Archives: F5

Here is my feedback on the F5. I flew it 10x – 3 on Trike and 7 on foot launch.

Pros:
It launches very easy on the trike or footlaunch. The lightweight fabric helps a ton and it feels like a lightweight version of the EZR to me with some F3 in it. Good climb rate on takeoff, easy to control.
The risers take some getting used to, due to all the ropes, which make them less rigid than our other APCO wings. trimmers are easy to use and smooth compared to previous wings.
It flies great – it is surprisingly fast and really fun. I clocked 37 mph at trim neutral. The mohawk actually does completely eliminate roll oscillations no matter what you’re doing. I couldn’t get the thing to oscillate not matter what I did. I also did some wingovers on it (trike and footlaunch) and it still can do them, but comes back stable. It feels extremely safe to me.
I would absolutely recommend this to students over the EZR.
Cons:
I love the trimmer magnets, but they tend to catch the speedbar sister clips and it can be confusing for people to figure out what they’re looking at.
I hope this helps,

Ryan

I’ve been flying the Apco F5 and, to put it briefly, I’m absolutely in love with it. It’s quite similar to the F3, but more forgiving. I also let two of my skilled students fly the wing, and both of them have made it their favorite. One of them bought an F3 from one of our customers who has stopped flying, but he’s also considering getting an F5 in addition to his F3. Based on our tests, we’ve decided to make the F5 our preferred wing for students and the F3 for more advanced pilots. Consequently, we’re planning to focus on the F5 instead of the Lift EZ series. The Lift EZ has a slightly more durable combination of fabric materials, but it’s also a bit heavier and has less energy in the landing. Therefore, the F5 is our preferred wing for students and new pilots.

I was lucky enough to be able to test the new F5 from APCO, I was delighted with the ease of inflation it has, with just a little breeze and just by taking a step back it goes up on its own, without having to use the A lines. , the SRS system on the risers makes it much easier to control the wing when it is overhead!
The flight is incredibly stable, the controls are very smooth and with good reaction; It seems incredible, but the Mohawk, as the central rudder that the F5 has has been called, works very well, both when starting and maintaining turns and when exiting them, making this sail very stable and allowing us to evolve safely.
The trimmers are very easy to use and slide very well.
When applying the speed bar at 100% with the trimmers open, the wing remains very safe and firm in its trajectory.
It really is a very safe wing for pilots who want to fly without problems and for students who want to evolve and take that extra step safely.