The forecast called for solid wind on this beautiful Sunday afternoon - too bad no one told the clouds....
Kalani, Stu and I headed to Hickam to partake of the good wind forecast, but were met with a thick layer of clouds that were stifling the wind. But every now and then the wind would blow through and it was decent strength.
We set up and took our chances.
I bolted on the Cabrinha Prestige 905/Union 160/Apex 78 onto No.44 and got two distinct sessions in, each with a different parawing to match the conditions.
With the wind so light up front, I took out the BRM S3 5.3. And halfway through the wind picked up enough for me to try out the PPC Orbit 4.5
At first I was kicking myself for not bringing No.42 and the BRM L1 6.5
But the Prestige 905 and the BRM S3 5.3 when used effectively can overcome challenging conditions.
Lots of north in the wind when it came through. But it was wind and I was able to get up and ride.
The wind did peter out, but by the end of this first session the wind was showing signs of strengthening so I went in and swapped to the PPC Orbit 4.5
First time getting wet!
I initially had a bit of trouble getting up on foil - but that was more wind strength related and not necessarily the parawing.
But with the PAL sheeted in and the right gust, I was able to get up. On these first takeoffs, I did note the parawing works better if aimed more on a reach and not too close to the wind. I had better success if I pumped slower, focusing more on getting the foil up to takeoff speed.
You have to manage the line tension, but jibing was really easy.
I down loop jibed multiple times and in several different wind patterns and the parawing dropped out and reengaged easily.
I did one each heelside and toeside tacks - and made it through the transition without any drama - first attempts!!!!
I changed the PAL settings multiple times to try to get a better feel for how the parawing reacts. I learned to make the changes incremental and in advance of when you might think you need the setting. Basically how do you anticipate gusts - just let out a little of the PAL.
The canopy was really stable and despite some tip folding (which was caused by poor line tension) - it was a joy to fly.
The wind was coming up and becoming more consistent, so I went out to Firsts to see how the Orbit would work under those conditions.
Retracting while on any point of sail other than deep downwind was not working out for me. The parawing would concertina, but the cells were slow to deflate. I abandoned this for the rest of the session, saving this for a future session to solve.
I already mentioned how taking off is going to need some more work to get to know the technique, but the other thing I didn't necessarily like was how the parawing reacted to direction changes where the wind was shifty. It collapses and then reopens pretty rough. This was the rare point where there was harsh bar feedback (otherwise there very little bar pressure).
I still think the BRM S3/L1 are awesome parawings - I don't see the PPC replacing these other parawings. Instead I see all these on a continuum and there are better times where the conditions better suite one over the other.
PF:11/W:3/PW:124/FD:66/S:25
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