The Exxtacy and Pegasus were born in 1997 and now two years on with the E-7, Ghostbuster and Atos, a new generation of exciting foot launch wings is beginning to emerge. The weight of these new wings has already dropped dramatically and this is just the beginning of their development. 
Maybe I’m a dreamer, but in a few years time perhaps we’ll be flying a weightshift 20:1 glider which weighs less than 25 kilos…

SETTING UP
Carrying a rigid wing is one hell of a job if you have got no buddies around to help you out. The carbon fibre D spar leading edges are about 50 cm wide when packed, so perching them on your shoulder and hiking to take-off is no mean feat. The designers have sewn handles at either end of bag, so even they obviously expect their customers to have a helping hand. Assembling the wing was quite straightforward, and only because we followed the instructions did it take longer than normal. 
I would imagine that with a little practice you could have an ATOS assembled in less than ten minutes. The process is much the same as with a regular hang glider only you don’t have to bother stuffing battens because the ribs are permanently attached to the beautifully worked carbon fiber D spar leading edge.

The airframe is up to the usual high standard that we have come to expect, and there are some nicely machined alloy parts connecting the leading edges. The carbon fiber work is exquisite and every piece I examined was, as far as I could see, perfect. The sail is relatively simple and has required very little shaping which helps keep the sail almost wrinkle-free. As usual the shark rod tops are a bitch to get on. It’s only just a one man job if you are Superman; I just managed it. There’s only one thing that is vital to remember and that is to connect the spoilers.

LAUNCHING
The wing has a good static balanceon your shoulders, just a little tail heavy which I prefer. The main difference from a hang glider is the short root chord which you notice most when you are preparing for take off. The nose of the wing is only just in your field of vision unlike a hang glider, which almost reaches the horizon in comparison. 
I was told to set the flaps to 15 degrees for take off and thermalling.

Holding the wing ready for launch, I did notice that the wing slops around a little. This is due to the lack of side wires. Never the less it was easy to ground handle in the light winds and later I found that in strong winds it becomes even easier. Stood on the ramp at Kennedy launch (Gourdon, France) I rotated the nose down and accelerated as hard as possible. After three steps I was off, thinking to myself how easily it came unstuck and how little effort would be required to do the job well.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The first thing I do when I test a wing is to hold the base bar very lightly between thumb and forefingers, then I just let the wing find its natural balance point. From this reference point I started to explore the potential of the Atos.

The sky was a little overcast and the conditions were far from ideal, with very weak lift drifting through from time to time. The first ten minutes were a little fraught as I discovered the wing could be over-controlled, considering that my last hang gliding flight was over a year ago. 
At first I was trying to fly it like a class 1 hang glider, which made my thermalling erratic and not very efficient. I was applying too much pitch and roll command, but once I had toned it down a little the wing began to transform into a pleasant and efficient machine. As I climbed out above launch a flexwing hang glider that had taken off after me began to sink out as the Atos seemed to waft ever higher.

HANDLING
I was seduced by a smooth co-ordinated feeling the Atos offered when centered in the lift. There was so much less work to do; no pushing, pulling, yawing and highsiding as is necessary with a class 1 machine. After twenty minutes in the air I was already thinking that I might just need a wing like this. The sky beginning to brighten up, so I set off on glide with no particular goal other than to enjoy myself. 
One last turn then I flicked off the flaps for the first time and pointed at my next destination. On releasing the flaps the wing surged forward and I cruised off at 65 km/h with no effort.I know the area of Gourdon well as it is home to most of my paragliding test work, and as I neared the village itself I realized just how much better this wing is compared to anything I’d ever flown before. The village of Gourdon is an old medieval fort perched on a spine, and on a Sunday afternoon it is full of tourists soaking up the sun and the impressive views. I arrived below the village and climbed in a small thermal, imagining myself as a huge Himalayan Vulture, my wing gracefully lifting me into the view of the tourists. As I climbed skyward I watched my shadow slice over the tables and umbrellas and marvelled at the Atos’s sleek shape.

Time had come to head for a rocky ridge to see how it handles when scratching close in to the hill. Flaps on and I snuggled in tight, monitoring the wing tip closely as I contoured the relief. It was here that I found out that the Atos was a little slow to respond compared to a flexwing hang glider, so I moved away slightly and felt lots more comfortable. With the extra performance and sink rate it would appear to be of no disadvantage to have a little more clearance from the ridge, in the same way that you don’t find sailplanes scratching on ridges with their tip only a metre off the deck. I hit a good thermal and as the swordlike wing rose I cranked it hard into the core and climbed with a steep angle of bank. So smooth and co-ordinated… I had very little work to do so I enjoyed the view of my home village as I rose ever higher.

The wind was from the east so I set off into the headwind towards the lee side of the Courmettes, a 5000 ft mountain that dominates the region. Time for some turbulence! I encountered the first of it as I approached the mountain, some snotty curl-over. The wing just continued on its path effortlessly, and with a totally rigid sail and airframe, I was not thrown off course even in the thick of it. There was a good strong rough lee side thermal so I jabbed the A-frame across and into it. The ride was great, and the Atos seems to really enjoy strong lift, climbing like a paraglider but feeling like a sailplane. As I pressed on into wind in a mix of thermal and turbulence I took time out to watch the wing for movement, but there wasn’t even the slightest futter from the sail as I approached a top speed of 85 km/h in rough stuff. I slowly returned the bar to trim and the wing rose constantly for much longer than I expected. The bar pressure at full speed was very positive and I felt safe and confident that it would not just tuck at any moment. 
If I was to fly it on a regular basis then I would prefer a little less pressure because it feels like you would spend a lot of time flying fast with this baby.

I was wishing that it was mine so that I could really go and explore its potential, but instead I settled for cruising past the paragliding take off to show my buddies the toy I had borrowed for the day. No way I would swap for one of those, I thought to myself as we flew into the distance.

I wanted more still so I thought a little landing practice would be good. On approach to a top landing, I pulled full flap on as instructed, and my airspeed dropped and my descent rate went through the roof. I pulled in because speed is your friend when you are low, and with the flaps on it felt too slow for a wing like this. The glider plummeted but the notorious turbulence attempted in vain to throw me off course. Slowly I bled the speed off and was surprised to find myself still airborne at an unfeasibly slow speed.I pushed hard as I thought I’d cocked it up, but I was wrong. The wing responded by stalling and placing me on my feet: easy. Manhandling the wing in turbulence was a doddle.I squared it into wind, gave a few steps and enjoyed another easy take-off. I liked it so much that I top landed once more, then I unclipped, took a few paces back, put my ass on a rock and admired its aesthetic beauty. It really is a nice wing to look at, and the high aspect ratio emphises the feeling of performance which oozes out of this machine. I took to the skies again with ease, reinforcing how user friendly it was. The last word from Gianni was that it was mine to fly on Sunday, so after my three hour flight I decided to go and land in the official field. My landing was not perfect as yet again I was fooled by the slow speed at which it would still fly, so I pushed to hard , too early and my flight came to an abrupt ending. The wing was immediately surrounded with hands fingering its most intimate parts of the wing. I learnt that all these pilots had come from miles around to test fly the Atos as well on this day. Apparently they had been cursing me for not coming down as the afternoon went by. I must apologise to those pilots if I had been told of their plans I would have landed much sooner (well, may be).

CONCLUSION
The last hang glider I flew was a Gugenmos RCS. I was impressed and enjoyed my flight. This however was something different. I was left with a big grin on my face, and the desire to have one of my own. 
Everything that I have ever wanted out of flying is now available. 
The speed and glide open a new dimension of possibilities and the ease of take off and landing mean you can fly knowing that at the end of the day you won’t need a 200 metre long airstrip to get down safely. Combine that with the easy handling and I think you could fly a huge distance on one of these babies. But I think most club flyers will be drawn to this wing for its feeling alone. The only negative points I could find are that it is a little fragile in the flap area and the difficulty you have when carrying the thing alone when packed. 
The Atos is truly a refined product.

TEST PILOT: Rob Whittall
Age: 31
Job: Paragliding Test Pilot
Naked Weight: 67 kg
1988 British Hang Gliding Champion
1989 World Hang Gliding Champion
1991 World Paragliding Champion
1998 PWC Vice-Champion
Instruments: Brauniger IQ
Competition, Skywatch Pro