Ozone Rapido 3 Review

Our opinion Ozone R3

The Ozone Rapido 3 should be called Rapidos+. One more time in speedflying, it’s not a new wing, it’s just a very small update. This doesn’t seem to happen with paragliders, but happend with the Niviuk Skate 2 and the Swing Mirage+. At least Swing didn’t market it as a new wing. Ozone does, with statements like; The R3 feels like a Rapidos on Steroids. Or; The R3 feels like a Turbocharged Rapidos. We absolutely don’t agree with statements like this. We looked at the R3 very exactly and the only differences we found were those;

• Unsheathed kevlar lines
• No raff-system on the brakes, normally attached brake lines.
• More cuts in the cell walls and other weight savings, make it noticeably lighter

We looked at the trim and compared every single line length with a Rapidos. We couldn’t find a difference. But those 3 changes still have an impact;

• Less line drag, will make the R3 slightly faster. In straight flight and on biggers wings, you won’t feel this. But it might make a difference in a hook-turn with a small size. The faster you fly, the more important becomes drag reduction.
• Less line drag also increases glide ratio. But the position of you legs while flying, will have a bigger impact. So this will hardly be noticeable.
• The direct brake attachment system will make you feel better connected to the wing. It’s a nicer feeling, less mushy.
• The reduction of weight will make the wing feel a little more snappier in barrel rolls. And it’s great for speedriding, it’s easier to keep the wing flying when skiing slowly.

Ozone also says; Same legendary comfort, stability and easy of launch. We totally agree with this. Most things stayed the same. Which is not only bad. The Rapidos is known as a very safe, very stable and forgiving wing. It is the easiest wing for footlaunching on the market so far. We think it’s a great wing to get into the sport of speedflying and speedriding. You don’t need to worry about collapses, even trims open the R2 and the R3 are very stable. If it ever collapses, it will reopen faster then one can look up. We have never heared of an accident collapse-related with a Rapidos. And the Rapidos is flewn by many pilots, all over the world from coastel soaring, to speedflying and speedriding. The R3 will be no exception there, since the wings stayed the same. What can be a little tricky with the R2 and the R3 are those 2 points;

• The roll can be a little bit too high for first timers. But thats why there is a Fazer and a Dragonfly.
• The small sizes (9, 8 and 6.5) have quite short brake travels with closed trims. It doesn’t take much to stall them. The bigger sizes are ok.

Comparing the R3 with the new Mirage 2 RS (M2)

First of all, it’s important to say that the same size is not the same size. Ozone seem to have 10-15% more surface on the „same size“ then Swing. So a 15m Mirage is almost the same size as a 13m R2 or R3. So it’s no surprise, the Mirage 2 RS is the faster wing. It’s easy to feel. But you also have to run more to get airborne. The Mirage 2 RS is a stiffer wing, it’s tensioned more. So any control input, is it toggles, C’s or weightshift will be less delayed. The M2 reacts quicker to any input. The M2 also has shorter lines, specially the sizes 13 and 15 have extra short ones. Thats why there is a huge difference going from a 15 R3 to a 15 M2. The M2 will feel much faster and much more responsive. If you compare a 6.5 R3 to a 7 M2 the difference will be smaller, but even there the Mirage 2 RS is faster.

On take off the M2 shoots up even faster than the R3. Take off speed is higher as well. On landing, you can slow down the M2 as good as the R3. The R3 has more roll than the M2, which most pilots like, once they are used to the high roll. Barrel rolls are now as fast and snappy on the M2 then on the R3, but you have to support the M2 well on the outside brake, if not it likes to collapse there with trims open. Flying in turbulences most pilots will feel safer on the R3 then on the M2. The M2 lets you feel the turbulences a lot. We think the M2 has lost some stability. Chances you get a collapse on it are sure higher than on a R3 or a Mirage 2+. The M2 is stable enough for flying in normal still fun speedflying conditions, but when it get’s wild, you must close those trimmers and put brakes on. The R3 is for sure more forgiving there. Also barrel rolls without supporting the outside is no problem for the R3.

Speedriding works great with the R3, even for beginners. You can ski over bumps without active piloting and let the lines go slack, the R3 nearly hitting your head. Only when lines go really slack, it reacts with a collapse. Most of the times those collapses recover from themself and the R3 is still going on straight without a pilot input. Very forgiving behavior, same with trims open. On the M2 it’s a massiv difference with trims closed and open. With trims closed, it’s still a little forgiving when lines go slack. With trims open, it will make huge surprising collapses and turn into the snow behind your back. Just try ground-handling it with trims open and you will see what we mean with this. So the Mirage still works well for speedflying beginners, but for speedriding it’s much more tricky than the old version or the R3.

Both, the R3 and the M2 have too long risers for many pilots. The C’s are too high up with trims open for many pilots. Leaning back to reduce drag while flying asstograss on the rears won’t work. Specially smaller pilots find this annoying.

What we like on the R3

• Easy take off while foot launching: the R3 makes more lift than a M2 and takes off earlier.
• It’s easier to ride since it’s lighter
• Nice handling: The R3 has a roll many pilots like. It rolls more than a M2, but less than the Level Wings Fury. It’s agile, but not yet nervous. The small sizes are barrel roll machines.
• Safe and stable: Even with trimmers open the R3 is very stable and safe in turbulences. It takes strong turbulences to collapse, even with trims open. When it does collapse, it reopens quickly with no hassle.
• Sticks to the ground while swooping. It does long swoops and sticks to the ground after moderate hook turns. When hooked in crazy, it levels up 1-2 meter from the ground. To avoid this you need to load it enough.
• It’s nice to fly with the back risers.
• It’s got very nice risers with easy to use trimmers system.
• Big range: It glides well but also dives a lot. Specially when trimmed negative by pulling on the bridge you can achieve a lot of glide.
• Very forgiving on skis; It doesn’t care when lines go slack.
• Very durable; Strong fabric, very good build quality.

Good to know

• It’s a little slower and not as steep as M2.
• Small sizes are easy to stall with trims closed.
• Risers are too long for small pilots
• Surface area is measured different than on Swing wings. Makes it hard to compare.
• Glides a lot less than a Level Wings Flame

Summary

The Mirage is no longer the best all-round wing out there, it’s the R3 now, since the M2 got more demanding for speedflying and speedriding. The M2 is the weapon for pilots who don’t like compromises. The R3 is the best compromise out there. It does it all and it’s forgiving in all aspects, but not as fast and reactive as a M2.

Tech details and marketing texts

Rapido 3