Sky Paragliders at Icarus Cup 2023: The Gii5 Harness, the Kooky Line, and Apollo 3 Nearing Release
パラワールド【超多面的パラグライダー情報チャンネル】PARAWORLD
At the 2023 Icarus Cup in Saint-Hilaire, France, a Sky Paragliders team member introduced the company's newest harness, its acro wings, the upcoming third-generation Apollo, and its plans for the two-liner C class. The recurring theme was usable performance and safety for pilots at every stage, from students to cross-country competitors.
Who Is Speaking
The speaker introduces himself as Arush from Sky Paragliders. He says he started paragliding at nine years old and has now been flying for about 23 years. He works mainly as an SIV and acro instructor and also works in research and development at Sky Paragliders.
Gii5: A Harness Redesigned Around Its Geometry
Behind him on the stand were two versions of the Gii harness. The Gii series has been part of Sky Paragliders' range for more than a decade. For the latest version, the Gii5, Arush says the team changed the geometry completely.
He says the new geometry is meant to make it easier for pilots to walk and run during takeoff. The team worked through many prototypes before settling on what they considered the best geometry. The goal was for students to get back into the seated position with minimal effort after launching. It also had to stay comfortable during thermal flying, dynamic soaring, and longer flights.
He described several practical features:
- Two large side pockets for items such as a phone on a lanyard or other small things needed in flight
- An external radio pocket that can be removed or attached
- A place for a hydration pack (CamelBak) on the back
According to Arush, the harness comes in two versions. One has an airbag, which he describes as quite light. The other, which sounds like "F bag" in the recording, can also be used with an inflation bag to reduce weight. The video description lists the two models as the Gii5 and the Gii5 Alpha. The transcript doesn't clearly say which name belongs to which version.
He calls both versions very user-friendly. He says the Gii5 is one of the company's top-selling models, both to paragliding schools and to free-flight pilots using it for their first cross-country flights or first SIV courses. The design aim was a durable, stable harness.
Arush says he is personally very happy with the Gii5 and did a lot of work on it. The Gii series was one of the first harness projects he took on after joining Sky Paragliders. He credits the final product to his work with Alexander and others on the team.
Kooky 2 and the Tandem Acro Version
When asked about wings, Arush first mentioned the company's acro glider, the Kooky 2. The Acro World Tour Superfinal in Turkey was starting the next day, and he says a Sky Paragliders pilot flying the Kooky was ranked first in the world tour. He describes having a Kooky on your back as like having "a real gun."
He also mentioned the Kooky 2 Bi, a tandem acro wing announced that year. Arush calls it one of the easiest tandem acro gliders currently on the market, one that can also fly Rhythmic Tumbling.
Apollo 3: Safety First, With "Usable Performance"
The main project in progress was the Apollo 3, the third generation of the Apollo, which is an EN B wing. Arush says the team focused on what he calls true performance. In his view, performance is not about flying over the sea or a lake in smooth air. It is performance you can actually use in tough conditions.
He summarized the priority as "safety, safety, safety," combined with the best balance of performance. He also drew on his own cross-country World Cup background, such as how to follow a line and how to make better transitions between thermals. He believes the team achieved a very good B-class wing: easy to launch, friendly for pilots flying in tough conditions, and suitable for serious cross-country flying.
The Apollo 3 was not finished at the time of the interview. It was still going through certification, and the new season was approaching. Arush said they were confident of getting a very good certification result, but this was his expectation, not a completed result.
Other Projects and the Two-Liner C Class
Arush said new harnesses and new gliders were in development. He noted the current trend toward two-liner designs in the EN C class. He said this trend makes him think seriously about what pilots will face at that level.
Sky Paragliders' goal, he said, is to have a two-liner C glider ready and to make it very safe for pilots. At the same time, he believes three-liner designs will remain in the C class. They would serve pilots moving up from B to C, and C pilots who want better performance or want to learn gradually toward two-liner flying.
The interviewer asked whether the company would offer two types of C-class wing. Arush said yes, that is their plan, explaining that the company cares about pilots progressing from scratch upward.
Closing
At the end, the interviewer said they were looking forward to the Apollo 3, and Arush replied that he hoped it would come out soon. He also said he would like to visit Japan, possibly not that year but the next.
Hello, my name is Arush. I'm from Sky Paragliders. I started paragliding when I was 9 years old, and it's been like 23 years I'm flying. Mostly I'm an SIV and acro instructor, and also at the same time I'm working in research and development for Sky Paragliders.
Latest product: actually, in our back you can see two versions of the Gii harness. The Gii series has been part of Sky Paragliders for a very long time, more than a decade, but in the latest version, Gii 5, we have changed it geometrically completely. So this new geometry is helping the pilot to run easier, to walk easier on the takeoff, to create a takeoff. At the same time, with a lot of time working on many different prototypes, we finalized the best geometry, so that the students can get back into the harness with the minimum effort. At the same time, they can be very comfortable doing thermal flying or dynamic soaring, or staying in the air for a longer time after they school.
We have two big pockets on the side that can help the pilots put their phones with a loop, or put simple things that they need to use in the air. We have an external radio pocket that can be taken off or put on. We have a CamelBak place on the back. And also this harness comes in two versions: one is with the airbag, which is quite lighter; the other one is the foam bag, which can also use the inflation bag, which is also provided to reduce the weight. It's very, very user friendly.
Yes, it's one of our top models that we are selling to many paragliding schools, and also so many free flight pilots are using it for their first cross country or for their first SIV. We try to have a durable and also a stable harness.
Good, yeah, I'm very happy with the foam bag recently. I did a lot of work on it. It was one of my first harnesses, the Gii series, since I came to Sky Paragliders, and then with the work with Alexander and the other people from the team, we finalized a product that makes us happy.
How about the wing? How about the wing? So we are very specific, actually, on our wings, because right now, tomorrow, the competition is going to start in the Superfinal in Turkey, and our pilot is first in the World Tour with a Cookie. So we are happy to have this. This is a Cookie on your back. We're happy to have a real gun. At the same time, we have the Cookie 2 Tandem, which we announced this year. It's one of the easiest tandem acro gliders right now on the market with which you can do rhythmic tumbling.
At the same time, now we are working, as you see here, on the Apollo version three, the third generation of the Apollo. So in the third generation of Apollo, we were considering the performance, the true performance, because performance is not about flying above the sea, performance is not about flying over the lake. Performance is about usable performance that you can have in tough conditions too. So for us it was safety, safety, safety, and at the same time the best balance of performance that you can gain. I have some cross country World Cup background too, like how to follow the line, how to make better thermal transitions. So I believe we achieved a very nice B category glider that is easy and friendly for the pilot who wants to make an easy inflation, fly in tough conditions, and go for serious cross country.
I just introduced the product; the latest season is about to come, because it's not done yet, the certification is not done yet, but we are sure that we will achieve a very good certification with it.
So we are working on some new harnesses, we are working on some new gliders. As you know, the latest trend is to have a two-liner in the C class. So that's a trend, but that's also a part that makes me think physically, like, okay, what kind of pilots we are going to face. So our goal is to be ready with a two-liner C glider, which brings very high safety too for the pilot. But I believe we will remain with the three-liner as well, for the people who want to move from B to C, and also for the C pilots who want better performance flying with, or learning to fly with, a two-liner.
What do you think, you're going to have two things in the C category in the future? Perhaps, yes, this is our plan, because we care about pilots who are coming from scratch up. Thank you so much. You're welcome.
So, looking forward to the Apollo. It's coming.
And yes, I really hope so, and I hope to visit Japan too. It's one of the interesting places for me to visit. Maybe not this year; next year I'll visit Japan. Very welcome. You're welcome. Thank you very much.
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