Edel Saber

The Skywings team investigate Edel's new sports class wing

The Saber is the new sports class paraglider from Edel. It is based on Edel's competition wing, the Sector, sharing its profile and double cell construction. Certificated by both AFNOR ,(Performance) and DHV (2), it comes with speed bar as standard but without trim tabs. The Saber is available in four sizes; the medium size (all-up weight: 75 - 95kg) was flown for the review.

Construction

In these days of diagonal cells, concealed line attachments, partial sheathing and trim tabs the Saber is refreshingly simple. The brake attachments are a few centimetres inboard from the training edge which increases the response rate to brake input at the expense of increasing brake pressure. The new Edel bag is an improvement on earlier versions but both Pete and Pat would have appreciated a little more capacity. It is comfortable to carry and packs up to a reasonably small size. As you would expect from a major manufacturer the general quality is high.

Ground handling

Inflation is very easy, with the glider coming much easier than either the Odyssey or Xyon. Too big a pull and it flies up and picks the pilot up, so pressure on the front risers needs to be eased once the wing starts to lift. Yet if you make a complete hash of it it's very easy to get the glider back overhead without aborting. Forward launches were also straight forward. An irritation was the slightly loose brake poppers which allowed the handles to come adrift rather frequently.

In flight

Pete: The Saber reacts very swiftly to small brake movements and is a joy to fling around the sky. The brakes do weight up quite dramatically as movement increases, becoming heavy at the bottom of their travel. I found it easy to do tight banked turns or flat efficient turns. One of my flights was on Jenkin Hill in the Lakes with really tight, punchy thermals and the Saber was pure pleasure in such conditions. It is solid and consistent. Some pilots might find the responsive nature of the glider to small brake inputs unsettling at first, though I think that this trait would be appreciated by most pilots in the long run.

Mike: I am used to flying a canopy with fantastic performance but which is a bit of a bus in the turn and requires a heavy hand. It was quite an eye-opener to fly something so responsive. The turn requires very little effort and I tended to use too much brake before I adapted to the new style of turning. It was exceedingly easy to turn the canopy into the tightest of cores. With practice I could turn very efficiently using both brakes but doing most of the turning input with weight-shift. It spiral dives very easily... all a bit dramatic for me after my High 68!

Pat: My first flight was an early evening effort having not flown for three weeks. A gaggle of swifts (feathered variety) appeared as I launched. Three Xyons and I shot up two grand before I even settled into the harness properly. This is one of the easiest canopies to thermal that I have ever flown and I really liked the response to small brake inputs. It felt solid but not too dead either. Big cars (pulling one line out of three) came in very easily but took a surprising amount of effort to pump out. The speed bar travel was very long for me and moderately heavy although the wing seemed very stable at speed.

Performance

Pete: The sink and max glide are close to those of the Xyon but I don't think that it is as fast on full speed bar. Flying in the company of Pat Holmes on a large Saber I found the sink rate as good on the medium despite me having a higher wing loading.

Pat: My initial impression was that the glider was a little slow but had a good max glide. Alongside a standard Xyon the Saber seemed to lose only a little on max glide. Unfortunately this comparison was in rather too active air to be very confident about this conclusion. The sink rate was good. If turns were done with no outside brake the Saber tended to loose rather a lot of height but the turn would flatten nicely with a little outside brake applied. I know Mike didn't find himself able to really compare performance but he was impressed with the speed range.

Conclusions

Pete: The Saber's handling is of the highest order. It is extremely manoeuvrable although the inboard attachment of the brake lines does mean the controls load up rather quickly when compared to the Xyon. The lack of speed is my only disappointment. OK, it is not as fast as the Odyssey but is much more fun!

Mike: The Saber has plenty of performance, is good fun and, most significantly, I enjoyed flying it on a nice cross-country across the Lakes.

Pat: At first glance the Saber would appear to be pitched into the market at the same level as the Odyssey and the Xyon, but of the three it is suitable for the widest range of pilots. The thermalling was fantastic and the glide and speed are quite good enough for mammoth XC flights. It probably gives a little too much away to finish highly in major competition but it is fun, reassuring, has very good certification and should win many friends.

Importer's comment

I'm pleased that the test team enjoyed flying the Saber. Their comments confirm our belief that the Saber is one of the best gliders for cross-country flying. I would like to comment on a few points.

The Saber's brake pressures are progressive and only small, light movements are necessary for the most efficient turns. The angle of bank is easily increased by additional movement but the Saber naturally discourages this by increased brake pressure.

For Pete and Pat an alternative bag is available at no extra cost. although it's not as comfortable as the standard one. Because of its responsiveness and despite its excellent behaviour and certification, the Saber is not for the inexperienced or those straight out of school.Flying in Spain recently demonstrated that the Saber's excellent characteristics made it possible, in many situations easier, to compete effectively against higher specification gliders, although this is not what it was designed for.

With gliders of this performance it is invariably the decisions of the pilot that determine the end of the flight, not the performance of the canopy. Performance should be judged by the satisfaction and the enjoyment given by the glider and this is where the Saber scores highest.

Patrick Holmes, Edel UK