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ALPHA 3 - Time to fly! A new story begins, the story of a growing passion; that of flying paragliders, of a dream that comes true. When starting a new passion, what is better than to enjoy the emotion of flying, than feeling totally inspired and confident with your new wing? Does the ALPHA 3 look like a school wing or an intermediate wing? In fact, it's the best of both, the glider of the first years of pleasure. Test pilots have compared the new model favorably to the EPSILON 3, which was Advance's best selling glider. Design features: Reinforced leading edge, with Mylar : better rigidity and stability of the wing. Each cell receives a line, to maintain a perfect profile. The cell width is scaled, it gets smaller as you go from the centre to the wing tip (the last four being closed off) giving a beautifully clean aerodynamic shape. 4 risers: easy to handle - for beginners as well as for advanced pilots - and giving better speed system. Compression straps sewn between the attachment points of the lines : the distance between the cell walls always remains the same, in order to maintain the profile and keep the shape of the wing i.e. better performance in turns. The passion for perfection All of the sewing and stitching is internal. the leading and trailing edges are reinforced with a Mylar border to increase rigidity and also to make them less sensitive to the high tension to which they are subjected. The winglets on the wing tips are aerodynamic elements but ADVANCE signature also, diminish the wing tip turbulence (vortex effect) and give much more precision in the turns. The lines remain in correct position on their small quick links thanks to a well designed plastic clip. The braking is optimized by utilising a system with rings creating braking action on the wing tip first. The brake handles are reinforced in a way that makes them easy to take and comfortable. They are attached to the risers with a magnetic snaplock. The wing tips receive a velcro closure, easily opened to remove the twigs and gravel that could have entered the glider. The big ears kit is easy to use and perfectly integrated to the risers. The main brake line receives a swivel, that avoids twisting when making a wrap around the hand. Behaviour: Easy and homogeneous inflation: the wing rises progressively, without any hard point and does not overtake the pilot. Easy to correct when not inflating symmetrically. It is obvious for an advanced pilot and beginners alike. Progressive and homogenous spiral braking; perfect speed and amplitude reaction. Exiting spirals, the wing comes immediately overhead without any pitching oscillations. High level of performance in it's category and great fun. Best glide angle at trim speed, soft speed system in the early travel and very efficient through the whole speed range. The ALPHA 3 is delivered with : the new JETBAG sack, M or L, with removable belt. internal protection bag for the glider a small protection bag for the risers compression strap speed system repair kit user manual the CD-Rom Feel different ! ALPHA 3: Pilot profile Easy to pilot and very safe, the ALPHA 3 replaces both ALPHA 2 and EPSILON 3 in terms of performance and safety. It is ideal for: Beginners, during and after a training. Pilots just completing training and understanding that improve a glider that's both safe and dynamic is needed. The tolerance of the ALPHA 3 provides safety when learning, the high performance gives great fun and pleasure. A regular pilot who makes progress and wants a glider that has modern performance but is easy to handle; for example the pilot of an ALPHA 2 who wants to move up in the range. An EPSILON 3 owner looking to replace it without moving up in the model range. A pilot who flies occasionally (less than 30 flights a year), even if he is an experienced pilot (he will have real fun and will feel safe). Certification All 4 sizes of the ALPHA 3 will be certified according to DHV 1 with the speed system. Check back for the DHV test reports for sizes 24 , 26 , 28 and 30. Which harness? The ALPHA 3 has been developed and tested with the ADVANCE harness. Then we strongly advise the use of the latest generation of ADVANCE harnesses. When using a harness from another brand, be sure that the chest strap width is between 37 and 40 cm and that the height of the attachment points is between 42 and 46 cm. Colors and design The ALPHA 3 is now delivered in the 2004 range of colours , with a 3rd colour strip between the leading edge and top surface, same as the EPSILON 4. Materials in construction Upper and lower surfaces, cell rib : Nylon Porcher Marine New Skytex 6.6, 44 gr/m2 Suspension lines : Liros Dyneema + Technora, sheathed Polyester DFL 115: 1,25 mm (1st level and brake) PPSL 200: 1,45 mm (2nd level) TSL 280: 1,8 mm (3rd level) Risers : Polyester 28 mm, 1500 kg Quick links : Inox 4 mm, 1000 kg Technical specifications Model 24 26 28 30 Surface flat - m2 24.13 26.03 28.16 30.05 Projected surface - m2 20.68 22.42 24.00 25.66 Span - m 10.59 11.00 11.44 11.82 Projected span - m 8.44 8.80 9.11 9.43 Aspect ratio 4.65 4.65 4.65 4.65 Projected aspect ratio 3.45 3.45 3.45 3.45 Max chord - m 2.79 2.91 3.01 3.11 Min chord - m 0.62 0.65 0.67 0.69 Cells 35 35 35 35 Take off weight - kg (pilot, wing, equipment) 58/75 70/90 85/108 103/127 Weight of the glider - kg 5.65 5.95 6.25 6.65 Maxi length of the lines with the risers - cm 688 716 741 767 Minimum speed - km/h 22 22 22 22 Max speed without speed-system - km/h 37 37 37 37 Max speed with speed-system - km/h 45 45 45 45 Min. sink rate m/s 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 Glide 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6