More on Stephan, who we will be following during this year’s X-Alps Race:

https://www.facebook.com/RedBullXAlpsTeamUSA2

http://easternsierrastephan.blogspot.com

http://www.redbullxalps.com/athletes/profile/stephan-haase.html

Cheers from all the Team!

With Chrigel’s help, we have developed a wing that is designed from the ground up to perform in the world’s toughest adventure race, the X-Alps. The LM5 will be used by a record number of Ozone pilots in the 2013 X-Alps race. We chose this design based on its exceptional stability in turbulent conditions which the X-Alps pilots are forced to fly in. the 3L design is comfortable and easy to launch, even in difficult circumstances, and our current prototypes are exceptionally light!

After the completion of the 3L designs mentioned above, which is imminent, we will release a 2-Line Mantra M5 as well. This version is aimed at pilots who are looking to transition to the competition class of modern 2L designs. With a slight performance increase and the inherent benefits of a 2L design in flight (rear riser control, increased speed), the M5 2L is the perfect step for pilots looking to move up to the highest level of competition wings.

Many pilots will now be asking themselves, “Which M5 is for me?” We think that most M4 pilots will find the 3L best suited to what they need, whilst the most ambitious ones may opt for the 2 liner. On launch, the 3L is significantly easier to handle, and is generally a more forgiving wing. The comfort and ease of use of the 3L will yield the highest “True Performance” for many pilots. The 2L offers a performance advantage and more efficiency at high speed thanks to the precise rear riser control. In return,  it requires more active and precised piloting in turbulence.

We will continue to post news here on the progress made with the M5 series. Please refrain from emailing us (The R&D Team in particular, please let them work) regarding this project as we truly need to dedicate all of our time to this project. We are later than we had hoped to be due to uncooperative weather in the south of France, but we’re very happy with the results so far and we are confident that you will agree it is worth the wait.

Cheers, from all the Team.

The idea stemmed from a meeting regarding airspace in northern France, where I discovered the open pathway between Paris and Lille to reach the coastline from Létanne, in the region of Champagne-Ardenne. A week later, the forecast promised the first real spring flying conditions with an east wind. With the challenge still fresh in my mind, but of course too early in the season to attain such a distance, I detect (as many others) that this is the day not to miss. I organized retrieve driver - I have to be at work the next day at 7:30 ready to perform surgery…

Upon arrival at the take-off, the first cumulus clouds appear and I quickly prepare myself for take-off. Appropriately, getting up an away is a easy but the flight for me and two other pilots is almost over after 10 Km. The promising cumulus fails us and we end up low, ready to land, not very proud… Luckily, we manage to emerge from the situation and I begin to consult my map and the flight corridor to the sea…

The cold conditions are penetrating, omnipresent for the duration of the flight; my fingertips are frozen in spite of my heated gloves. These conditions are probably responsible for Wim or Phil’s exhaustion, who share the same over-ambitious objective, the coast! Yet this objective keeps me going, motivates me to advance quickly, legs stretched and pushing the accelerator, only stopping in the strongest thermals.

I ignore the cold, neglect fatigue, and only think of keeping my retrieval informed of my position as I advance.

The flight occurs in 4 stages:

In the first stage, the cumulus clouds are present and generous- the path is easy and one must optimize this stage to advance.

The cumulus clouds almost completely disappear in the second stage and I have to progress in the blue and take every possible lift. I lose sight of Wim, then Phil…

Just prior to the third stage, the cumulus clouds return in full force and the path forward accelerates. The third stage is powerful.

Until the end of the day, a thickening cirrus haze develops. My last big lift is at 50Km from the sea and I see myself in a final glide, a lovely flight but without the magic of attaining the sea…

A grey and uniform sky does not give me any hope to pursue my flight. It is, nevertheless, in this milky atmosphere that the birds show me the way. The progression over the remaining kilometers is achieved in this docile aura. I take everything that passes to maintain myself up to a final glide over the white cliffs of the Opal coast, an unforgettable memory.

After 7 and ½ hours and 267km, I land tired, frozen…and happy!

-Paul Schmit

The New OZO Reversible Harness is now available to order, and is a ~530g backpack and harness combined. It is available in a 26L and 33L size. When combined with the XXLite, your harness, pack, and wing will all weigh in at a grand total of around 1700g! For more info check out the OZO page and the XXLite page, and don’t miss the video.

Keep Your Wing in the Shade…  The new Ozone Sombrero is a cover to protect your wing during the inevitable parawaiting sessions that we all endure from time to time. While you’re sitting on take-off, keep your wing covered with this UV-reflective, water-resistant, light-weight cover. Perfect for competitions, or just a weekend on the hill. Available now from your local Ozone dealer.

New Nutshells!  The Ozone Nutshell is now available in 3 different colours (Charcoal, White, Blue), and we are also offering chin guards to make the Nutshell a full-face helmet. Chin-guards are sold separately and require some simple assembly. Check out the Nutshell page for more info.

New Spreaders for Tandem Pros:  With the addition of our new light-weight tandem to our range (The Mag2Lite), we have released 2 new spreader systems to choose from. The Lite Spreaders are simple and extremely light, at just 60g a pair. The new Soft Spreaders are 382g, and adjustable in length for easy calibration to all passenger weights.

All of the above are now available and in production, so ask your local Ozone Dealer. Cheers from all the Team!

Vimeo:550,309,62494294

The 2013 edition comes 10 years after the first X-Alps, in which Ozone’s Chief Designer and Test Pilot, Dav Dagault, placed 2nd flying a special light wing of his own design. Ozone’s passion for light equipment and vol-biv adventure flying has encouraged us to support pilots in the X-Alps every since, as well as many intrepid adventurers who have set distance and altitude records in the wildest parts of the Himalaya, American West, South America and Africa. In addition to Dav’s X-Alps performance, Luc Armant’s now famous 1000km solo unsupported Himalayan vol-biv flight and Fred Pieri’s vol-biv adventures across central Asia have provided much fuel for our lightweight innovation.

With Chrigel Maurer heading up the Ozone X-Alps Team of pilots and helping us to develop the ideal X-Alps equipment package (Wing, Harness, Backpack), we’re very excited about this year’s event. We will post more details on the list of pilots flying Ozone and the equipment that we will be supporting them with, very soon. Please stay tuned and we look forward to following the pilots on this year’s course! Good luck to all involved, and we hope for another safe and fun event.

Cheers from all the team!

Alex reported that the launch site at the summit of the mountain was very small, snowy, and highly technical. He said that without the XXLite, which “inflates” (rises overhead, we mean) effortlessly, and begins flying so soon (due to the slow trim speed), the launch would have been very difficult or impossible. Therefore, they chose the right tool for the job.

Nice work guys, that looks like an excellent project. Cheers from all the Team.

Our brochure will be available from your local Ozone dealer in paper form from the end of March in most countries.

Cheers, from all the Team.

Ozone Team Pilot, Jon Chambers, flew an LM4 in the 2011 X-Alps, and he’ll be piloting our newest light-performance wing in the 2013 edition. He has recently written a book about his experiences in 2011, which can be seen here: James Allcock says in his review of the book:

“I love it when the sky gods like Jon mention fitting flying round the drudgery of work or pressures of family life and hearing that these super-beings get tired, fed up and scared at times is heartening. I particularly liked the father-son comments and thoughts that ran through the pages.”

The proceeds from Jon’s book go towards his efforts in the 2013 race. We look forward to supporting Jon in his 2013 efforts, and to reading his book!

Cheers from all the Team.