PHI Scala - Long Term Review

Рет қаралды 11,422

Күн бұрын

PHI Scala represents a fairly new, yet already very popular class on the market - the lightweight 2-liners. I've been flying this wing since the beginning of the season, including Bornes to Fly and X-Pyr competitions and I believe now I know enough about it to share with you guys.
If you want to know why this is a wing of my choice, make sure to stay with me.
Full specification:
phi-air.com/project/scala_light/
I've flown the smallest size (up to 85kg) at ~80-84kg with Ozone F*Race and Skywalk Range X-Alps 2
Contents:
0:00 Intro
0:56 Construction, build quality, weight
1:42 Risers, Lines
2:45 Take off
3:26 Performance & handling
4:54 Safety
5:30 SIV
6:38 Wrap up
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Пікірлер: 53

@turbofurz Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the review. The SCALA has only D cause of the folding lines limitation at that time it was tested. We are doing just now the paperwork to get her into C.

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

that would be great! Well, it does feel safer than Zeolite, which has barely any D's and which is... safer than Zeno. So that definitely makes sense :) I plan to test Volt 4, I wonder how those 2 compare.

@smurfsky101 Жыл бұрын

@@kocot. interested in your comparison to the volt 4. I feel that the xenon, scala light, and volt 4 are very similar. Have found the handling of the V4 to be a bit sluggish, wonder if it's less or more so than. the scala, xenon, etc. Also, have you flown a klimber 2p?

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

@@smurfsky101 I hoped I'd be able to test Volt 4 this season, but I had really little time for flying in the end. I've heard a lot of good things about it but I don't expect a revolution in any way. I guess it's just a bit more tamed than Scala or Zeo. Klimber looks great and super lightweigth, but not my weight ranges =/

@flying_dominik Жыл бұрын

Nice footage and thanks for your explanation!! 🤩😍

@ParaParaParagliding Жыл бұрын

Great review! I enjoyed watching it a lot, even as a EN-B Pilot. Thanks!

@HamsterOnCoke Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing. One of the best produced reviews out there! Cheers

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

thanks! that means a lot. I wish I had more time to produce more of them, haha :)

@user-sw3vo1wt1g Жыл бұрын

Nice review, thanks!

@Fredstube Жыл бұрын

Awesome review

@EmmanuelChabani Жыл бұрын

Excellent review (made me subscribe to your channel!), please keep them coming!

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

thanks! Not sure how many reviews I can produce, but there is definitely some content coming, and I try to stick to topics that aren't available anywhere else :)

@DiggeryDoodle Жыл бұрын

Great review, just picked up a Zeo GT so will see how I get on with that.

@ziadbassil Жыл бұрын

Excellent review !

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

haha, from you that means a lot! I've been always reading yours!

@franzaltmann8184 Жыл бұрын

The best glider review i have ever seen. Wow.

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

thanks a lot! I'll try to make sure it's not the last one ;⁠)

@isaacbuenobadiola9709 Жыл бұрын

Great review! I currently fly the Maestro, by the way what a great ability to take off in the Xpyr 😜

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

thanks! I know many pilots flying Maestro and all very happy, can't wait to try the 2nd one.

@cabanford Жыл бұрын

I think it's the Aspect Ratio, rather than the 2 lines (I love flying high AR 2 liners, but can get pesky clearing nasty cravats after a big hit). Love your videos ♥️

@WoitlBua Жыл бұрын

Great Review - love my scala as well which I had since the beginning of this year. The stall point really comes late - later than my en-c spice I had before the scala. I Agree with you on the handles but it's an easy fix if needed. Also more pulleys would be cool but it's all about minimum weight with the rings... It's a fun wing phi made! Would love to meet you in a hike&fly comp in the future - see you there:).

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

cool, to be fair there are still not many people which whom you can compare experiences with about Scala. Good to hear that you agree. As for the brakes, it bothered me mostly in spring, now I kind of don't care, haha, but I already discussed a replacement with PHI. Anyway, hopefully we cross our paths sooner or later!

@jonathansummerfield8390 Жыл бұрын

Hey guys I'm in love with my Scala to, agree on the brake handles! I'd also be up for some hnf comps! I'm based in Switzerland!

@5ty717 Жыл бұрын

Very good

@happywatermelon9024 Жыл бұрын

Great review. The wing is out of my scope, but interesting to learn about it. Could you maybe do a video on pod harnesses ? I'm planning to progress next season into a first pod (ideally light weight as I hike&fly a bit), so it would be great to take from your past experience. Thanks

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

thanks! that's a super important and interesting topics, but I believe it was already covered in some ways by other channels and multiple articles online. And in the end one really just needs to test several and see what works best. What is surely not recommended is to jump into one of the lightest H&F constructions, as they are just very unstable, and offer little protection. Anything from the middle of the range is good to start with, as long as it's comfortable :) Ideally with a seat board.

@airgaborpara3824 Жыл бұрын

Please make for us a Maestro 2 review. I am looking forward to test it too. I think thats the blockbuster wing of the year if that got that internal pressure. I pointed out the demo wing in Kössen already. :D

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

I'd love to, time will show if I'll have a chance to test one. Looks really cool, although there is some serious competition in this class too - Mentor 7 and Rush.

@cloudbase81 Жыл бұрын

Great review, I totally agree. Flying the same Scala with a Bogdanfly cocoon (Kinga setup) and I love it. I'm only in smaller H&F Races, but still, for me it's the ideal combination. Only I have difficulties packing Scala small. May I ask how you pack exactly? Do you use the Phi Concertina bag or something different? Which Backpack did you use in XPYR? Thanks and keep up the good work!

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

I pack it either in Advance Tubebag Light (which now broke) and then fold around the harness, which is efficient, but not super small. For X-Pyr I folded it 'normally', then wrapped around the harness and then squeezed both in 1 waterproof bag. Just need to make sure to bend it behind the rods, and fold the front nicely, cell to cell. That setup fits in Skywalk/Salewa X-Alps bag, which is 55l I believe. and very narrow.

@cloudbase81 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for your fast reply, really helpful. It seems that the Advance cellpack does a great job in packing gliders small. I will have a look at that. And the drybag makes sense in bad weather conditions anyway, so on e again, thanks for sharing your experience! All the best.

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

@@cloudbase81 bad weather but also sweating a lot :) even waterproof skywalk finally lets humidity in :)

@jarekborowiec Жыл бұрын

Fajne. Kontynuuj odcinki. Pozdro

@questionben Жыл бұрын

I loooove my scala (roughly 60h on it). I found the exact same things as you did: amazing safety, great glide, terrible handles. I was wondering if you could expand on and I wanna make sure I choose something compatible. Have you tried the Bogdanfly with scala? Its a great match! Thanks for your review!!

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

Pretty much anything is compatible, I planned to get them from PHI, but so far I just got busy with other stuff, plus it was hot :D TBH I'm not a fan of Bogdanfly harnesses, and I don't plan to buy any, but the last one looks better and I can see e.g. Kinga was happy with it. Still, I'm more tempted to try Weightless and ideally Skywalk is going to release an update to RXA3 one day :)

@questionben Жыл бұрын

@@kocot. Thanks for the reply! I'm just wondering what characteristics of the Frace made it better with the scala than the RXA2...

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

@@questionben I don't want to act as an authority here, as I am by far not an expert in harness design, but I believe it has just much more authority than RXA2. The weight shifting is more efficient. But to be honest now I fly mostly with Skywalk, and I don't see this problem anymore. Although F*race still feels more direct somehow. For some wings that will be more noticeable, especially if they are more roll stable, for some less.

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

@@questionben For the record, I wouldn't be surprised if some people wouldn't notice that or even felt opposite, might depend on the way you fly, your habbits, harness sizing, wing loading and size, etc. :)

@questionben Жыл бұрын

@@kocot. hahah no worries, im asking you're opinion, not looking for the ultimate Truth! ;)

@airgaborpara3824 Жыл бұрын

You must try Nova Xenon

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

I would like to! but this year I generally have little time for flying, and now there is actually a lot to look for, including new Scala and new Zeolite coming! Let's see what's possible

@airgaborpara3824 Жыл бұрын

Xenon missing from the review. I think that is the most impressive.

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

Well, one can't really test all the wings or wouldn't have enough time to do it properly :) I'd happily check Xenon, I've heard a lot of good stuff about it, but I believe it's even more rare then Scala at the moment. Also wrong sizes for me :P

@resistemptation4 Жыл бұрын

Scala is a true C class wing. Not sure if Nova ran into same folding line problem as Phi with the cert of the Xenon, but if not, then these two are totally different classes. Would be interesting to know about the cert of the xenon and folding lines.

@CHJohnDoe Жыл бұрын

Can you do B2 ears?

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

officially you're not supposed to do them at all, and to be honest I don't really miss it as I don't use big ears anyway, but out of curiosity I'll try the next time. On A's I gave up trying as there is tons of pressure on them an I didn't feel like forcing it.

@dirkdiggler3009 10 ай бұрын

Have you tried the Scala 2?

@kocot. 10 ай бұрын

not yet, not easy to find one yet ;⁠)

@ozoneswiftak Жыл бұрын

These high end wings are so fast. It is hard to land, sometimes it just over shots the landing zone.

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

this is absolutely true, although it's more about the glide ratio and preservation of energy then speed itself. They are also more tricky to fly close to stall point than safer wings. That's why good planning is essential, but also there are some 'new' techniques becoming popular, to deal with it.

@maxwe789 Жыл бұрын

@@kocot. What are the new techniques?

@kocot. Жыл бұрын

@@maxwe789 I put it in quotes, as they are not really new, but rather getting more popular and relevant. What I had in mind is mostly flapping, which when done correctly can reduce glide ratio, but unfortunately very often the way it's executed is just dangerous and unnecessary. I've witnessed several spins to the ground myself. The other is dynamic, uphill slope landings, where you turn kinetic energy (from speed bar) to altitude, and if you match it correctly with the ground you land on the spot, almost regardless the wind too.