After 2 years of extensive use by more then 500 pilots, the TOPLESS as an amazing safety record, conquered most of the titles up to become world champion, its concept of carbon cross-bar and kingpostless has been copied by all the manufacturers. The combination of best performance with comfortable behavior conquers the pilots. At the last preworld championship, Monte Cucco 98, 42 pilots had chosen the TOPLESS.
The new
TOPLESS generation : no kingpost and no compression strut.
Not only does it reduce the drag of the top rigging and kingpost plus the
interference drag, it also allows revolutionary developments, impossible with
the rigid standard frame.
The TOPLESS is a new step in hang gliding for safety and performance. The
kingpost and top rigging have been completely removed and replaced by a strong
flexible cross-bar made out of extremely light carbon. The lower rigging is the
same as the standard hang glider with stainless steel cables and no additional
struts. Rigging and de-rigging remain easy if not easier than a conventional
hang glider and the weight and packed volume remain the same. Pitch stability is
given by two carbon fiber floating tips integrated into the sail. The TOPLESS is
the best competition pilot's choice for its extra performance, general handling
an coordination which also makes it suitable for the intermediate pilot.
Advanced safety
To hold the
negative loads without a kingpost, the center part of the cross bar must be very
strong, much too strong for what is needed in positive making the TOPLESS
practically unbreakable. The keel is also three times stronger than usual so
that if the pilot falls into the sail, he should not break it.
The carbon spars, tapered to a very narrow section at their external tips are
flexible. In case of sudden negative load, the frame will bend acting as a shock
absorber. Another advantage of the very supple frame is that the sail also
deforms a lot and cannot reach breaking load.
TOPLESS WING SPECS
| CHARACTERISTICS | |||
| SURFACE (m2) | 11 | 12,8 | 13,5 |
| WING SPAN (m) | 9,84 | 10,12 | 10,12 |
| NOSE ANGLE (°) | 132 | 132 | 132 |
| ASPECT RATIO | 8,8 | 8 | 7,58 |
| WEIGHT (Kg) | 27 | 31 | 32 |
| RECOMMENDED PILOT WEIGHT (Kg) | 40 - 60 | 55 - 75 | 65 - 95 |
| LENGTH SHORT PACKED (m) | 3,9 | 4,15 | 4,15 |
| NUMBER OF BATTENS | 20 | 24 | 24 |
| LEADING EDGE AND KEEL | Zicral | Zicral | Zicral |
| CROSSBAR, BATTENS, FLOATINGS | Carbon | Carbon | Carbon |
| NUMBER OF FLOATINGS PER SIDE | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| DHV CERTIFIED | pending | yes | yes |
| MATRIX SAIL | option | option | option |
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