41st Coupe Icare - News
Published on:
22 Sep 2014
The 41st edition of the Coupe Icare was, as always, an exciting amalgam of industry news, old friends and new, and swarms of flying humans, all joined together at the beautiful plateau village of St Hilaire du Touvet. This year we announced several new products that will be arriving in 2015: Swift 4 The Swift 4 is based on the Rush 4 design, which is now a landmark design in the Sport-Intermediate Class (to maintain clarity as to which Rush the Swift evolved from, we have skipped the Swift "3" in the series). The new Swift 4 contains all of the performance enhancing details of the Rush 4, packaged into a very light and low-volume travel / vol-biv package. For pilots who want a dependable yet highly efficient wing in this class, the Swift 4 delivers real XC capabilities, to-go! Mojo 5 The Mojo 5 may be the 5th in the series, but this iteration is completely new, and was designed from the ground up to redefine this specific class of wing. The Mojo 5's handling is even more compact and user-friendly than any of its predecessors. Passive safety is even further improved over the Mojo 4, and at the same time we have refined the launch behaviour and upped the glide performance. From new school graduates to relaxed paragliding veterans, the Mojo 5 provides the most relaxing platform in the Ozone range for all-around fun flying, and basic XC missions. Atom This incredibly safe and solid new design is based on what we have learned during more than 15 years of basic and student wing R&D. The Atom may be one of the safest and simplest-to-use wings that we have ever flown, but it is complex in its simplicity, with a serious amount of design research and testing invested in it. There is no better wing for a pilot's first flights! F*Lite The F*Lite is an ultra-light harness for hike & fly pilots and para-alpinists. The current version, which has now passed EN Load tests for 100kg, weighs in at 99 grams. The F*Lite's load bearing structure is made from Dyneema thread and webbing, and carbon compression bars. Orienting the Dyneema thread pattern was achieved via an algorithm which determined the stress patterns on the harness. The thread pattern was then specifically designed to cover these areas. Although it has now been successfully load tested, this harness is still in beta testing phase. We expect to begin production in 2015. New XC Harness Our newest harness is an XC Pod-Harness designed for everyday XC flying. With a similar chassis to the now-popular Ozium, this new harness is a "standard" weight (but not heavy!), durable and dependable harness for intermediate to expert XC pilots. If you've been looking for a solid option for real XC flying, this is the daily-driver harness that you've been waiting for. Rapido As speed flying and speed riding wings have evolved, so has pilot skill, experience, and methodology. The Rapido is a new design for pilots who are pushing the limits of steep carving flights, low barrel rolls, and long swoops. With a slightly higher aspect ratio and a more dynamic and agile character than the Fazer series, the Rapido is designed specifically for experienced speed flying pilots. A wider glide range and a higher trim speed and wider acceleration window set this wing apart from the other speed wings in our range. Roadster 2 The Roadster 2 is aimed to fulfil the demands of the many beginner-intermediate pilots entering the sport of PPG. With a focus on a simple and light inflation and an accessible and easy to manage high top speed, this is an excellent choice for new pilots who want an easy wing that they won’t soon grow out of. Viper 3 Viper 3 is the newest edition of the legendary Viper series, which has won countless world, national, and continental titles over the past eight years. The legacy of the Viper series is being brought to a completely new level, with this next-generation profile. The Viper 3 is an entirely new wing that we are confident will satisfy the speed and agility demands of the most advanced and discerning pilots in the world.