Discover the New Zephyr 2.9 VCT Hybrid Paraglider
At Punkair, our commitment to innovation has always driven us to push the boundaries of paraglider design. Our latest achievement, the Zephyr 2.9 VCT Hybrid, represents a significant leap forward in advancing our renowned Punkair VCT hybrid technology. This paraglider not only upholds but elevates our previous models' legendary flying performance and characteristics.
Evolution of Excellence
The Zephyr 2.9 is technically based on the CrossAlps V2 and succeeds the high-performance all-rounder Chinook 2.8 Hybrid, a model celebrated by pilots worldwide. Our primary goal was to reduce air resistance without compromising the wing's superior behavior and capabilities. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice the remarkable advancements that set the Zephyr 2.9 apart from its predecessors.
Precision Engineering for Superior Performance
- Thinner Airfoil: Coupled with small air inlets and single skin cells open to the front, this design reduces turbulent airflow on the upper wing, significantly decreasing air resistance.
- Adjusted Fabric Tension: Optimized tension in the nose area and across the wingspan ensures a more uniform pressure distribution inside the wing, resulting in better acceleration and higher efficiency.
Advanced Technologies
Variable Camber Technology (VCT): Our upgraded VCT now activates later, allowing pilots to fully exploit the wing's dynamic potential in acro flying. In non-desired dynamic situations, such as wing collapses, VCT maintains its reliability, matching the performance of the CrossAlps V2. Riser Steering Technology (RST): The improved RST system offers more natural and highly efficient steering, enhancing pilot control and responsiveness.
Unmatched Versatility
The Zephyr 2.9 VCT Hybrid is a high-performance two-liner paraglider designed to cater to both ambitious beginners and seasoned pilots. It excels in high winds and challenging weather conditions, making it the ultimate all-rounder with top-tier performance.
Experience the Zephyr 2.9 VCT Hybrid
Join the ranks of pilots who trust Punkair for unparalleled quality and performance. The Zephyr 2.9 VCT Hybrid is your key to soaring to new heights with confidence and ease. Discover the future of paragliding today.
TERMINOLOGY
EBS stands for "Easy Brake-Line Setup."
This means the length of the brake line no longer needs to be measured to adjust to the flight system. The brake line is connected directly to the riser at the bottom. The already built-in acro deflector is just above and attached to the pilot's arm. The adjustment is as easy as the accelerator and can be done in a few seconds.
With EBS, we can now implement an automatic B-line control and named it RST to match it with all the other abbreviations.
RST means "Riser-Steering-Technology."
On a 2-liner, the rear lines are called B-lines. Our innovative new brake line design with B-line control automatically pulls the B-level in addition to the conventional brake, depending on the load condition and braking travel.
The main effect of this is cleaner steering because the B-line control directly changes the angle of attack of the glider. In contrast, the conventional brake only worsens the profile.
Therefore, if the B-level is also used to steer, less brake input is required, and consequently, the wing flies more efficiently. This is particularly noticeable in accelerated flight because the wing on the braked side is "decelerated" automatically via the angle of attack, ultimately improving glide performance.
All this happens automatically; no changes are needed on the flight system or the transmitter. The B-line control is located on the riser of the glider and works "out of the box."
In summary, EBS and RST offer you the following advantages:
- The acro deflector is already installed!
- No brake line length has to be adjusted when mounting the flight system! The brake is attached to the pilot arm without tension.
- The flight performance is better
VCT = Variable Camber Technology
The Zephyr 2.9 VCT automatically changes its profile due to the unique VCT design, allowing the stall to develop much later in extreme flight situations.
In a high angle-of-attack situation, such as when flying slowly or when the glider is highly loaded due to aerobatic maneuvers, the airfoil automatically cambers more and adapts to the flight conditions.
A greater camber turns the profile into a high-lift profile, which supports slow flight. The paraglider can therefore be flown even slower without fear of a stall. In highly dynamic situations, a larger camber prevents the glider from overreacting due to the increased drag. The VCT thus dampens the system's dynamics, which means that potentially dangerous situations such as excessive forward shooting are effectively avoided without the pilot having to react actively.
The image below shows the increased camber in such situations:
The Variable Camber technology prevents most collapses at the beginning so that the paraglider always remains well-behaved even in the most violent weather or the wildest maneuvers. This is an unprecedented capability for a two-liner paraglider wing!
Should a collapse occur, the VCT acts like a "collapse brake." The profile's middle part pushes upwards and will work like an airbrake, creating a counterforce to the downward folding of the profile's leading edge. The defined kink line ensures that the rear part of the airfoil continues to fly so that the collapse cannot develop over the entire surface of the glider. In a typical case, the wing restores itself within seconds.
Only with VCT technology is it possible to build a wing that remains exceptionally stable during fast flight and provides the needed profile changes to remain well-behaved in slow flight. The result is an RC-Paraglider that can be flown extremely fast with the greatest possible performance and very slowly with the greatest possible safety at an even lower takeoff weight, even in "heavy weather" situations.
With B-line control
The new Punkair EBS system with RST-B line control and built-in Acro deflection eliminates the need for time-consuming brake line adjustments.
