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| SWING ASTRAL 4 April 2005 by Greg Hamerton. Greg has been flying since 1992 and has flown over 100 wings. He prefers responsive handling and agility but rates passive stability highly as he enjoys taking photographs and snoozing whilst gliding. You might also like to read: Other paraglider reviews on this website. |
 Lots of fun |
 Simple risers |
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| Forgive me for breaking the
mold, but I’m bored of the standard reviews. You’ve read them before.
You’re a pilot, after all, you’ve got better things to do than read dry
politically correct technical nonsense. So this review doesn’t have
frills. Swing has been around since the early days of paragliding, so we know Swing can manufacture gliders. We know the Astral4 has passed the DHV test, so what’s there to say about safety? I mean, really? Sure, I could over-analyse every manouevre, but it’s hardly useful or scientific. If you’ve got half an ounce of ability, you’ll adapt to the wing. If not, stay in the DHV1 class. Here’s what I felt while I was flying. It’s SMOOTH. It’s a nice blend of agile with STABLE. It’s a bit wide in the turns but keeps them FLAT. QUIET on the pitch axis - it cuts into thermals, making glides really efficient, even on speedbar. You can floor the pedal, without serious wing deformations (yay!). And surprisingly, it’s great for doing those whooping big wingovers – if you swing it hard to one side it will turn tight, it just prefers to sit fairly flat in thermals. The ham-fisted muscleboys might overcrank the brakes, which have a short-to-medium travel before stall point. For everyone else it’s pretty obvious because the pressure increases, and heck, the lift goes away – there’s a clue you’re stalling it. I give it a thumbs up – a wing perfectly in the middle of the DHV2 class, it’s not a hotship, it’s not a plonker’s glider, it’s been built to be enjoyed by the majority of pilots. No bite, no sting, no lumps, no nonsense – a well-rounded well-developed product that looks great. And it flies! Contact Pete Wallenda in Cape Town to find out more about SWING Visit www.wallendair.com Call 083 300 1755 or email wallenda@iafrica.com |
 Relaxed and easy aerobatics  Steady in the air |
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 Ready, steady ...  Boo! |
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