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Synthesis

You are an experienced PPG flyer or you just want to start your motorized career. You are looking for a safe, easy launching wing, yet one that will keep the pace with fastest sport wings, as time to time you want to try yourself. You are mainly after a joy of flight, but once you take part in a competition, you wouldn't like your gear to slow you down. As an open-minded guy you like thermalling and quite often there is speed-system engaged on your flights.

With such a wish-book it will be hard to find anything better than a Synthesis - a wing, that truly merges best features of free-flying and typical PPG wings, including proven reflex profile.

After many successes enjoyed all over the world by our PPG wings - the Action and the ReAction - we challenged ourselves with yet another task: to create a PPG paraglider that will be accessible for pilots of all training stages. We wanted to merge the safety and performance of our existing PPG wings with the ease of classic paragliders' launch. To our delight we succeeded, and so our newest PPG wing - the Synthesis - was born.

Characteristics:
A paraglider featuring proven reflex-wing aerofoil, with impressive maximum speed (61 km/h) and wide trim speed range (37 to 49 km/h). Easy at launch, with great amount of passive safety.

Design:
Synthesis features many innovative ideas, increasing both comfort in flight and the wing's performance.

A set of design assistance tools named CSG (Canopy Shape Guard) oversees three crucial factors:

1. It forms canopy so that when filled with air and under normal aerodynamic forces it becomes a shape as close to the original design as possible. No more irregular shape and bulging cells!
2. It stabilizes the canopy in flight. Any wing behaving like an accordion is detested by the pilots and suffers fatal losses in performance.
3. Makes the canopy durable. It is widely known that PPG pilots are keen on overloading their wings, seeking more speed and stability. Initially it works, but soon deformations of excessively loaded fabric occurs. The most dangerous are these visible as lateral folds on wing's upper surface, located between suspension line rows.

CSG consists o several subsystems:

* VS (V-shaped Supports). The diagonal supports bolster the rib on both sides (most of wings have only one-sided supports). Their size and shape ensure upper surface smoothness, exact aerofoil reproduction on entire wing span, better load distribution and possibly small number of suspension points, resulting in laminar airflow.
* RSS (Reinforcing Strap System). An independent reinforcements net on lower surface, strengthening and stiffening all canopy.
* OCD (Optimized Crossports Design). The intercellar openings have carefully designed shapes and are optimally placed between stress lines in the ribs, in order to ensure efficient pressure distribution in the canopy and its quick inflation.
* CCS (Closed Cell Structure). This is a number of closed cells in most important locations. It's goal is to hinder the backflow from the cells out and thus to facilitate their refilling and canopy recovery in case of a collapse.

Canopy Shape Guard effectively stiffens the wing along all its span, practically eliminating any lateral canopy work. Its only flaw are the increases in weight (about 1 kg), material- and labour consumption, and of course in overall costs. Yet it is well worth the sweat, as in turn we get a no-compromise product of highest performance and quality, that above all is able to keep its planned parameters for a long, long time.

In order to facilitate steering the wing while at maximum speed configuration (opened trimmers and full speed-bar) we've invented our own absolutely novel system of controlling the stabilizers. Prior to grabbing miniature TST-handles (Tip Steering Toggles) pilot places the main steering handles in a special Toggle Docking Stations, equipped with strong neodymium magnets. In this way you can comfortably steer the wing via TST handles, not worrying about the brakes getting tangled.

All handles are equipped with our Easy Keeper system, implementing the strong neodymium magnets as standard.

The ribs include new shape of inter-cell openings, improving internal air distribution inside the wing. The openings are located outside of the most loaded areas.

Target group:
From beginners to advanced pilots, flying paramotors and trikes both for fun and to prove themselves in sport. The wing is suitable for PPG instruction too.

Sysnthesis FAQ's

First of all we would like you to note that during new EN certification there is over 40 manoeuvres tested (total of mandatory two sizes). If the wing gets a "C" in just one of them, it is classified as a C in general. But when it gets a "C" in all 40 manoeuvres - it is classified as a "C" too, even as its behaviour is drastically different. So judging a paraglider only by its classification symbol is not a good idea - it is a GREAT simplification. If you really want to know what's going on, YOU HAVE TO READ THE TEST REPORTS!

Then you have to remember that current test norms were originally established to classify traditional free-flying wings, as modern PPG reflex aerofoils are stil relatively new development.
Problems with free-flying wings are caused by their low passive safety or pilot errors, and all currently used systems judging how the wing does return to normal state of flight have been based on that assumption.
Now what is exceptional about reflex wings is their very high passive safety factor, that grows even higher with inreasing speed of flight (within prescribed range of course) - a wholly different behaviour than in classic wings. But once you succeed in inducing some instability, return to normal flight is pretty dynamic and can be harder to control than in normal paragliders. Remember that on the outset you are flying faster than standards, and then you are still increasing this speed (most often test pilot pulls a riser down to cause a collapse, and before it occurs, the wing accelerates even more).

Ensuing loss of direction and other problems connected with dynamic responses are the main reason for classifying reflex paragliders as "C" or even "D" wings.

To clarify the matter some more, let's read and analyze description of "C" class, as it is written in EN norm:

"C class - Paragliders with moderate passive safety and possibly dynamic reactions to turbulence and/or pilot mistakes. Return to normal state of flight may require precise pilot input.".

Content of the norm presupposes that the wing:
a) will be sensitive to disturbances caused by turbulence or possible pilot errors,
b) will dynamically react if any of these occur,
c) can return to normal state of flight with difficulty, so that precise pilot inputs could prove necessary.

In order to judge if tested paraglider conforms to this category, a test pilot forces unstable manouevres and then watches how long does it take to return to normal flight, and how dynamic the reaction is. Note that on classic wings introduction of abnormal flight state is not a problem (in contrary to reflex wings).

And what happens in case of PPG reflex wings? Here it is:

Ad a) Because of high passive safety it is very difficult or impossible at all to introduce an unstable flight state. Often it requires an unusual force and does not occur at once. Unfortunately this resistance is not classified by the norm - a great pity, as it proves high passive safety, i.e. reduced sensibility to turbulence/pilot errors.

Ad b) The wing will not be reacting dynamically to turbulences. Collapses, even if occurs, are very limited and they reopen immediately. On the other hand it is true that the wing will respond dynamically to obstinate efforts of a test pilot, who is working hard on inducing a collapse. The return will be surely dynamic and can cause the wing to lose original flight path. But the main point is that such collapses are very unlikely (if possible at all) to happen as a result of pilot error.

Ad c) The wing returns to normal flight so quick that test pilot can't react fast enough. In general no reaction is necessary (apart of ceasing any actions that caused instability).

Yet as the EN norm judges dynamic reactions a hint that a paraglider can get into such troubles just as easy, it recognizes the wing as unstable. That's a total misunderstanding, because while this supposition is true in case of classic paragliders, it is not so with those of reflex profiles.

Last year Dudek Paragliders initiated work on creation of new test norms, applicable to reflex profile wings. Until these will be ready, we will continue to certificate our paragliders within current systems, for even if they are not ideal, they still do offer information on wing safety. Yet any conscious pilot should remember that in order to get full picture it is necessary to study test details and reports.

Here you can have a look at Synthesis 29 test report: Flight Test Synthesis 29

Plasmas, Reactions and even Syntheses are PPG canopies commonly chosen by competitors. Does it mean that these are more difficult to cope with or less safe than recreational paragliders of other companies and that only experienced pilots can allow themselves flying them?

Absolutely wrong. PPG competitors are more and more often flying reflex wings because of their greater safety, especially at high speeds. While in everyday use it's a pilot who decides when to fly and when he should rather abstain, in a competition he is sometimes forced to fly in conditions he rather wouldn't try at home.
If you add to that a natural competitor's wish of a good result, making him trying to fly faster (or slower), with more agility and precision than ever, it becomes clear that competition wings should be as - or even more - safe than those flown just for fun.
Only on a safe paraglider you can commit yourself fully to a complicated tactical/navigational task.

Is fuel included in take-off weight?

Total in-flight weight in any circumstances should not be lower than minimal weight given in paraglider's technical data. Since pilot sometimes can be flying with negligible amount of fuel (e.g. when returnig form a long flight) or even without any fuel at all (after a thermalling practice), the fuel is not included in take-off weight.

If we are to draw any conclusions from PG certificates which we are forced to obtain for our PPG wings, they show that flying an underloaded wing can result with a delayed exit from a parachutal stall (if it occurs). Therefore it's the minimal take-off weight (i.e. without fuel) that we must consider when choosing correct wing size for PPG flying. Possible exceeding of maximal take-off weight with full tank does not bring substantial changes in paraglider's behaviour, aside of slight increase in wing loading and speed.

Is it true that it is hard to take-off on a reflex wing?

This is but one of several myths concerning reflex wings... we recommend reading of this article (pdf format).