Acro World

The Wing Load Research is Pal Takats's upcoming investigation to find out the real limits of the Thriller 2k11 from U-Turn which is claimed to be the best acro glider on the market.

He is going to test out the different sizes one by one while flying them on extremely high and low wing loadings, between 3,6 kg/m2 and 7,6 kg/m2 !!! For competitions and shows Pal normally flies the 17m2 Thriller at a wing loading of around 5.4 kg/m2 with 94 kg take-off weight. U-Turn's chief-designer, Ernst Strobl says with this take-off weight it should be possible to perform Infinity Tumbling even with 26m2, but regarding his theory it might not be the case at all with the 12m2 version, so let's see what happens! Beside that the wing-loading with 12.5m2 will reach way into the "red danger zone" by Strobl's calculation (see file "Table of area loading").

The main goal is of course to perform -almost- all existing maneuvers on the smallest and biggest available sizes of the Thriller. For the safe execution of the project this week Pal is heading to the Garda Lake in Italy to be able to do the experimentations high over water. Videos to come later on, stay tuned!

Acro flying is simply in his blood. With only 21 years between his ears he already belongs to the best pilots in the world and is just about to become a pro paraglider. During last year he also turned to be the speaker of the German acro scene, to legalize paragliding acrobatics in his home country. Who already met Marvin will agree; he is not just the number one German acro pilot but a smart, calm, really friendly and open-minded guy.

Nationality: German

Date of birth 06.07.1989

Home: Chiemgau, Bavaria

Pal Takats: Despite your young age you already got a few thousand hours of air-time...Tell me about your childhood, how did you grow up and what interested you as a kid?

"I have reached my goal and lived my dream – to be able to fly the Infinity Tumbling. The feeling of flying absolutely vertically over the paraglider many times is impossible to describe. Like all the other manoeuvres which I have learned in the past the thrill of success is enormously large - but somehow the Infinity Tumbling is the icing on my acro flying cake. Ten years ago on the beginner hill I never ever let myself imagine that I might one day be doing such a thing with my paraglider..." - Judith Zweifel, the world's number one female acro pilot tells about her impressions.

The idea of performing the Infinity Tumbling with a passenger has probably flashed through the mind of all the acro pilots who already mastered this ultimate figure. Just like me and Gábor who started to dream about this a few years ago...

Pál Takáts together with co-pilot and passenger Gábor Kézi are planning to attempt the World’s first tandem infinite tumbling sequence at lake Walensee in Switzerland on 7th August 2010,

The pair will use U-Turn’s new XXL Thriller acro glider. Designer Ernst Strobl says, “The loop can be performed because the Thriller is extremely light and dynamic but also extremely resistant to drops in pressure”. It has a reinforced nose profile and additional ventilation flaps on the upper sail to improve stability.

“Infinity Tumbling is one of the most difficult acro tricks with the highest degree of difficulty for both pilot and glider“, says Pál. “The glider is very big and has therefore got long lines. As a result, you have got a longer way and need more time to turn the glider and thus the acceleration has got even higher ‘G-Kicks’ in the lowest point.“ Pál estimates the kicks to reach up to 7G or more.

To perform the manoeuvre

Unfortunately we don't hear too much about the american acro scene and happenings. Somehow the big distance also makes it difficult to follow up with the europe-based scene, however there are a bunch of really skilled and talented pilots over there. Nova Dasalla is one of them and as a competition newcomer a few years ago we could get to know this symphatic guy who now managed to perform his nation's first Infinity Tumbling!

Pál: Nova, please tell me a bit about your flying career, when did you start flying and how did you get into the acro scene?

Nova: I have been flying since 2005 and knew right from the beginning that I'd get into acro. I blame the acro part of the movie "Never Ending Thermal" for changing my life! But it wasn't until 2007 that I really got into acro, spending a lot of time and money on training