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Golden 2 - DHV 1-2 certified paraglider
After 3 years of a
successful production of Golden (named after a popular paragliding
site in Canada) Gradient designers made another step
forward in the DHV 1-2 category. The new glider, Golden II, is an improved
concept incorporating the latest technology available. Improving Golden
wasn't easy. Even after 3 years it was still one of the most competitive
gliders in its category and only a total change of the design has done the job.
Golden II despite of
a higher numbers of cells weights about 1/2 kg less than Golden and has
smaller lines consumption further reducing drag. The slightly bigger aspect
ratio also indicates better efficiency and the max. speed increased by 2
km/h. After experience with the previous models it is easy to believe the
handling is as sweet and intuitive as DHV 1-2 glider should have.
Golden II will suit
well to a capable beginner while its performance will satisfy a relaxed
flying loving old hand as well. After an extensive testing it is fair to
say Golden II compares well with the previous generation of DHV 2
gliders (Aspen) by performance while displaying much better stability and recovery behaviour.
The fabric used is again the well proven Porcher Marine.
In the lines department Gradient stayed with their usual combination of
Aramid and Dyneema. The price is, in the
best Gradient tradition, very competitive and it won't break your budget. Ask
for a quote!
Golden II has
been received enthusiastically by the world markets. It looks good and flies as good as it looks. It is available in 5
sizes covering weights from 60 to 130 kg.
A few comments about GOLDEN II found in the "Paragliding Forum":
I flew my new Golden 2 26
(80-100) @ 94 all up today. BRAVO to Gradient for making an AWESOME wing.
Great sink rate, Speed AND handling. Go get ya a test flight for sure or
just order one you will love it!
Hanggliders pilot for 14 yrs just turned
Biwingual
It was interesting to see that
"Gleitschirm" consider Gradient handling to be in a class of their own,
"legendary" was the word they used, as I recall.
Regards , Charl
I just bought and tested both. The Golden II is faster than the #####. It also handles more to my liking. Giving the choice I choose the G2 ALL DAY. Faster, Better handling and so on. Just My real world results. Oh yea Brand New ##### for sale
Ground handling very easy and
seems to bite into the small stuff if asked to. It made me look very good at
a small site near Folkestone watched by school kids asking if I was going to
fly down. 15 minutes and one nice cycle later, up to 250 ft and a very
ordered top landing on the slope. Thank you Gradient for making me
look impressive!!
Steve U
Yesterday I've been flying a
golden 2 and I was amazed by the attention that Gradient paid to small
details. reinforced raisers, tiny raisers, reinforced seam on the trailing
edge, triple seam on the leading edge... end so on! For the last few weeks I was
fortunate enough to test-fly a Golden2. Wow what a nice
'all-rounder'. Coming from a ######, everything seems better - in
more then one way
Mario
Flew one the other day. I loved
it. Fairly soft with a lot of information transmitted back to the pilot.
Light, soft and moderately long brakes. Fairly damped in pitch and roll.
Mildly energetic and reasonable speed at trim. Mid range 1-2 I would say.
Performance up with the best and feels very fast on speed bar. Handling felt
exceptional to me. Not ultra quick or crisp but very very nice. I had a big
smile every time I flew it.
Rob
I just completed a 3-day
maneuvers clinic on my new Golden 2. I had 2 flights on this wing prior to
the clinic and had recently been flying the Golden 1. I’m not very
experienced but thought I would share my experience and the instructor’s
comments. I pulled extremely large frontals and asymmetric, on normal glide
and 60% speed bar… all was benign. Locked in spiral dives was easy to enter
and recover from. The wing had little tendency to dive on the (large)
asymmetric collapses on speed bar. On the third day I was comfortable enough
to move into full stall recovery and experienced 5 of these ( wow!). Very
stable wing, had great recovery from all maneuvers and I gained a lot of
confidence. The instructor commented that it was the best wing in the group
of 9 gliders out there in terms of its’ recovery from these maneuvers. I’m a
happy pilot.
Steve T.
Etc. etc....
TECHNICAL DATA:
GOLDEN II 22 GOLDEN II 24 GOLDEN II 26 GOLDEN II 28 GOLDEN II 30
Area .................................. 22.39 m2 24.21 m2 26.56 m2 29.24 m2 31.63 m2
Span ................................. 10.94 m 11.38 m 11.91 m 12.50 m 13.00 m
Aspect ratio ...................... 5.35 5.35 5.35 5,35 5.35
Projected surface area ..... 19.68 m2 21.28 m2 23.34 m2 25.70 m2 27.79 m2
Projected wingspan .......... 9.25 m 9.62 m 10.07 m 10.57 m 10.99 m
Projected Aspect ratio ...... 4.35 4.35 4.35 4.35 4.35
Maximum depth ................ 2.54 m 2.64 m 2.76 m 2.90 m 3.02 m
Minimum depth ................. 0.58 m 0.60 m 0.63 m 0.66 m 0.69m
No. of cells ........................ 50 50 50 50 50
Lines diameter ................... dyneema 0.7/0.8/1.0/1.1/1.3 // aramid 1.3/1.5/1.8/2.1 mm
Max. line length (B) ........... 6.67 m 6.94 m 7.27 m 7.63 m 7.94 m
Line consumption .............. 316.8 m 329.4 m 345.0 m 362.0 m 376.5 m
Weight ............................. 4.6 kg 5.0 kg 5.4 kg 5.8 kg 6.2 kg
Min takeoff weight ........... 60kg 70 kg 80 kg 90 kg 105 kg
Max takeoff weight ........... 75 kg 90 kg 100 kg 115 kg 130 kg
DHV category .................. 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2
Trim speed .................... 37 km/h 37 km/h 37 km/h 37 km/h 37 km/h
Max. speed ................... 50 km/h 50 km/h 50 km/h 50 km/h 50 km/h
Min. sink rate ............... 1.1 m/s 1.1 m/s 1.1 m/s 1.1 m/s 1.1 m/s
Gliding ratio ................. 8+ 8+ 8+ 8+ 8+
The performance data are for general information only and by no means they should serve for making comparisons with products by other manufacturers. The methods for obtaining this data vary and there are no fixed standards. Any comparisons based on this data can be misleading.
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