EN C 2 LINER

The Volt 4 from Air Design was the first on the market, but other manufacturers had also done a lot of tests prior to that. Right: the Volt 4 line plan. Photo: Air Design

An undeniable trend for 2022/2023.

Two liners are, in principle, more efficient due to the reduced drag of the lines, but they are flown differently to normal wings.

On the one hand, the wings are very stable, especially when accelerated, and offer more direct feedback through the controls, but on the other hand, large collapses can be significantly more extreme, since the rest of the wing is hardly supported any‐more. In addition, the reduced number of attachment points is often compensated by the presence of rods along the entire chord of the wing on almost all the cells, a cravat due to a collapse is therefore some‐times difficult, if not impossible, to recover from. Remember that the first two liners became certified (in EN/D) as recently as 11 years ago!

One can certainly criticize the fact that it is now possible to pass collapses induced by folding lines for EN/C certification (which allows the designer to adapt the geometry of closures in a targeted manner for the test) One can also object to the fact that pilots perhaps don’t use the folding lines during SIVs, and therefore don’t practice col‐lapses. Nevertheless, manufacturers have fully embraced the trend launched by the Volt 4, and many have announced the launch of their next EN/C two liners:

Air Design, available, Volt 4 Flow will be bringing out a two liner EN C wing in 2023 which will be called the Ad‐venture Mac Para, planned 2023, no name Niviuk, 2023, Artik Race, already in the air Nova planned 2023, no name Ozone, advertised for 2023, Aura Skywalk, planned 2023, no name SOL, advertised 2023, LT‐2 Swing planned 2023, no name UP planned 2023, Trango successor to the X‐Race

The new certification standard has not really entered the competition regulations yet, which is why some wings are certified as EN/C and EN/D. There is currently also speculation about the creation of a new sport class specially intended for the EN/C two liners so that they can access the Pa‐ragliding World Cup.

Stefan Ungemach

Read more in Free.aero: everything you need to know about 2 liners Below, our article about 2.5 liners...