Ozone Viper 5

[Hemberg]

Anyone tested Ozone Viper 5?

Would be interesting to hear how it compares to its predecessors in particular.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Hemberg

[flyingfergus]

On 19/07/2021 at 14:24, Hemberg said:

Anyone tested Ozone Viper 5?

Would be interesting to hear how it compares to its predecessors in particular.

Yes a couple of times at UKPPG.  Once for 30 minutes in very rough conditions  and then 15 minutes before unexpected / unforecast rain arrived.

I  owned a Viper 2 for 3 years and a Hadronxx. I currently fly a very underated wing the Sky Zorro which is one of the best trimmers out, hands off average speed XC wings (33-34mph on most 2-3hr circuits) I have had the pleasure of owning.  I have recently tested the Apco F1.  I fly a Power2Fly trike.

I am looking for a second wing that is as fast or faster on trimmers out, hands off flying, but with an improvement on fuel. The F1 averaged a couple of mph faster but fuel was much heavier.  The Hadronxx was also very fast but had complex risers for a trike and was also very fuel heavy.  My Viper 2 was the most efficient wing I ever flew but had a tendency to oscillate a lot, so needed constant correction.

So far what do I think to the Viper 5 ? Comes up easy with a trike launch but doesn't over shoot.  The 22m I flew is very lifty and I was using 5000-5100 for level flight compared to 5550 rpm on my Zorro 28m, which I flew just before the Viper 5.  So it will be better fuel consumption than the F1 & Hadronxx and my Zorro.

Despite very violent air on the first flight the wing was very stable. The 2D steering takes a bit of getting used to ( pull toggle in towards your centre body for tip steer or out & down for brakes. Straight down is a combination of both. Brakes musn't be used on fast trim.  

I didn't get average speed due to the weather shortened flights but my initial reaction is slower on slow trim but marginally faster on trimmers out than my Zorro. Ozone say they have increased the speed range on the trimmers compared to the Viper 4 which had a bigger speed increase with the speedbar.   I don't do speedbar as its not easy on a trike . 

Importantly it didn't oscillate  under straight and level flight. 

I will at some point get a couple hour XC flight to know fuel and average speed,  but it looks like it will be my next wing.

Edited August 23, 2021 by flyingfergus
added wing size

[Hemberg]

I saw your post on facebook a while back and responded there. Thanks for a bit deeper review. Having owned a viper 3 for 6 years now and flew a speedster 2 a while during this period I am very impressed with the viper in general. The efficiency really does make a lot of difference on the feel for the glider and the agility is excellent. The viper 3 is unnecessary roll friendly and oscillate some. It sounds like the viper 5 has more of the behavior I want and will consider one next time.

[flyingfergus]

On 19/07/2021 at 14:24, Hemberg said:

Anyone tested Ozone Viper 5?

Would be interesting to hear how it compares to its predecessors in particular.

Hi,

Managed a 3rd flight in decent conditions. 2hrs 9 mins, 72.2 miles circuit. 

Average speed (trimmers out no speedbar for the whole flight apart from take off landing). Same set up for all flights. I am 145kg all up on a trike with Simo 250 engine.

Viper 5 22m  33.27mph,  5.8 litres / hr

Zorro 28m. 32,55mph 6.0 litres / hr   ( actually worked out from 36 hrs flying) 

Apco F1 22m.  35.67mph, 6.15 litres / hr.  (72.4 mile circuit)

 

The Viper 5 is lifty and the glide on slow trim with gentle brake carries you a long way.  

Your key question does is oscillate.   When direct into wind and stable air I could fly it hands off.  However side wind  or turbulence caused oscillation to develop rapidly and aggressively.  I have never felt sea sick before but unfortunately with it oscillating 30-40% of the time I did on this wing.  Also because of the 2D control with trimmers out meaning you cant use brakes,  the tip steering action of having to pull the 2D handle  in towards your chest made dampening off the oscillation really hard work. Its a hands on wing in my view which doesn't meet my needs of hands off flying.  I won't be getting one,  It really makes me appreciate my Zorro ! 

Going to try the F1 again. It didn't oscillate but I was a bit disappointed with fuel use but worth a revisit I think.

 

[Hemberg]

Thanks, that is valuable information for me. 

[TONYPARAMOTOR]

HMM, i own a ozone viper 3 .i have flown for 6 years and still have the wing.  very good glide rate. i use the wing more for acro. i also have the ozone viper 4 wing another very good wing. more agile then my viper 3 wing. probably because the viper 4 has 2d risers. i also use for acro flying. and general flying.the unsheathed lines. can get tangled easy. hence why you need to be a expert to untangle the lines... can be problematic.  as far as iam conerned the vipers are for free style flying. and not xc flying. the viper 5. ozone say this and say that. and ill take that with a pinch of salt...   the viper wings are action wings. full stop.  

Edited September 19, 2021 by TONYPARAMOTOR
just added more info. for anyone to read.

[flyingfergus]

On 29/08/2021 at 20:39, Hemberg said:

Thanks, that is valuable information for me. 

Hi Hemberg,

By way of an update I too a second 2 hr xc on the Apco F1 24m.  Fast (as said previously), very stable with no oscillation yet can turn on a dime.  So I bought the demo one I flew from UKPPG. 

[Hemberg]

On 9/19/2021 at 4:42 PM, TONYPARAMOTOR said:

HMM, i own a ozone viper 3 .i have flown for 6 years and still have the wing.  very good glide rate. i use the wing more for acro. i also have the ozone viper 4 wing another very good wing. more agile then my viper 3 wing. probably because the viper 4 has 2d risers. i also use for acro flying. and general flying.the unsheathed lines. can get tangled easy. hence why you need to be a expert to untangle the lines... can be problematic.  as far as iam conerned the vipers are for free style flying. and not xc flying. the viper 5. ozone say this and say that. and ill take that with a pinch of salt...   the viper wings are action wings. full stop.  

 

Yes, the viper can turn. I only fly xc and take a lot of photos with it which means that it isn't the best choice for the job. So I got a speedster 2 since I wanted something easier, my body was tired at the time and wanted something more convenient, and why would I need a viper. After flying the speedster 2 for a little more than a year, I sold it and got back on the viper, and noticed how much had missed flying with it. It became fun to fly again. I really like the way it flies.. except how it handles in turbulence. Flying hands off for photos in turbulence is not comfortable.

I noticed that I only want to fly when the weather is good anyway, so usually it doesn't matter. The turbulence I get when flying with the viper is always mild. Flying in worse turbulence was useless in my opinion even on a stable A. But sometimes it would have been good to have a backup glider that is more gentle it I start far from my normal take off.