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F3BI paraglider review.
Good morning all,
I received my F3BI paraglider one year ago and had a chance to fly it about 350 flights all tandem flights totaling 110 hours.
I own a tandem paratrike that weigh 115 kg with Rotax 503 engine 50HP.
I weigh 70 kg and take passengers up to 110 kg.
Pilot Experience:
7 years with paratrikes ( over a thousand flights)and 30 years paraglider experience. Also I am a certified advance aircraft pilot with 40 years experience.
I am a very conservative pilot.
This is my first reflex wing.
Ground impressions:
Nice looking.
Solid quality materials no tears or broken lines to date despite rough terrain. Very impressive.
Easy to get lines organized or untangled if necessary.
No need for special ground arrangement, it will always inflate nicely.
In the air:
Once I have used A assist for inflation life became wonderful. It’s a must. Initially manually holding the A I had about 1 failed take off to every 4 good ones. With A assist I Get a ratio of one failed takeoff to 30 good ones.
The wing is easily controlled with good response.
I practice engine out procedure ( I have no starter so once turned off it’s a real emergency landing) on regular basis and never had an issue. Pay attention with Heavy load it sinks faster and hoter.
Longer takeoff run than other gliders I had ( it’s also smaller by 6 square meters than my prior gliders( 36 vs 42).
Turning is beautiful and precise and the tip steering ( my first) is awesome with very light one finger operation. However since my flights are always less than 15-20 minutes ( commercial flights)I don’t use it much and stay with the main handles.
The trims are easily operated and can add 8 Kmh to the flight speed but since speed is not a goal or important to me I rarely use it.
This wing is considerably faster than my old wings ( Itv bulldog, Apco game, apco play)
I do not have wheel brakes and since it’s a fast wing sometimes I wish I did have it for shorter landings.
I didn’t use or tried the speed bar/ A assist assembly which should give another 10 kmh.
things I liked very much:
The wing take turbulence and unstable air very well and in contrast with my prior wings it didn’t give me any” heart attacks” while flying it for almost a year.
Also, amazing flare authority, the best I have seen with any paraglider to date, consequently
All my landings with no exceptions are very smooth on this glider.
My technic is to turn engine off at 3 meters above ground and glide while pulling brakes.
All and all very happy with the wing, it does the job and very durable to date. Also the factory (Apco)was very helpful every time I needed guidance.
Yours
Moshe Grad.
Good morning Jonathan