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F3BI
200 hours review.

(In order not to repeat myself if you are interested in my 100 hours full opinion on this wing search this form).
This is just to update my original thoughts.
The wing is still my favorite tandem Paratrike wing.
The big update here is that this is the first paragliding wing (free flight or Paratrike) I ever had that never suffered any tears or lines breakage in 200 hours of tandem only flights with around 800 takeoffs and landings ( short flights mostly)
This is amazing to me especially because I take off and land on occasional fields in unimproved grounds with debris all around.
Whatever this wing is made off it is awesome material.

Sincerely
Moshe grad
Paratrike.Net

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F3BI paraglider review.

Good morning all,
I received my F3BI paraglider one year ago and had a chance to fly it about 350 flights all tandem flights totaling 110 hours.
I own a tandem paratrike that weigh 115 kg with Rotax 503 engine 50HP.
I weigh 70 kg and take passengers up to 110 kg.

Pilot Experience:
7 years with paratrikes ( over a thousand flights)and 30 years paraglider experience. Also I am a certified advance aircraft pilot with 40 years experience.
I am a very conservative pilot.
This is my first reflex wing.

Ground impressions:
Nice looking.
Solid quality materials no tears or broken lines to date despite rough terrain. Very impressive.
Easy to get lines organized or untangled if necessary.
No need for special ground arrangement, it will always inflate nicely.

In the air:
Once I have used A assist for inflation life became wonderful. It’s a must. Initially manually holding the A I had about 1 failed take off to every 4 good ones. With A assist I Get a ratio of one failed takeoff to 30 good ones.
The wing is easily controlled with good response.
I practice engine out procedure ( I have no starter so once turned off it’s a real emergency landing) on regular basis and never had an issue. Pay attention with Heavy load it sinks faster and hoter.
Longer takeoff run than other gliders I had ( it’s also smaller by 6 square meters than my prior gliders( 36 vs 42).
Turning is beautiful and precise and the tip steering ( my first) is awesome with very light one finger operation. However since my flights are always less than 15-20 minutes ( commercial flights)I don’t use it much and stay with the main handles.
The trims are easily operated and can add 8 Kmh to the flight speed but since speed is not a goal or important to me I rarely use it.
This wing is considerably faster than my old wings ( Itv bulldog, Apco game, apco play)
I do not have wheel brakes and since it’s a fast wing sometimes I wish I did have it for shorter landings.
I didn’t use or tried the speed bar/ A assist assembly which should give another 10 kmh.
things I liked very much:
The wing take turbulence and unstable air very well and in contrast with my prior wings it didn’t give me any” heart attacks” while flying it for almost a year.
Also, amazing flare authority, the best I have seen with any paraglider to date, consequently
All my landings with no exceptions are very smooth on this glider.
My technic is to turn engine off at 3 meters above ground and glide while pulling brakes.
All and all very happy with the wing, it does the job and very durable to date. Also the factory (Apco)was very helpful every time I needed guidance.

Yours
Moshe Grad.

Here is my feedback on the F5. I flew it 10x – 3 on Trike and 7 on foot launch.

Pros:
It launches very easy on the trike or footlaunch. The lightweight fabric helps a ton and it feels like a lightweight version of the EZR to me with some F3 in it. Good climb rate on takeoff, easy to control.
The risers take some getting used to, due to all the ropes, which make them less rigid than our other APCO wings. trimmers are easy to use and smooth compared to previous wings.
It flies great – it is surprisingly fast and really fun. I clocked 37 mph at trim neutral. The mohawk actually does completely eliminate roll oscillations no matter what you’re doing. I couldn’t get the thing to oscillate not matter what I did. I also did some wingovers on it (trike and footlaunch) and it still can do them, but comes back stable. It feels extremely safe to me.
I would absolutely recommend this to students over the EZR.
Cons:
I love the trimmer magnets, but they tend to catch the speedbar sister clips and it can be confusing for people to figure out what they’re looking at.
I hope this helps,

Ryan

I’ve been flying the Apco F5 and, to put it briefly, I’m absolutely in love with it. It’s quite similar to the F3, but more forgiving. I also let two of my skilled students fly the wing, and both of them have made it their favorite. One of them bought an F3 from one of our customers who has stopped flying, but he’s also considering getting an F5 in addition to his F3. Based on our tests, we’ve decided to make the F5 our preferred wing for students and the F3 for more advanced pilots. Consequently, we’re planning to focus on the F5 instead of the Lift EZ series. The Lift EZ has a slightly more durable combination of fabric materials, but it’s also a bit heavier and has less energy in the landing. Therefore, the F5 is our preferred wing for students and new pilots.

I was lucky enough to be able to test the new F5 from APCO, I was delighted with the ease of inflation it has, with just a little breeze and just by taking a step back it goes up on its own, without having to use the A lines. , the SRS system on the risers makes it much easier to control the wing when it is overhead!
The flight is incredibly stable, the controls are very smooth and with good reaction; It seems incredible, but the Mohawk, as the central rudder that the F5 has has been called, works very well, both when starting and maintaining turns and when exiting them, making this sail very stable and allowing us to evolve safely.
The trimmers are very easy to use and slide very well.
When applying the speed bar at 100% with the trimmers open, the wing remains very safe and firm in its trajectory.
It really is a very safe wing for pilots who want to fly without problems and for students who want to evolve and take that extra step safely.

Marlon Jonat Reviews the F3

Der F3 basiert auf dem F1, er ist laut Hersteller allerdings handlicher und einfacher zu fliegen als der F1. Der F3, der während der Entwicklung von Apco den Spitznamen „Kleiner Bruder des F1“ erhielt, wurde aufgrund des Erfolgs des F1 konzipiert und…(read more)

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