Ozone Proton

By Barney Barnes, published in [Skywings]

Setting up the new paragliding business isn't easy.  For the ozone team, setting up as a new manufacturer in a less than buoyant market will make life very interesting for them over the next few years.  Although Ozone are the new kids on the block they have all been around for some time.  And what the team!  With the likes of Rob Whittall, Bruce Goldsmith and John Pendry in the ranks tables to double world champions, the current British champion and three of the top pilots on the world flying scene.  Behind the scenes they have Dave Pilkington with a PhD in aeronautical engineering running the design programme, and an experienced accountant Mike Cavanagh running the finances (both also have been very good pilots).  But can they successfully run the company and produce gliders that people want?  The answer to the first question will take a few years of trading to find out, but will know much sooner whether they can produce the goods.

The proton is ozone's top performance glider and a serial class wing.  For those who haven't been following all the talk, letters and articles, this means it is DHV 2/3 certified glider designed for performance flying, competition and XC use.  Ironically ozone, and Rob Whittall in particular, have pushed hard to make serial class wing a universal mandatory requirement for competition flying.  I say ironically because Rob and the others at ozone made their names and achieve some of the greatest successes on some very dodgy prototypes.  However with the formation of ozone the emergence of a "flying should be fun" policy has placed them firmly on the serial class path.  This unique in me could say that this is a convenient policy for a new company that doesn't want to spend a fortune developing expensive prototypes for the competition circuit, but the fact that Rob Whittall began his serial class campaign over a year before ozone was formed indicates that they are genuine.  The British Paragliding Championships is one of the first to have adopted the serial class only policy and, having just returned from an excellent two days of flying in the competition in Wales, I am right behind them.  The serial class competition is safer, fairer and benefits more people who firepower riders, not just the top few.  However, it may be worth reminding ourselves that the DHV 2/3 rated gliders have very demanding flying characteristics and potentially violent reactions to turbulence and pilot errors.  Recommended for experienced and regularly flying pilots.

First impressions are of a very well thought out and the reconstructed package.  The risers our well-made and reassuringly solid, with a rise is clearly marked in red and the risers in blue, and it has a neat speedbar attachments system which I like.  No little quick-link threads to do will of those big carbine hooks; just too simple interlocking stainless steel clips to take a couple of seconds to connect.  The speedbar itself is neat and sturdy, the guide police are smart and solid looking without being to big, and the whole system works well in the air.  There are separate little risers for the outer A-lines which the manual states is for big ears.  I tried in the late in the wing with and without these, and always the outer A's it was generally better, in strong conditions using just the main A-risers might be easier.  The risers are part of the package ozone have got entirely right; they look good, our well-made and work nicely.

The lines are pretty standard thickness Aramid made by Edelrid -- another well proven formula, and I couldn't see anything you all radical in the layout, so nothing to get too excited about there.  The bank is the same as the old Airwave/Sup'Air want, comfortable and from what I remember very durable, and the glider comes with stuff sack, clinch strap and speedbar.  It also has some repair patches a line check sheet and the manual.  The manual is a good, comprehensive guide but should include the DHV report (but unfortunately doesn't, although you can find it on the DHV web site), as this will tell you what to expect from the wing in more critical situations.  But that aside, the overall presentation is very good.

The bottom service is standard Skytex.  Internally the wing as the now common diagonal ribs to support and refine the is the top surface material top surface, but the single best thing about the construction of this and the although ozone wings.  This is not the standard impregnated nylon used but a silicon impregnated cloth produced by Gelvanor Textiles in South Africa.  It is easily the best material for the construction of a paragliding wing.  It lasts at least twice as long as any other cloth I've seen on the market.  It doesn't go porous, it maintains its strength and the callers don't seem to fade too much.  I don't know who is idea it was to use it but the rest of the ozone team should take him out for a night of BA, expensive food, wild woman and more beer.  I'll predict for an ozone wing will outlast any the glider on the market except in an Apco (Apco have been using Gelvenor cloth for years).  So why isn't everyone using it?  I can only guess, but it's probably because Gelvanor are a bit isolated geographically and they don't sell themselves very well compared to the larger of manufacturers.  Also, once a paragliding manufacturer gets locked into using one type of cloth it's difficult to change is something different (or admit that there is something better).  As consumers we should also that demanding gliders that last longer than a couple of years before they are ragged out, and silly: quoted cloth is a major step in that direction.  One thing ozone can do to reinforce the point is to offer warranty.  Silicon cloth does have its disadvantages: its a sod to the pair because you can use repair tape (it just one stick), so any small tears have to be repaired professionally, and it's a bit stretchier than standard poly-coated cloths.  You don't notice this, however, as the wing loading is still low and supporting ribs and so close together that it doesn't become an issue (even on school wings).  So get that warranty sorted out, ozone!

A final point; ozone is a company run by 4 homegrown Brits, based in France, producing gliders in the Far East and using materials from South Africa, France, Germany, etc, which I suppose shows the many ways in which paragliding spans the world.  Call me old-fashioned if you like, but you would have been nice to see the UK benefiting somewhere apart from receiving the final product.

What's it like to fly?

The ground handling is probably what you expect from any 2/3 wing.  In strong conditions it will find the weaknesses in your technique.  Too much pressure on the A-risers and it will overshoot quite quickly; inflate it unevenly and you'll be taking a short sprint across launch.  But if you're reverse launch technique is reasonable the proton is easily mastered -- although I can't comment on its helpline launch characteristics.  In VA you get what you expect from two of the most experienced designers in the world: a wing that really performs.  Basically the proton will do whatever you ask of it, but it does take a little getting used to.

Break pressure is even and not at all heavy but responses quick.  Initially I found myself over braking,, applying too much import and not really getting the best from the wing, but after an hour's scratching around behind Llandinum during the first task of the nationals I felt entirely in tune.  In light thermals it's really will turn slow and flat if you ask to, but my impression is that to get the best performance in separate you'll probably need to fly into a little faster than normal.  In strong thermals it's a question of banking it around dropping a wing tip and watch underground fall away, the same as you do with most good wings.  But what I really liked was the variety available and positive way the wing responded.  Change your mind halfway around the thermal and to a 360 into S-turn and the wings right with you.  Fly into flat and then bank it into the core and it does what it is told.

At the nationals I view of years most of the other wings there and a don't recall anything out thermalling it -- but they will want to the had trouble keeping up.  And let's face it, thermalling is the performance side of flying a paragliding.  On the glide you just put your hands of and though and it either gliders well or it doesn't, but thermalling where the relationship between the pilot and the glider is where really counts and from the proton schools very highly here.  Having said that the glider is very good, as good as many competition wings but not as fast, although a little bit of speedbar may even improve its some.  With more speed bar it motors along nicely (up to 51 kmh according to DHV), of the lively doesn't feel too unstable.

One thing I like an apparent glider is feedback from the wing; it tells you what's happening, makes thermalling easier and encourages active piloting.  Achieving the right amount of feedback is a real balancing act for the designer and this could be one area where the boys may have over cooked the recipe.  The feedback from the proton is fairly constant, and Wylie keeps you informed as to what's happening it may just be too sensitive for some pilots.  If there is a ripple in the airflow over the wing it will tell you, and the overall effect is at the wing can feel a little skittish until you get used to it. So how stable as Innes Powell says he flew with a large proton for a week in St Andre in the spring and never had a deflation!  I did in fact get it to fold once on the slightly less exotic Isle of Wight by deliberately not reacting to some turbulence.  Recovery with standard practice: counter the turn and pump out the deflation. The DHV report on asymmetric deflation is also the favorable (rate of turn: 180 -- 360 degree; deceleration average; loss of altitude: average; stabilization: spontaneous) but only time will tell just how good it is in this respect.

The proton is designed for the competent pilot who already knows how to fly.  If you are thinking of buying one you should have a minimum of 50 hours on a variety of sites and variable conditions.  Why?  Because this is a glider to enjoy, it will do just about anything you ask of it, but it is at pilots are wing and it needs to be actively fold to get the best from it.  The proton is not the sort of glider there will take you by the hand and lead you around the sky, you have to take control.  If you are nervous in the air it will not feel reassuringly docile solid, but if you are reasonably confident pilot who wants to fly XC. and competitions this is an ideal wing today you there.  So if you are in the market for a performance glider definitely try the proton.  If all serial class wings out there are as good as this, competition flying in years to come is going to be a lot of fun.