My first flight with a single skin wing

Since the first single skins were released, every year between autumn and spring I have asked myself at regular intervals whether I should buy one of these mini-equipment sets.

Text and Fotos: Christian Schoop

Minimal weight and minimal packing volume sound exciting - but since I always fly a lightweight glider anyway, am pretty optimized in terms of weight and can't boast of being a particular hike&fly crack, I always rejected the idea...

On the last weekend of January 2024, I finally found the time and inspiration to test my new SingleSkin paraglider.

We met at Hübli with our single skins: my air buddy Dani with his UFO (Airdesign) and me with my Pace.

An unusual sight - the sporty Dani and next to me, with this tiny package on his back - few would suspect that this is the smallest airplane in the world. Looking back, what catches my eye are the comfortable, ergonomic shoulder straps of the Ultra backpack - the backpack itself with the paraglider and harness is not even remotely visible.

The package with umbrella 1.24 kg (in the stuff sack), harness sleeve with carabiner 270 g and backpack Ultra 315 g weighs 1.96 kg on my suitcase scale.

We set off excitedly - and yes, after just a few meters it's clear that this is how hike & fly is really fun! With a big grin on our faces we head uphill lightly. The speed feels faster than usual and we have no problems crossing the cow fences - it feels like you are not carrying anything.

Having arrived at the top of Alp Scheidegg with a personal best time, I am not even asked whether the takeoff fee has already been paid – not even the die-hard pilots recognize me as one of them. 

The tension is building - what is in this little package? A cloth as fine as silk, lines as thin as dental floss and a harness barely bigger than a pack of tissues - every gram that is not absolutely necessary has been saved. The direct transition from the lines to the carrying straps - ingenious. The way the brake handles are attached to the carrying straps is unusual but functionally well-solved. The quality of workmanship makes a good impression.

Since the leg straps cannot be opened, you step into the harness - the SLEEVE - like a pair of pants. The shoulder straps are threads that are held together with a strap in the middle.

A quick 5-point check (the colored markings on the wing and harness confirm that I'm wired correctly) and off I go! Nice weather, light wind, no thermals - perfect single skin weather!

Putting it up is as easy as it looks in the advert - whether forwards, backwards or any other way... whether the lines are in your hands or not, over, under or between your arms and whether with, against or without wind, anyone can get this glider up. 

Although it comes up quickly, the wing doesn't overshoot, is immediately stable above me and shows its interesting construction with the enclosed cells on the nose. And even if the wing is far in front of you, it takes forever for the front to collapse. And what else? It just stands there. I let go of the brakes, shake hands, chat with Thomas, have a drink, take a few photos - the wing is still above me. Compared to the Airdesign UFO, it is more stable. However, the control pressure is much lower, which makes me intervene too boldly at the beginning, to which the Pace responds with harsh reactions. 

When ground handling, you only feel the harness in one place. But despite that, handling, kiting and playing, I haven't had this much fun in a long time - two hours fly by.

But does the thing even fly?

My Airbuddy takes off with his UFO. After the edge, he disappears much faster than "normal" wings, but then reappears :-)

So I take off for the first time, prepared for the fact that the takeoff run might take a little longer than usual. And that's exactly how it is. The glider takes off smoothly, in a controlled and stable manner, without any effort on my part, and then takes off - a little later than usual.

Once in the air, everything is very, very comfortable. Unlike the UFO, there is no accelerator - presumably they did not have one because it only accelerates the vertical speed on the single skins anyway :-)

The glide angle is a pleasant surprise, and I'm fascinated by the fact that I can fly so far with just one piece of fabric. The subsequent descent in the landing turn is also surprising - my landing is much shorter than expected. In contrast to the first generation of SingleSkins, these newer ones have stoppers (Pace even has a kind of pulley system) in the control lines, which, when they reach a certain pull, also pull the second-to-the-back layer down to help flare out. This counteracts the bombing and makes landing elegant. It's important that you let the glider go at full speed and only brake it at the very last moment.