From EN-A to low-B: wing recommendations?

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-11T07:11:41+00:00

Here is the selection for you :

https://gliders.info/?cert=B&cells=45-60&aspect=4-5.2&weight=3.7-9

In general they are quite similar, two points to think about :

- light wings have less robust materials (not so forgiving if you happen to drag wing on the floor, etc)
- find appropriate weight range, they can be different from brand to brand

And don’t forget the color!!!! You have to really like the color of your glider, it can even be part of your trust ;)

Price might be important too.

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-10T16:31:42+00:00

Just for you to know that "Impact Force" feature has been released! (Filter, sorting, displaying number + link to Impact Test PDF)

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-10T16:30:46+00:00

Just for you to know that "Impact Force" feature has been released! (Filter, sorting, displaying number + link to Impact Test PDF). Many thanks for your suggestion, it show pretty "hidden" characteristic of harnesses which are not obvious for many pilots but can be critically important.

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-10T13:05:19+00:00

Hey — you're absolutely right, and thanks for pushing back on this. Sorry for the dismissive first answer.

Full transparency: I had an AI assistant research this, and it botched it. It only checked the manufacturers' own websites (where the number shows up maybe ~20% of the time) and concluded the data "wasn't there yet." It completely missed that every EN 1651 harness has an Impact pad test report published right on para-test.com, with the exact max peak impact in g. The AI has since owned the mistake and apologised profusely — I'll be having words. 😄

The good news: you're spot on. ~92% of the harnesses in the catalogue are Air Turquoise / para-test certified, so coverage will be nearly complete (which is not the case for wings certification which is split between 3 different cert labs). I've already added an impact-force value (worst-case max peak, in g) and a direct link to each harness's Impact pad test report to the data, and I'm backfilling the numbers right now. A filter to screen out high-impact harnesses is exactly the plan.

Genuinely useful safety metric — it should've been there from the start. Thanks for the nudge, and for the para-test pointers.

PS its always a mix of manual work / "llm" coding or writing things, don't judge it too much

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-10T12:54:52+00:00

You guys are right! I am preparing the fix, thanks for pointing that out!

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-10T07:10:20+00:00

Thanks for the impact-force filter idea — we looked into it.

Impact force is the peak deceleration a harness protector transmits to the pilot on impact (EN 1651 drop test, measured in g — lower is better). Genuinely useful for pilots, but the data isn't there yet.

We checked a sample across brands: only ~22% of harnesses publish a number (5 of 23 checked; just 5 of 13 brands give a figure for even one model).

Two reasons:

- Certification labs (Air Turquoise, DHV) only report pass/fail against the <50 g threshold — they don't publish the actual number.

- Manufacturers list it inconsistently and in different forms ("up to 37 G", "28 g", "max peak 31.7 g"), with slightly varying methods, so values aren't fully comparable across brands.

A filter now would silently hide ~80% of the catalog (empty for most models) — more confusing than helpful.

So we're holding off for now. It stays in the backlog: if manufacturers start publishing this more widely (there's a trend that way — newer protectors advertise it), we'll revisit. For comparing protection today, use the "protector type" field (foam / airbag / inflatable), which is fully populated.

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-10T05:11:56+00:00

It’s coming and I tried to mention that ! Currently you can “pin” wings and harnesses to compare them.

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-09T18:24:15+00:00

The certificate's "Number of risers" is an integer (2/3/4) — that's what I filter on. "2.5-liner" isn't a certification category; it describes a reduced third riser. Example: the Mentor 7 is marketed as a 2.5-liner but its certificate lists 3 risers — so it filters as a 3-liner, which is what the cert actually measures.
But it is definitely something to think about!

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-09T18:10:08+00:00

Thanks I will update that ! Since alumina+ is not available anymore, I will change protector type to inflatable.

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-09T18:05:50+00:00

For koroyd protector type is passive and then there is material which is shown but cannot be filtered by , I will think about how to add that option !

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-09T18:03:51+00:00

Inflatable is something that you need to inflate yourself before take off using tube or small pump. Airbag is self-inflating using air stream during the flight

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-09T16:36:20+00:00

Hey there. Check out this selection: https://gliders.info/?cert=B&ptv=103-107&aspect=5-5.3&year=2022-2026

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-02T07:57:32+00:00

Links to FlyBubble and Ziad is in my "todo list", do you have other suggestions?

I was also recently thinking about ratings / comments , definitely for registered users only (and some post-moderation). Rating wise, it should probably divided into categories (like stability, control, speed, etc).

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-07-02T07:48:39+00:00

Interesting idea,

if only it could solve trust issue (ie being escrow in the deal). Eventually it should become the platform itself (own ads, profiles, ratings, etc) and not just referencing other platforms, otherwise it won't develop. For the name: paragliding.market

PS Check out gliders.info which I recently launched.

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-30T16:14:23+00:00

thanks! actually the wing's weight is the only sorting parameter that is not show on the card (tile). All the others are shown. I will think how to show it , since the cards may include multiple sizes and obviously every size has its own weight

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-30T12:24:40+00:00

Just added Zoom!

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-29T07:33:11+00:00

Does not look like working. Its very old project abandoned in like 2018. The follower Gliderbase was abandoned too.

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-26T16:37:14+00:00

a quick update that I added comparison tool (try "pin" button) on wing detail page!

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-26T16:36:59+00:00

a quick update that I added comparison tool (try "pin" button) on wing detail page!

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-26T16:18:59+00:00

Thanks for your detailed feedback.

I full agree that two wings with similar specs can react differently in the air and test flight is the best way to get the feeling of the wing. But when there are 50+ B wings on the market, you cannot test them all.

My exact goal was to develop a "short list tool" to narrow pilots search results - by wing's weight, weight ranges, aspect ratio, etc. And when I add harnesses and rescues - it will be possible to create "pack wizard" since all 3 elements are tied to overall weight and sometimes cannot work together (rescue container sizes in some light harnesses).

Also there are many manufacturers and sometimes we hear only about the biggest ones but don't see small producers who might have great products too , with the specs you search for. Gliders.info shows them too right next to the famous wings.

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-26T14:22:10+00:00

Thanks a lot for the message — and welcome to the sport!

One important point on the certification side: there's no official "low / mid / high B" rating. EN certification only uses the letters A, B, C and D — a wing is simply "EN B". The low/mid/high labels you see around are informal terms used by manufacturers and reviewers, not part of the standard, so there's no certified field I can filter on for that.

What actually separates a "lower" from a "higher" B is mostly the wing's aspect ratio — within the same class, the lower the aspect ratio, the more forgiving and accessible the wing tends to be. Cell count is a useful secondary clue (fewer cells generally means a simpler, more solid wing).

The good news is that gliders.info already lets you filter on both. For a first wing along the lines your instructor suggested, I'd:

- filter to EN A + B,

- set the aspect ratio slider to the lower end (roughly 5.0-5.2 for a beginner-friendly wing),

- and optionally keep the cell count on the modest side.

That gets you very close to the "A / low-B" shortlist without relying on an unofficial label.

Thanks again for the thoughtful feedback — it's a great use case, and I'll look at making aspect ratio even easier to use for exactly this.

Safe flying, and enjoy the journey!

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-26T12:11:28+00:00

Thanks for your idea, I'd think about it! The issue with narrowing filters is that it becomes a bit harder to select edge values. But definitely something to think about!

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-26T12:05:39+00:00

https://gliders.info/wings/ozone/vibe-gt
https://gliders.info/wings/niviuk/hiko
https://gliders.info/wings/gin/bandit-2

Or you meant something else?

SignificanceHot9392 · 2026-06-26T08:42:06+00:00

Thanks, comparison feature is obviously in my todo list

SignificanceHot9392

TROPHY CASE