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By over50
#401600
On the ICARO News -Site a new single surface hangglider is announced: the Piuma (italian="feather"?).
The only picture is a colour pattern, and that it should be a renewed RX 2.

I hope, a new name (instead of "RX 3") is an incident for really improvements, although the actual RX 2 is fine at all (I have one (sice M) since 2013), but:

It is a actual sign, a great hanggliding brand still is alive, isn't it?

If I get further news on it, I will post them here next months... .

Johannes
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By DAVE 858
#401601
Maybe they will come out with a super light weight design. That would be cool! Hang Gliders are too damn heavy.
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By KTMPilot
#401604
DAVE 858 wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2017 11:07 am Maybe they will come out with a super light weight design. That would be cool! Hang Gliders are too damn heavy.
Size medium (16meter/170sqft) RX2 is already very light at ~51 lbs. Perhaps a pound less with the all technora sail ($$$$). If adding carbon fiber air frame parts and significant geometry changes to save weight - it may no longer remain an affordable and friendly to fly single surface glider.
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By red
#401617
bickford frederick wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2017 8:13 pmhttp://icaro2000.com/News/Pictures/2017/Piuma-01.jpg
Frederick,

Link says:
"ERROR 1011
The owner of this website (icaro2000.com) does not allow hotlinking to that resource."

Got another resource?
By over50
#401641
I got an e-mail from Manfred Ruhmer today - I'm very proud upon. :oops:

There will be five colour patterns; the shown above is "a)". All the colours seem very bright, and as shown, always four (on RX 2 we had three possible different colours). This design upgrade seems to be important, what for ... ?

And the announced modifications will be more evolution than revolutionary, but this may be good enough - the RX 2 isn't bad, what do you think? - But the sum of renewed details may be more than expected.


I hope, we see this on ICARO's HP soon - it can already be ordered! - And I got no new price named... . But nothing gets cheaper. :surrender:

We will see Piumas very soon in the air in 2018 , I hope :drool: , and maybe one will be mine. (... if I get my RX2 sold, but that mustn't be so difficult).

Johannes
By over50
#401684
... a pretty new - rounder - nose: Kleopatra?

Johannes

Thank you for the clear pictures!
By over50
#401747
Gardabigsur has published a video at the trainig hill via Facebook. The improvements seem to be minimal. It seems the back side of the sail has less tunnel and the wingtips no more go as far up in flight as they did before... .

The interest here has gone weak by the first pictures shown above: Did you expect more imprvements, such as they came with the "RX 2 technora" in series?

Important for me are the results: It would be a great thing, if Manfred or Christian or another good pilot took one of the new Piumas and do a 200 km FAI - this would be more than words!

Have a good Christmasday!

Johannes
By bickford frederick
#401792
Thor Hanson wrote a nice book about feather evolution. It's not heavy on aerodynamic theory. More on feather evolution with some background into the arboreal vs cursorial debate and other interesting stuff.

The Piuma (boldly named lol) looks like a easy handling glider and well designed like all Icaro2000. The sail not buckling at the root is a plus. It'd be a nice glider to get.
By over50
#402304
From now on you can find the new PIUMA on the ICARO HP - and no longer the RX 2 :( .

The renewed entry model got the same Price as the former RX 2, not a single € more! :thumbsup: If it is as good as the RX2 has been or even better, it will be a good choice.

The colours are also shown there (mine would be "b)"). And technora sail is also available and wingtips and fin as in the past.

In future there will be no difficult names as MOYES RX 3 and RX 4 and ICARO RX2; although the RX2 was the elder name!!!

Hope it's real progress!


Johannes
By over50
#402305
What does the sail option "PXB" (instead of dacron?) mean, compared to the technora option?

J.
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By TjW
#402325
I suspect, but don't know for certain, a polyester sail would be woven, and that PXB would be a film sail with polyester fibers in place of the technora fibers. A little less expensive, with a little more stretch.
By over50
#402380
Where does the "lighter weight up to 1 kg..." come from? The RX2 dacron was already light; and it won't be the "nose fairing" - where does the almost 1 kg come from? less stiffness won't be good for higher speed, the "better characeristics at medium-low speed" says nothing about higher speed performance.

The "new (optional )wingtips" are mentioned for "greater maximum efficiency" - do they have more influence than the optional technora sail, which is not mentioned in that place?

There are "more colors (sic!)" with new combinations (i'd like almost allblue "d") ...

Still interested:

Johannes
By over50
#404077
I couldn't sell my RX2 for a good price.

So I will keep it and add the new wingtips instead by the time.

Better result in climbing I achieved by setting the kingpost two holes back - it's now slower and shows thermals better. Maybe my wv Flex 2 has too much weight on the head. Now overall is in balance, it seems.

I found some pictures of the PIUMA on a frech site: www.ledeltateam.com : They have there photoes of their 2018 "simple surface challenge": at least four of them with interesting colour combinations.

Johannes
By over50
#409306
Now I have got one: My PIUMA

was built in 2019, and it's almost the same (green/yellow/blue/white), as my blue/black RX2 is: 16 qm, wingtips, dacron. Because my (sold) RX2 cannot be transprorted by ist new foreign owner, for that time, I have them both at home. So I can compare them exactly, without flying (because of c...19):
- The new PIUMA hasn't less weight, as reported ("1 kg"), they both have exactly the same weight (with wingtips and all the bigger and smaller typical bags: 26,6 kg, the gliders alone I think: 24,? kg.
- The wingtips on the PIUMA are about 30 - 40% bigger, and have more tension.
- the leading edge on the PIUMA now has foam inserts, so it is fuller, thicker, more stabil.
- they both haven't the span, ICARO names for them: instead of "9,98 m" with wingtips, they both have 9,80 m (without wingtips about 9,60 m), so the aspect ratio isn't "6,2", but 6,0.
- The PIUMA-name is printed on the bottom double surface, the "RX2" was on the - more transparent - bottom single surface (marginal).

For me, it's good enough improved: important - I hope - are the fuller, foam inserted leading edge and the bigger, stiffer wingtips.

I hope, flying the PIUMA will be possible this summer.

Johannes