Chiron Wing Experiences
George Ferguson
wings?
The manufacturer claims that they have:
* greater lift
* lower drag
* longer glide
* quicker turning
Can anyone verify this?
How are they to fly?
Are they as stable as conventional rectangular wings?
Thanks in advance for any information!
Best,
George Ferguson
yestreenD...@hotmail.com
Ross Carlisle
that they fly like a paraglider. They are much cleaner and more efficient
than a square wing. For this reason, during inflation you have to apply
some brake or the wing will overfly the carriage.
As far as manufacturer claims...All of the above applies. I know this from
people that fly them. The claim of greater lift is obvious. A 340 Chiron
will out lift and out perform a 500 Quantum all day long. The longer glide
(1/3 better Im told) is due in large part to the reduced drag...Which also
makes for a better cruise speed...Ive heard that up to 10 MPH more is
possible.
As far as flying...There is no free lunch. Like any high performance
aircraft, it is not the same as flying the old square canopies. The same
properties that make them perform better also make them harder to fly for
newbie pilots. IE: With a suare canopy, you can stand on one brake and the
machine lumbers into a turn. With the Chiron, the same thing will get you
into a tight spiral pulling about 3 g's.
I cant wait to get mine in the air.
Ross
George Ferguson <r...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:9j3b6r$fqi$1...@slb7.atl.mindspring.net...
George Ferguson
What about general stability and safety?
Can one steer a Chiron wing into an unstable state, i.e. stall, dive, roll?
Are they more prone to deflate, or harder to reinflate?
Are they less stable with no control inputs, e.g. taking pictures?
I am a newbie, intrigued by the wing, but value safety above all else.
(I know I will make mistakes, and want as large a safety margin as
possible).
Thanks for the info!
George F.
"Ross Carlisle" <rrc...@concentric.net> wrote in message
news:9j4ba2$9...@dispatch.concentric.net...
Ross Carlisle
> Hey Ross,
>
> What about general stability and safety?
Most people say that the wing is more stable than a square wing.
>
> Can one steer a Chiron wing into an unstable state, i.e. stall, dive,
roll?
Absolutely...It a high performance wing. It is easier to get into trouble
with a high performance wing if you dont know what you are doing, but you
can also drive a square wing into an unstable state without much trouble
also. It just takes a little more control input. This is what makes a
square wing a good training wing. It is more tolerant to student mistakes.
>
> Are they more prone to deflate, or harder to reinflate?
I think like paragliders, they are more prone to deflate in adverse
conditions but they also tend to reinflate faster than a square wing. I
dont know it theres any truth to this, but Ive heard that a square wing will
most of the time not recover from a complete collapse. Ive had lots of
complete collapses in my PPG and Im still here to talk about them. You'll
notice that the Chiron is nothing more than an overgrown paraglider wing.
>
> Are they less stable with no control inputs, e.g. taking pictures?
A PPC is a stable machine by nature. The pendulum effect makes it stable.
I doubt you would see much difference in hands off stability.
>
> I am a newbie, intrigued by the wing, but value safety above all else.
> (I know I will make mistakes, and want as large a safety margin as
> possible).
It is generally suggested that you learn to fly on a square wing then
migrate to the Chiron. I not so sure I agree with this. The Chiron is very
different in its ground handling and flight characteristics. Even though
you do your initial training on a square wing, you will still need training
to safely fly the Chiron. So...I say if you intend to fly the Chiron in the
near future, you might as well just do your initial training on the Chiron.
The problem can be finding a Chiron proficient instructor. This all would
apply to someone new to the sport, like yourself.
A PPG or PPC pilot with 50 or so hours should be able to handle the Chiron
no problem. Its not that its a hard wing to fly...Its just different. Its
like going from a Ceasna 150 to a Pitts Special. The concept is the
same...but thats about all thats the same.
>
> Thanks for the info!
Glad to help. Maybe some of the other PPCers will come out of the closet.