

2002/4/15. Added wings : Gin Gliders/Oasis (Parapente Mag), Nova/Pheron (Parapente Mag).

2002/4/5. Added wings : Nova/Pheron (Vol Libre), Mac Para Technology/Eden 2 (Vol Libre).

2002/3/2. Added wing : Trekking/Elise (Vol Libre).

2002/2/27. Added wings : Advance/Sigma 5 (Parapente Mag), freeX/Moon (Parapente Mag), Sol/Cyclone (Parapente Mag).

2002/2/9. Added wings : Sky Paragliders/Fides (Vol Libre), XIX/Form 2 (Vol Libre).

2002/1/19. A Japanese version.

2002/1/7. Added wing : Windtech/Serak (Parapente Mag).

2001/12/22. Added wings : Swing/Mistral 2 (Parapente Mag), Flying Planet/Spirit (Parapente Mag).

2001/12/10. Added wings : Airwave/Logic (Vol Libre), Pegas/Avis 2 (Vol Libre).

2001/11/16. Added wings : Gin Gliders/Nomad (Vol Libre), Independence/Radical (Vol Libre).

2001/10/15. Added wings : Gradient/Bliss (Vol Libre), Ozone/Atom (Vol Libre), Trekking/K2 (Vol Libre), Flying Planet/Spirit (Vol Libre).

2001/8/17. Added wings : Apco/Simba (Vol Libre), Independence/Dragon (Vol Libre).

2001/8/9. Added wings : Gin Gliders/Nomad (Parapente Mag), Edel/Excel (Parapente Mag).

2001/7/23. Added wings : Swing/Mistral 2 (Vol Libre), Flight Design/Boxtair (Vol Libre).

2001/6/13. Added wing : Apco/Simba (Parapente Mag).

2001/6/4. Added wings : Sky Paragliders/Flirt (Vol Libre), Airwave/Magic (Vol Libre).

2001/5/1. Added wings : Advance/Omega 5 (Vol Libre), Air Sport/Pasat (Vol Libre).

2001/4/13. Added wings : Advance/Omega 5 (Parapente Mag), ITV/Polaris V2 (Parapente Mag).

2001/4/7. I am pleased to report that a collaboration with Vol Libre has been established. See the Discussion.

2001/3/30. Added wings : Swing/Cirrus 2 (Vol Libre), Firebird/Matrix (Vol Libre).

2001/3/28. Added wings : Nova/Carbon (Vol Libre), Paratech/P25 (Vol Libre).

2001/2/16. Added wing : Nova/Carbon (Parapente Mag).

2001/2/7. Added wings : Mac Para Technology/Diva (Vol Libre), Trekking/Espada (Vol Libre).

2001/1/29. Added wings : Swing/Astral 2 (Parapente Mag), Gradient/Onyx (Parapente Mag).

2001/1/19. You can contribute, see You can be a test pilot ! This will increase the database and allow for earlier testing. To support these new database entries, the user interface has been enhanced with respect to the Source by using a series of checkboxes instead of the previous list menu. Also the Extra Wing is now enabled/disabled through this new checkbox mechanism.

2000/12/20. Added wings : Advance/Alpha 2 (Vol Libre), Nova/Argon (Vol Libre), Ozone/Octane (Vol Libre), Pro-Design/Target (Vol Libre).

2000/12/10. Introduction of the Universal Rating concept.

2000/12/8. Addition of a graphical output for the Polar Curve.
Fixed a bug with the GR_W. The problem was that this value was evaluated before the loading and density corrections were applied.

2000/12/6. Fixed a bug that only appeared on Internet Exporer 5.5 (not 5.0 or 4.0), which said "Line 278, Char4, Array length must be a positive integer".

2000/12/1. For wings with a Polar Curve defined by 4 or more data points, a Natural (Null curvature at the first and last point) Cubic Spline interpolation is performed between the data points, which yields a better estimate of GR_W.

2000/11/14. The On-line article (last column) was removed. Too many people confused this with the Source. For on-line articles, see Wing Articles.

2000/10/26. The Advance/Alpha 2 is now certified DHV 1 (is also AFNOR Standard).

2000/10/19. Added wing : UP/Groove (Parapente Mag).

2000/10/10. Added wings : Flying Planet/Whisper (Vol Libre), Gradient/Onyx (Vol Libre).

2000/9/22. We can now filter the list of wings for the age of the test (how long ago it was tested).

2000/9/21. We can now filter the list of wings in order to only retain for the final table, the wings of a given Rating, specific wing names or a unique Source of testing. In the "Extra Wing" section, we can now supply a wing's full Polar Curve - Input Format.

2000/9/13. The compactness of the main page was enhanced. The criterions' default importance values used to establish the Grade were adjusted to reflect the use of the GR_W criterion. The Grade now handicaps missing criterion input.

2000/9/6. Added wings : Swing/Astral 2 (Vol Libre), freeX/Mission (Vol Libre).

2000/8/21. I added notes to clearly state that GR_W is the same thing as Lift/Drag when W=0 (no wind).

2000/8/15. I added some logic to invalidate the calculated GR_W when it can not be determined with sufficient certainty.

2000/8/14. Major changes. The database was upgraded to work with all measured data points in the wing's Polar Curve instead of a few key values. Values such as the Minimum Sink Rate are now calculated on demand instead of hard-coded in the database. The previous columns indicating best Lift/Drag and Lift/Drag at highest recorded speed, are now merged into one that indicates the GR_W which is dependent on a head wind that you specify.

2000/8/8. Added wings : ITV/Polaris (Vol Libre), Pro-Design/Effect (Vol Libre), Advance/Alpha 2 (Parapente Mag), Firebird/Booster (Parapente Mag), Flying Planet/Whisper (Parapente Mag).

2000/7/7. Added wings : Sky Paragliders/Lift (Vol Libre), Trekking/Moonlight (Vol Libre).

2000/6/27. Added wings : Nova/Argon (Parapente Mag), Mac Para Technology/Trance (Parapente Mag).

2000/6/15. Added wings : Flight Design/SX (Vol Libre), Ozone/Electron (Vol Libre).

2000/4/30. Fixed error : Apco/Bagheera (Parapente Mag) had an incorrect weight range.

2000/4/26. Added wings : ADG/Bahia (Parapente Mag), Gin Gliders/Bandit (Parapente Mag).

2000/4/4. Added wings : Advance/Epsilon 3 (Vol Libre), Edel/Confidence (Vol Libre).

2000/3/8. Added wings : Flying Planet/Astair (Vol Libre), Mac Para Technology/Eden (Vol Libre).

2000/3/7. Added wing : Edel/Saber (Parapente Mag). This is an old, but popular wing.

2000/2/23. Added wing : Swing/Arcus (Parapente Mag).

2000/2/3. Added wings : Windtech/Quarx, Paratech/P70.

2000/1/18. Added wings : Trekking/Sunbeam, Pegas/Bellus.

2000/1/7. Added wings : Apco/Bagheera (Vol Libre), Sky Paraglider/Divine.

1999/12/21. The Apco Allegra finaly gets certified (Dec 1999) by DHV, and gets a 1-2 rating in sizes : Small , Medium , Large .

1999/12/18. Added wings : Advance/Epsilon 3, Ozone/Proton (Parapente Mag).

1999/11/8. The Gin/Bolero is now known to have a DHV of 1, making it the only DHV 1 wing of this list at this time. The Airwave/Fusion is DHV 2, not 1-2.

1999/11/3. Added wings : Edel/Promise, Mac Para Technology/Eden, Windtech/Quarx.

1999/10/30. Added wings : Ozone/Proton, Edel/Promise.

1999/10/25. You can supply data for an additional wing.

1999/10/20. Made FORM functions generic, relocated Form.js file.

1999/10/7. Enhanced function GetSelectObjectNames() which now avoids hard coded SELECT object names.
JavaScript code split into multiple files.

1999/10/6. Cookies are used to store your settings for 60 days.

1999/10/4. Fixed an error in the conversion factor from kg/m² to lb/ft² used for displaying values in the "Loading" column. This error did not influence any other values because conversions are only done when posting the table. All calculations are performed in metric units.

1999/10/1. The Temperature correction now uses a better internal formula (does not change the values much).
All the correction formulas are now explained under : Correction Formulas.
US pressure units are now shown in inches of Hg (mercury).

1999/9/30. The data now gets corrected for Temperature, Altitude, and Pressure MSL. Pierre-Jean Pompée helped me with the formulas.

1999/9/29. Faster table creation. 10x faster under Internet Explorer. 2x faster under Netscape. Both IE and NS now show similar performance. I achieved this by optimizing the JavaScript source code.

1999/9/26. Added 24 new wing tests from Parapente Mag, thanks to Christophe Leperd who sent me the data.
Added a button to control the correction of the TFW-test (No correction, 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% of range)

1999/9/24. Added columns to table for : Correction Labels, TFW-min, TFW-max, TFW-test, Temperature, Altitude, Pressure MSL.
Corrected all speed data (and sink rate) and wing loading for a mid-range TFW-test value.
Added a button to have a choice of display units (metric / US).

1999/9/10. Added columns to table for : Speed-Stall, Speed-Range.
A French version is available.

1999/9/2. The English version is available.

1999/8/6. Project start. Coding first lines of JavaScript source code.