PARAGLIDING IN SA  |   FLYING SITES  |   REVIEWS  |   AIRLORE  |   STORIES  |   GALLERY |   CARTOONS AIRWAVE MUSTANG by Darron Guberman Darron is a natural pilot with acro tendencies. He has been flying since 2000. Read his profile.  You might also like to read: Other paraglider reviews on this website. Partly closed cells Smooth and clean Don't miss out! Get the next paraglider test as soon as it's released, by JOINING OUR MAILING LIST. FIRST IMPRESSIONS A full review of a paraglider takes many days of flying, various types of conditions, a trusty camera and of course lots of experience to make useful comparisons.  But what can be learned about a wing when you only test it for a short while?  What are the most important things to look for?  What do you compare and consider once airborne? First things first, get your hands on as many gliders as possible and fly them every chance you can.  The more wings you fly and the more weather you fly in the easier it becomes to discern a great thermal from a great wing (or rotor from a reject). Then when you have an opportunity to fly something new, in my case an Airwave Mustang (L) you can focus your attention on the following. CONSTRUCTION You can see or feel what a glider is made of in an instant.  If someone hands you a wing and says “can you keep an eye on this while I take this phone call / go to the doctor / run to the loo” check the fabric.  Gelvenor feels smooth and rubbery.  Porcher is thinner and more crinkly.  All certified gliders pass a load test so they must be strong enough.  Gelvenor is heavy but holds up well in the harsh South African sun.  Porcher is lighter weight but be careful if you tend to land in thorny bushes or on fences. The Airwave Mustang is made from a mix of fabrics.  The leading edge is Gelvenor at 50 gr/m.  This heavy duty fabric extends from the cell openings back about 25%.  The tail 75% of the wing (top and bottom) is made from Porcher which weighs only 39 gr/m.  Other manufactures have made wings with Gelvenor on top and Porcher on the bottom.  The goal is to make a wing that can handle the sun without all the weight.  This split from front to back makes sense to me (since the leading edge always gets baked) and the weight is pretty low.  The medium Mustang weighs only 5.6 kg. Unless the lines are unsheathed you won’t be able to tell what they are made of.  If it is a competition glider, be thankful for the load test.  They always look too skinny.  Ask if they are not too old.  If it is a normal, serial class wing don’t go pulling apart the stitching.  It will be the last demo / loaner wing you get!  Ask the dealer if you really want to know what the lines are.  The Mustang is made with Kevlar lines.  I only found out when I cut one on a rock. If you bust a friend’s glider, get it fixed properly.   He’s going to find the duct tape eventually.  And don’t try to stitch anything with dental floss.  You can smell the mint from a mile away! Risers are pretty self explanatory.  Things to look for on a new glider are the Brummel hooks if you need them; whether the speed bar line is between the A/B riser or in front of the A and if the brake handles are nice.  The Mustang speed bar line is in front of the A riser and is as long as usual (with Brummel hooks).  The brake handles are webbing filled with medium density foam.  They are attached to the riser with magnetic keepers.  Simple colour design enhances the smooth clean arc of the wing. LAUNCH If you are about to take off from Table Mountain or some other dangerous cliff face, you may want to ask if the wing has any “funny tendencies”.  Otherwise, take off as usual and see what you get.  I prefer not to have someone remind me to pull harder, longer or tap the brakes or whatever.  I like to launch a new wing just like I always do and see for myself what happens.  If I get dumped or dragged, the dealer/friend can have the wing back sooner rather than later! When I launched the Mustang the first thought in my mind was “Wow, that was really easy.”  Subsequent launches were the same way.  When I went to a local field in a gusty South Easter to get some photos I was still impressed with the ease of launch.  BRAKES Some people, myself included, mess with the line lengths.  It’s a good idea to ask if the wing has been modified.  If it has, you can forget about the DHV rating.  Shorter brake lines (the most common change) affect everything from launching to maneuver recovery to towing characteristics. The Mustang still had the factory settings.  The brake pressure was average, progressive and didn’t really cross my mind.  When I wanted to turn, the glider turned. WIGGLES, WOBBLES AND OTHER HANDLING What you really want to know is how a glider feels in the air.  Technical manuals can’t convey the feeling.  And most dealers are biased.  So as soon as I have some clearance I like to wiggle, wobble and see what falls down. Wiggling from side to side in your harness with no brakes will tell you a lot about roll stability.  I’m talking about big weight shift here.  Think about how fast and hard you would throw your weight to the side if you thought your camera just fell out of your harness pocket.  Do that a few times and see what the wing does.  The more wings you’ve flown the better your references will be. The Mustang was more sensitive to weight shift than average – at first.  With just weight shift I was able to swing through some mild wingovers.  Gliders that are easy to roll with weight shift normally provide lots of feedback in thermals or rough air.  At least that is the theory, and all one has to go on if your test flights are short.  How much wiggle is ideal is a matter of choice. When I tried to really crank-n-bank the Mustang there was a definite hesitancy.  The roll rate and turns felt quick and coordinated for the first 60 degrees then sluggish after that.  One can also feel a glider’s pitch stability with a little “wobble”.  Alternating application of speed bar and brake will quickly indicate how much pitch is allowed on a wing.  Launches in strong wind also give a good indication of how likely a glider is to surge forward.  The Mustang was well behaved in this regard. I AM HIGHER THAN YOU ARE It’s hard not to like a glider when you are soaring higher than all of your mates.  But don’t be fooled if you are lighter on the wing than they are.  Little things like ballast, flying posture and pilot wind drag all impact performance.  For meaningful comparisons I like to scratch in light lift next to a hill.  Every meter lost in a turn is noticeable when terra firma is right next to you.  As you swoop past the hill your sense of speed will be more pronounced.  Your rate of turn around a tree (or into it) will be very clear.  Your bank angle while turning can be compared to something stationary.  In general, your senses will feel more switched on and many comparisons are easier when next to the ground. I had an opportunity to scratch on the tiniest of hills in the lightest of lift while flying the Mustang.  I stayed up when I didn’t expect to.  I zoomed past rocks faster than I probably should have.  And I had a ball while testing out the new wing.  When it comes to performance, this is what I like to compare.  Numbers on a web site don’t fly.  But the numbers on my vario were bigger than those of my mates. WHEN THINGS GO WRONG Seeing what a glider does after a full stall or other hair raising maneuver is the toughest part of a glider review.  Most pilots simply aren’t going to try this for themselves.  And why bother when someone at the DHV or Afnor has already done so? The best (not the safest) way to find out how far or hard you can pull before a glider spins or stalls is to actually do so.  But if you don’t have the height (or the insurance) there are other choices.  You can spin or stall a wing an inch above the ground.  You won’t get any practice with recovery, but you will learn much about the stall or spin point.  The most useful maneuver to check when borrowing a wing for a short time is the asymmetric collapse.  It is the situation you are most likely to encounter when flying and it will tell you what to expect the next time you fall out of a nasty thermal. The Mustang reacted more mildly than expected with normal asymmetric collapses, but quite actively when accelerated.  Turn rates when relaxed in the harness and not counter-steering were about 70 degrees and 180 degrees respectively. If one has enough time and height, front tucks and B-line stalls can be checked too.  If you are skilled at the exit, you will want to spiral every wing you fly. I found the Mustang entered a spiral with ease.  It was easy to slow down and exit.  Building up lots of energy for acro required some work.  WHEN YOU HAVE TO GIVE THE WING BACK Before returning that demo wing, try to make the following comparisons to whatever you fly now.  Does it launch easier?  Is the trim speed or maximum speed any faster?  Did you feel at home on the wing instantly, or do you expect to “get use to it”?  In particular, did the wing turn the way you like it to?  Some like to crank-n-bank and some like to keep it flat. Overall, I was impressed with the Mustang.  The ease of launch and weight are really strong points.  It felt about as fast as most gliders, but I did not get a chance to check this carefully.  I felt very at home and at ease while cruising around.  Nothing on the glider needed getting use to, although I would not recommend the wing for acro.  Unless maybe you get a size too small.  These were my first impressions of the Airwave Mustang, as well as what goes through my mind while testing (playing).  If have an opportunity to fly the Mustang, see if you agree.  If you test fly something else, I hope my suggestions come in handy. Launching - Wow, that was really easy! Nothing fancy with the riser configuration Technical specs : AIRWAVE MUSTANG 2 (2005) Rating : DHV2 Flat area (m2) 26.8 Projected area (m2) 23.5 Aspect ratio 5.7 Wing weight (kg) 5.9 Length of lines (m) 8.5 Speedbar travel (cm) 14 Weight range (kg all up) 95-120 Reviewed at (kg) 107 More information Try the Airwave website For a test flight in South African get hold of Jan Minnaar at Cloudbase Paragliding Para2000 for more detailed specs.