SKYWALK Poison X-Alps, first impressions by Bertrand Chol
Bertrand CHOL, who lives at Annecy (France), began paragliding in 15 years. Today, he counts more than 3000 hours of flight. He participated during 10 years in numerous national and international competitions. He was a member of the French team from 2008 till 2011. Now, he participates now in numerous hike&fly competitions in France Bertrand Chol announces us here his impressions about hike&fly competition glider, SKYWALK Poison X Alps which he was lucky to try during about twenty hours.
Launching
Although not as easy as that of GRADIENT Avax XC5 or GIN GTO², launching does not have any particular problems.
In the air
Brake toggles are firm without being physical and turn is super accurate and its travel is sufficient to avoid all mistakes of over-steering. The glider communicates the air mass without unwanted movements. The SKYWALK Poison X-Alps immediately gives confidence to the pilot. The leading edge has shown strong and without surprises in all conditions tested. The structure deforms only in big turbulences and stays put unlike a lot of light gliders.
Turns and performances are in the upper for its category ‘EN D). It goes up very well in thermals and glides a bit better than a lot of its direct competitors (eg LM6). Its global performances are near to the Peak 4.
Downsides
For me, the main downsides are a suspentage sometimes a little catchy (not always very fluid) and elevators that could be optimized in terms of weight.
Conclusion
SKYWALK made a big job about structural wing. With only 4 kg, it’s a great compromise perf / security / weight for me. This is a great ideal glider for my XC flights and hike and fly competitions. To me, the Poison X-Alps is, for now, the reference light in 3 lines.
Bertrand Chol
