I am a new
pilot of one year and I weigh 80kg. Before flying
with a Power Pluto 2 23m, I had only flown with big and
slow school wings, very soft in handling. The
worst was the inflations with these heavy wings.
After 15
flights with the Power Pluto 2, I progressed more than
my previous 60 flights with other wings !
I can now
take-off on my first try, if I make a mistake and the
wing is not perfect over me, I just need some toggle
input and have it go where I want.
And what's
the coolest is that a 23m is sufficient for my weight, I
was used to 28 m and needed to run twice as much to
take-off before!
The Power
Pluto 2's glide ratio is unbelievable; I fly longer with
the same quantity of gaz.
I recommend
to all student pilots to try the Power Pluto 2.
You will not have to change wings once you have attained
confidence, as the Power Pluto 2 is docile and sharp at
the same time, contrary to school wings which are often
suggested to beginners.
"After flying a Silex as my
favorite wing for many years, I was looking for
a replacement wing that kept the same fun in the
air as the Silex, with a more modern and
efficient gliding behavior. I wanted a wing that
would be my main glider, in other words easy to
launch in no wind, easy to land and that would
respond to what I wanted the wing to do, not the
other way around. I tested several wings, and I
was growing increasingly frustrated as I had a
hard time finding something to replace the fun
feeling in the air of my aging Silex, while
still easy to launch in tough conditions.
I went to test the Axis Power Pluto
21 (small) at the Paratour facilities in
Christmas Florida, located about 230 miles North
from my hometown Miami. After overestimating
the distance from where I stayed, I arrived way
too early at their compound, full of
excitement!! I woke up poor Eric and Elizabeth
much earlier than they intended to, but they
were really nice and brought me the wing to
test it. Incredibly, after this long trip, the
weather was not cooperating!! There was no wind
and it was cloudy and hot, making it really
bumpy due to thermals.
Since I had no other chance
to test the wing, I went ahead and launched in
those terrible conditions. I was immediately
surprised on how easy it was to launch and once
in the air, I felt very safe.
I could feel some bumps but
the wing was gliding and cutting through the
bumps like if it was a smooth day. I am
normally very much a wimp when it comes to bumpy
conditions, and I tend to land as soon as
possible. Somehow this felt different. Safe and
agile. I was actually happy and enjoying the
ride!! I really can’t describe how it felt
safe, it just did…and I just wanted to keep
flying!
I was also immediately
impressed on how much more “floaty” this wing
felt compared to the Silex. I felt I was
floating and the Silex usually felt a lot more “sinky”,
I was using less power and climbing faster. Then
I understood how efficient this wing is, even
though it is about 3 square meters smaller than
the Silex. The agility was the other factor that
I also noticed and enjoyed. I could do the same
turns and felt the same responsiveness that I
was used to.
While flying, I saw some deer
in an open field and went after them. I had a
blast chasing them and no problem to keep up
through their turns. They turn constantly as
they try to lose whoever is chasing them. So
turning was super easy and fun!
After some time flying I had
to go back which was hard as I wanted to keep
flying and because it meant I had to land in no
wind. I have to admit that I am a terrible
lander…. I tend to flare too early and I tend to
land on my butt quite often, which generally
causes a great deal of hilarity for my flying
“crew members”. So believe me… I was dreading
the time of landing in no wind with an unknown
wing, especially in front of MASTER Eric
Dufour!! So I armed myself with all the
confidence I could master in those bumpy
conditions. Small wings tend to come down fast…
in no wind…and as I saw the ground rapidly
approaching, I instinctively started pulling
brakes too early…and the Pluto simply glided and
came to a perfect stop…and I was standing on my
feet!!!!
I felt like a champion!! I
had so much fun on my first flight an in those
terrible conditions that I said to myself this
must be a blast in good conditions! So
that was all the test I needed, I had to have
that wing.
Now two years later…when
flying the Power Pluto, I still feel the same
excitement on every flight. I have now flown it
in many different conditions and I still have it
as my preferred wing. I have a Reflex for windy
days and other occasions, but the Power Pluto is my
day to day wing and it’s the most fun in a small
package that I have ever had!!!"
"Hi Elizabeth and Eric, just
wanted to tell you how happy I am with my Power
Pluto Wing.
I currently have five wings and have flown many
wings over a ten year period; but can honestly
tell you that my Power Pluto is my wing of
choice.
Most of the guys I fly with have problems with
no wind forwards, I don't. The Power Pluto is
very easy to inflate and is rock solid over head.
So while they are sitting on the ground after
many blown launch attempts, I am enjoying a nice
flight. I feel so confident about
this wing that I have strongly recommended it to
other pilots to include my two brothers.
"I have been flying PPGs for over 5 years
with over 500 flights. After test flying
more than a dozen wings, I decided to
purchase a medium Power Pluto II in late
2010.
I fly in Colorado at 6850 feet and found the
Pluto II to be the wing that did everything
well. It is very efficient with great lift,
flies confidently in bumpy air and has a
great flare on landing.
Forward launches are very easy, even in
Colorado, due to great inflation
characteristics. The wing comes up straight
and settles over head with little need to
check the wing.
The wing also has a sporty turning ability
while maintaining good stability (hands up
returns the wing quickly to center) making
it a lot of fun to fly. The light weight of
the wing and lines makes the wing easy to
reverse launch. I would recommend the Pluto
II to any pilot looking for a safe and fun
wing."
"This
afternoon I had 45 minutes of pure pleasure under
this little beauty which elates me.
On this November 13, 2011, I flew with my very new
Power Pluto II 21 meters, under a
strong wind.
To begin, I went with my Nucleon 25m,
in order to fully compare both wings under the same
weather conditions. My conclusion is that without any
hesitation, I
prefer the Power Pluto II for taking-off
and landing without a doubt. (I prefer forward launches, once I set-up,
I put little tension on the As,
because I already know this
wing will come up easily and the minute it was up,
it was telling me "come below me,I am waiting for us to take-off
together"). A few steps back
to center myself
under this little wing
(I am used to these kinds of take-offs),
power,
a few steps forward
and
we leave the ground, we
climb
fast
and flying my surroundings.
I turn right with a little
power and wow, this little beauty
responds well.
It gives me
shriver thrills. A pure pleasure.
I release my right brake and the wing immediately
and most naturally flies
straight
again.
I then proceeded to do 5 touch and goes,
something I rarely do, and I still can't believe the way
this wing brings me back softly on the
ground. It is for this reason I felt confident in
doing 5 touch & goes. I wanted to
land but could not resist to go back up, it was so
much fun.
To recap take-off were a
breeze, flares very easily, responds very well to pilot
input, stable, agile, I am sure that a new pilot can learn
with this little beauty. This wing is easy and tame.
I fly since 2004, I have hundreds hours
of flight. The Power Pluto II 21m is my 7th wing and
I can assure you it is my most preferred wing to date.
Take-offs and landings are easy, what I
like so much with this wingis
to feel it being part of me. My only regret:
Not knowing it existed sooner.
Here is a pilot really satisfied and happy to fly under this
"agile" (canopy),
which
is the nickname I have given it.
A
very big thank you to Eric Dufour (Paratour) which
was right in
recommending
this Power Pluto II
21 meters
wing to me.
These are my personal comments on how I reviewed this wing.
"Having
been a PPG Pilot and gathered experience over a couple
of years, I was now ready to start looking for a new
paraglider.
Having a better understanding of my needs and having
considered and tried various types of wings, namely
reflex vs non-reflex, I had the opportunity to try out a
2004 Power Pluto 23m2 that my flying buddy was
considering parting from.
I still remember that day very vividly as I had a couple
of wings to try out and after going through a very
extensive selection process (mini, mini, mo…) I rested
my choice on flying the Power Pluto 23m2 first and I
would try out the other one after.
After flying for about an hour and trying high and low
flying acrobatics, I returned to the LZ and quickly
realized on the way there that I was actually under the
wing that I had been looking for the past six months of
extensive shopping, trying out and reading countless of
hours of specs and details.
I had found the absolute in ease of inflation, ease on
take-off, awesome responsiveness and incredible
performance and amazing flaring capability on landing.
As the old TV commercial goes, “I was so impressed I
bought….!” not he company cause Eric and Elizabeth
wouldn’t sell, but another Power Pluto II, 23 m2.
One would think -a Pluto is a Pluto right?.... No, this
Pluto II was even better. Very little changes to the
structure that the untrained eye could pick up at a
first glance, but I found my new wing even easier to
inflate, more performing, stable as a rock in turbulent
conditions and a lot of fun doing foot drags, slalom
course, or flying through the maze of rivers and inlets
here in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
What
will I do the next time I’m shopping for a wing????? You
guessed it, I’ll be calling Paratour to ship me another
Axis ! unless there is better on the market….and I doubt
that very much!
Thank
you Paratour for your superior equipment and service,
you’ve made my flying experience even better!
From
a happy Power Pluto II customer in Fredericton, New
Brunswick Canada."
Real Robichaud, "Weyman
Wingnut #5"
Realr@tianb.com
New Brunswick
December 2011
"The perfect
wing is actually a personal choice. Interestingly, your
perception of what that is continues to change as
your skills improve. If you are one of those pilots
that is always looking for something new, then let me
share a secret with you: The magic is all in
the Aspect Ratio (AR).
Paratour is only 20 minutes from home, so this gave me
the unique opportunity to try their full line of Axis
paragliders, moving along the progression from the
Power Pluto
(5.5 AR) to the Power Vega (5.8), and then on to the
Power Venus
(6.2).
So what do you get other than a noticeably longer
span and skinnier wing (from leading to trailing edge)?
Increased lift, improved minimum sink, more
maneuverability, and more speed range (from trimmers
full in to full out with speedbar). Since these are
very light wings, you get excellent no wind, short
takeoffs, tip toe landings, snappy turns, and the range
of speed to either slow down for your friends or catch
up to them when they are far ahead of you.
Striking a good balance on all these factors is not
easy. Generally you give up something to gain
another. AR helps a lot. As you move up in Aspect
Ratio, you will notice that you have so much more
lift that you can even move down in size. The flying
becomes much more active, but you will feel more
connected to the air.
Axis also makes a Mercury (7.6 AR). We may never have
to go that far to find the perfect wing. But it's good
to know that Eric Dufour and Axis will certainly be
there when you are ready to keep expanding your flying
skills.
I am the owner of a couple of wings now, three to be exact.
I do a lot of traveling and fly whenever I can.
My Power Pluto is my go to wing no matter where I am at.
It comes up quick, and is a very fun wing to fly.
I am 330 pounds all up, so I fly quite a bit over the
placard weight of the Power Pluto 26. This wings has a lot
of energy for flaring and is a blast to fly.
If your looking for a wing that is easy to launch, fun to
fly, and stable in flight, this is the wing to look at.
Bottom line Eric Dufour has been one of the stable fixtures
in the ppg industry for a very long time. If he
recommends it and fly's it, it must be good.
"I can say that I
love my little wing, so smooth to handle, very
maniable and precise. I have a lot of fun twisting
it in all directions, it gives me great pleasure.
It is so much fun to twist it around knowing that it
will not bring you bad surprises at low altitude.
Since I don't fly that often, I did not have the chance
to really test it to its limits, but I can say that each
time I take-off, its pure pleasure.
When conditions are rowdy and no one wants to go up, you
take out your little Power Pluto II and you treat
yourself to a crazy ride, its wonderful."
"I
purchased my Power Pluto 2 about a year ago now
from Eric and Elizabeth of Paratour. I have put
a good 40-50 hours on it and I can honestly say
I have made a great choice.
I have been flying for 5 years now and in the
beginning I was using some of the hardest wings
to learn on. When I was referred to Eric and
Elizabeth to look at buying a new wing I did not
know what to expect. I figured it would probably
be a little better than what
I was use to, but from the first flight
on my new Power Pluto
2, I was just amazed.
I could not believe how easy this wing could
launch and how well it can maneuver. This wing has really helped me
progress in this sport, every maneuver I toss at
this wing so far it handles it like a champ.
I just wished I could of started out on this
wing it would of made my learning experience so
much easier.
Thanks Eric and Elizabeth for helping me select
my wing.."
"I
am flying an Axis Power Pluto 26 and It's the best wing I have
ever flown.
I have 9 flights on the new wing and all of them
have been the dreaded forward launch.This wing comes up so nice I feel like a pro.
Paratour was absolutely correct when they suggested
me this wing. I haven't even
tried to fly my other wing.
