Sport Class 2-Liner

The Photon brings near-competition class performance to experienced sport class pilots. All of Ozone’s 2-liner know-how has gone into designing this wing. A long development period with extensive prototyping and hundreds of hours of flying and safety testing has gone into this project, and we are very satisfied with the Photon’s “True Performance” in real XC conditions. The Photon represents the missing link between conventional 3-liners and high performance wings such as the Zeno2 and Enzo3.

The Design

The Photon was developed from the Zeno 2. The aspect ratio is slightly lower, and the cell count is more moderate. We have also used a more inherently stable profile. By increasing the arc, several comfort and handling factors have been improved, and winglets have been added to compensate the effect of increased arc on roll stability and spiral behavior. The end result is the most accessible 2 liner we have ever developed.

Character in Flight

The Photon feels compact and solid throughout the speed range thanks to the stable profile, and the span & chordwise sail cohesion. It is trimmed for safety & ease of use, with great handling. The performance of the wing is immediately apparent – we have never flown an EN C wing with so much glide. It is a true 2-Liner wing, allowing the pilot direct angle of attack control throughout the speed range, which has safety benefits for experienced pilots and allows for higher average speeds whilst gliding in turbulent air. The rear riser control is intuitive and confidence inspiring. This wing is an ideal stepping stone for those new to this type of flying.

Performance

The glide performance is close to that of the Zeno 2 but the improved sail cohesion and lower aspect ratio makes it less demanding and more comfortable to fly. In terms of speed, it is the fastest EN C wing we have ever built, faster than the D4, M7 and Zeolite and the top speed is only slightly less than the Zeno2. Importantly it is solid and comfortable at these speeds and the winglets improve the roll stability for higher levels of efficiency in accelerated flight.

Passive Safety

Extensive in-house collapse testing by the Ozone R&D team has proven that the wing easily meets the safety requirements of the class, with side and frontal collapse behaviour very similar to the Delta 4. We don’t only test our wings in calm air, and the Photon is no exception. We have spent hundreds of hours pushing this wing hard, in real conditions, to confirm real life solidity and its true recovery from collapses, to ensure the wing is suitable for sport class pilots.

The Pilot

Certified EN C and available in six sizes, it is suitable for experienced pilots who have prior time flying EN C category wings and possess a high level of glider control skills with recent SIV experience.