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The UP Pico project started out as a quest to build the perfect, sturdy para-alpinism wing, light enough to go on any summit push yet with the longevity to last as long as any other paraglider.
Our designers accomplished this goal by explicitly avoiding any super lightweight materials with no known track record - rather they opted to stick with all the things we have been using for our wings for years, and simply use less of it.
During the testing phase of the new wing it became apparent that keeping this wing in the hands of the select few doing summit ascents and flying off would be a real shame - the wing turned out to be fun to fly and having the performance of a much more advanced design. Stephan Stieglair explains: "the software we use can predict the performance of a new design pretty well. However, I have discovered that it always seems to be too conservative with the low-aspect designs, whilst the high-aspect ones are more accurate - this was what happened with the Pico; it simply goes better than we expected it to"
So in the end we decide to make two versions of the Pico, the Xlight and the standard.
The Xlight comes in two sizes, xxxs and xxs. These are wings that will launch on even the smallest ledge, and carry their pilot and all the kit safely down to the valley bottom again. Due to their small size they do go a bit faster than standard paragliders, but they fit comfortably in the sleeping bag compartment of any alpine backpack and they still handle like rock solid paragliders.
The standard Pico comes in XS, S, M and L. The XS is a bit of a hybrid really, and is also the only wing in this family that has LTF 1-2 certification - the others are pure "1" wings. Default they come with standard 25mm risers, ready to go to the training hill or on longer thermal flights, but if your game is para-alpinism they may all be ordered with the thin (lighter) ultra risers seen here below:
Notice the UP Line Links connecting the risers to the lines - these are a spinoff from skydiving and weigh next-to-nothing while still having the same strength as standard stainless steel maillons.
SIZE |
XXXS |
XXS |
|
XS |
S |
M |
L |
FLAT AREA (m2) |
18,19 |
21,61 |
|
24,35 |
26,60 |
28,80 |
31,18 |
PROJECTED AREA (m2) |
15,79 |
18,75 |
|
21,13 |
23,08 |
24,99 |
27,06 |
FLAT SPAN (m) |
9,44 |
10,29 |
|
10,92 |
11,41 |
11,88 |
12,36 |
PROJECTED SPAN (m) |
7,54 |
8,22 |
|
8,73 |
9,12 |
9,49 |
9,88 |
FLAT ASPECT RATIO |
4,9 |
4,9 |
|
4,9 |
4,9 |
4,9 |
4,9 |
PROJECTED ASPECT RATIO |
3,6 |
3,6 |
|
3,6 |
3,6 |
3,6 |
3,6 |
NUMBERS OF CHAMBERS |
43 |
43 |
|
43 |
43 |
43 |
43 |
WEIGHT (kg) |
3,30 |
3,75 |
|
4,20 |
4,45 |
4,75 |
5,10 |
LTF CATEGORY |
BEP |
BEP |
|
1-2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Vtrim/Vmax (km/h) |
38/52 |
38/52 |
|
38/52 |
38/52 |
38/52 |
38/52 |
Cert. TAKEOFF WEIGHT (kg) |
- |
- |
|
60+85 |
70-95 |
80-110 |
100-126 |
DESCRIPTION: SCHOOL, THERMAL/XC AND PARA-ALPINISM |
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