Click on this wingtip photo to see all the cool features of the Zulu Explorer. Who could resist a glider that employs the "Keel System", the "Yeti Concept" and a "Kick Down Speed System". Also take note of the slim risers and very thin sheathed lines.
ZULU EXPLODER
Last week I made a quick trip to the republic of Utania to pick up my new paraglider - a Gin Gliders Zulu Explorer. Not only did I save $26 in UPS shipping charges by driving over 1200 miles round trip to get the glider - I also got to fly it at the Point of the Mountain, which is the perfect place to try out a new wing.
The Explorer is a new light weight version of the Zulu. It isn't an extreme mountaineering glider, it's an everyday glider for pilots that want a lighter wing for travel and the occasional hike and huck. It's light, but not at the expense of user friendliness or longevity. This makes for a very noticeable reduction in weight without the hassles associated with the stuff like tissue paper sails, Dyneema risers, unsheathed lines, and miniature brake toggles that you'd find on a true mountain glider.
In the air, the Explorer feels like a Zulu with hot sauce on it. The lighter, lower drag wing trims out a little faster and the handling feels more direct because the wing has less inertia. In other words - it's more fun to fly! The low speed performance seems to be improved as well. I'm flying a small Explorer at 2 kg over the top of the suggested weight range and I could match sink rates with Bill Lemon who was flying his large Zoom Race in the lower third of the weight range. Another sweet low speed feature of the Explorer is that it will make the flattest, tightest circles in light lift of any glider I've ever flown. For me, the low speed circling behavior is the Explorer's best feature; it likes scratching in light air just as much as I do.
I'm pretty stoked about my new Zulu Explorer and I'm looking forward to a bunch of adventures while dangling from it.
TRIKE HOP
Chris Santa keeps a sleek, overpowered 2 seat Cosmos trike at a little red neck airport somewhere out in the vast stinking desert southwest of Salt Lake, east of Area 51. While I was in Utah last week he invited me out to the desert to jump out of his trike. The drive to the airpark from the Point was scenic as hell and a good reminder of how beautiful Utah was before the recent suburban sprawl.
The ride to altitude was fast - 1000 fpm for the first 5ooo feet, and 600 fpm above that - the air was smooth and the view was incredible. It was cool to have a hang glider wing over my head again. At 7000 feet Chris cut the engine and I climbed out and hung from the landing gear for a second or two before taking the plummet. I fell on my back and watched Chris get small before flipping over and tracking for the aeropuerto. I pulled high and had a great canopy flight down to a nice landing at the airpark.
The trike rates right up there with the hot air balloon as being the funnest jumping platform. There's something about the low speed exit and subsequent acceleration to terminal velocity that is so much more beautiful than stepping out into the the roar of an airplane's slipstream.
ROAD RAGE
The drive home was an aggravating mix of bad weather, traffic, and endless road construction. I drank lots of coffee and didn't eat, which really enhanced the experience. I wound up contracting a mild case of road rage. If I flipped you off somewhere out there on old Route 666, I'm truly sorry.
