PARAGLIDING IN SA  |   FLYING SITES  |   REVIEWS  |   AIRLORE  |   STORIES  |   GALLERY |   CARTOONS INDEPENDENCE DRAGON 2 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. Don't miss out! Get the next paraglider test as soon as it's released, by JOINING OUR MAILING LIST. If you don’t go to the Stubai Cup in Austria every year, it’s easy to miss new entrants in the paragliding scene.  Independence is one such company, already with a slew of gliders that slipped under my radar screen. INTRODUCTION German based Independence has been making gliders since 2001.  Their designer, Michael Nesler, made wings for Perche, Edel and other manufactures before going on his own.   The Independence brand includes 7 wings ranging from DHV1 to competition.  They make a tandem glider and have a specially tuned wing for aerobatics (which is based on the Dragon2).   The original Dragon was improved to reduce fabric wrinkles, increase stability at speed and remain the “best price-quality-performance ratio” on the market.  I decided to verify the hype with 5 test flights around Cape Town. CONSTRUCTION The Dragon2 is made from Porcher Marine Skytech rip-stop fabric on both upper and lower surfaces.  The lines are covered, colour coded and made from Edelrid HMA aramid. All four sizes have 46 cells.  A few on each end are closed with the rest wide open.  Risers are the standard black webbing with colour markings on the inner A’s and C’s (yellow and blue, respectively).  The glider is equipped with Brummel hook connections for the speed system.   All of the wings come with a grey underside leading edge, followed by a black stripe stretching from tip to tip.  The upper surface and trailing edge half of the lower surface is available in four colors: red, orange, blue and gold.  Extra colors are available by special request.   The brake toggles are adequate flat webbing with a stiffener and a magnetic keeper.   The backpack is large enough to accommodate the average to extra-cushy harnesses out there.  Medium density foam is stitched into the back of the pack to provide better ventilation while hiking.  When the shoulder straps stay in place the pack carries rather well, but I found the straps kept slipping. My demo wing arrived in a very nice stuff sack with shoulder straps.  Unfortunately, that is an extra accessory. Overall the wing looks well made and solid.  A look at the www.independence-world.com website will answer most any question about how the wing is constructed, except for what materials are used.  After learning about the 1 year or 300 hour (whichever comes first) warranty I closed the computer and went flying. LAUNCHING The Dragon2’s fully open leading edge inflates to a wall easily with a light breeze or more.  In light winds the launch requires the use of both split A’s and an average pull.  In strong winds the center A’s work fine.  In really strong winds (the kind you shouldn’t be flying in) the glider bounces on the trailing edge as it gulps in air.   The Dragon2 is forgiving on launch.  Inflation and pull-ups were all hassle-free. On one launch where I stumbled, I was surprised to see the wing patiently waiting overhead for me charge down the ramp.   The brake toggles get bumped off their magnets easily while turning around, but a proper preflight should find them securely in your hands before launching. HANDLING The air was cold; the cliff was sheer and the wind light south east.  It’s winter and thermals swirl only in my memories.  But when on a mission to test a new glider, any huge cliff with a cable car will do.  Several hundred meters of air is just what I wanted – even if only for a foofy. To my delight the Dragon2 carried me above the cold, shadowed cliff face in a mild breeze.  High above the ground I let go of the toggles and threw my weight from side to side.  Round and round in figure eights I went with no hands.  The weight shift was good.  I was even starting to warm up! Adding some properly timed brake input turned the eights into coordinated wing-overs.  The brake pressure and travel length didn’t even cross my mind.  I normally notice if the travel is too long or the pressure too high.  But I was throwing the wing around within a few minutes without even thinking about it.  The brake pressure and turning increase so naturally that one hardly notices that you have to steer.  Or maybe my hands just got numb!   In normal flying, and I suspect thermalling, the Dragon turns better than average for its class.  It was only on subsequent flights when I tried to go upside down that I noticed the damping effects of a DHV1-2 wing.   Unfortunately, my flights were all lacking in thermals.  The only bumps I felt were blown in by the southeaster.  The ever-so-mild turbulence I encountered jostled my harness more than the wing.  A less stable wing may have lost a tip in the air I flew threw, but in winter all gliders seem pretty solid. SAFETY The Dragon2, with its DHV 1-2 rating shouldn’t have ugly surprises for low airtime pilots.  With the several hundred meters of air below, I started looking for surprises in each maneuver. Big ears are easy to pull although the outside A riser is black just like the B riser.  The ears have a major tendency to stick in.  So don’t think you can use and then remove them quickly to get your final glide just right.  Opening the tips required a lot of pumping the brakes. Asymmetric collapses were mellow, didn’t result in much of a turn and fixed themselves much better than big ears.  Collapses on full speed bar were in line with other gliders of this class.   Symmetric frontal collapses recover automatically with a slight delay.  Thereafter the wing surges forward and resumes normal flight.  The pull required to fold the leading edge felt good and not too easy. Wing-overs are well coordinated and fun.  Brake travel, pressure and authority are just right to make carving through the sky a delight.  Newer pilots up to experienced recreational pilots will feel at ease with the speed of turning on the Dragon.  More expert and certainly acro pilots will feel hindered by the wing’s roll rate.   Spiral dives are easy to enter with just a little more weight shift and brake than one would use for tight thermalling.  The transition from mild spiral to locked-in spiral occurs with a normal “bite” as the g’s pick up.   B-line stalls are more difficult to do with the Dragon2 than other wings I have flown.  The B-riser is black like the rest of the webbing, so finding the correct riser requires a little searching.  It’s where it should be, but you need to look carefully to make sure you grab the correct one.  A slightly more forceful pull is required to crease the wing, and maintaining that shape will work your arms out.   Full stalling the wing requires average determination.  The brake pressure increases steadily and sufficiently to keep the vast majority of pilots from stalling accidentally.  The signs of an unhappy, bending backwards wing are all there before the Dragon2 actually stops flying.  Recovery is like most gliders, but with a little more surge than I expected.  You’ll know you’re flying again when the glider dives 45 degrees in front of you. Negative spins also have all the warning signs a newer pilot needs to keep out of trouble.  Long, deliberate pulling warps the glider back before it actually spins.  Once spinning, the wing stays pretty much fully open and rotates at a normal speed.  The Dragon’s one ugly surprise was in the spin recovery.  I only spun the Dragon2 once (that was enough, thanks) and when I released the brake it shot forward.  The tip I had not stalled darted in front of me and below the horizon.  The wing tip went slack and blew past me as I fell under the wing.  This was rather unexpected for a wing of this class and certainly got my attention! PERFORMANCE The Dragon2 has a speed range typical of a modern intermediate wing.  Trim when I tested it was around 34 km/h and top speed was about 47 km/h.  The manufacturer claims faster speeds which are likely only if clipped in very heavy.  The accelerator system is short enough that it is easy to use 100% of it.   Energy retention when exiting a spiral is average.  The glide ratio is not specified by Independence, but it felt typical of the newer wings of this class. CONCLUSION Independence has succeeded in making a very fun to fly, polished glider that many pilots will enjoy.  The Dragon2 is well behaved in most areas, with pitch being the only exception.   The Dragon2 is suitable for a wide range of pilots from just licensed up to seasoned recreational.  Those who want bus-like stability may find the wing too active.  And those who really crave that sports car feel may want more zip.  For all the pilots in between those extremes, the Dragon2 offers a good “price-quality-performance ratio”.  Windmaster Paragliding offers the wing from R17,000 to R22,000 depending on the size.   TECHSPECS The Dragon2 is available in sizes from S to XL, which cover weight ranges from 60 to 135 kilograms (all up).  All four sizes have the same aspect ratio and DHV rating.  This review was done on a large, flying between 108-110 kg all up. Technical specs : INDEPENDENCE DRAGON2 (2004) Rating : DHV1-2 Flat area (m2) 30.7 Projected area (m2) 26.0 Aspect ratio 5.5 Wing weight (kg) 6.9 Length of lines (m) 8.5 Manufacturer's speed : trim / max 35 / 49 Weight range (kg all up) 95-120 Reviewed at (kg) 109 More information Try the INDEPENDENCE website For a test flight in South Africa get hold of Roland at Windmaster Paragliding Para2000 for more detailed specs.