Screen test: Tripleseven Rook 3

November 19, 2020

With the Rook 3, Tripleseven has succeeded in creating a high-B wing with a very appealing combination of performance and handling. But it is not an umbrella for everyone. Steep circling with the Rook 3 over the Drautal. // Photos: Lu-Glidz I gained the impressions of the Tripleseven Rook 3 described here during flights and ground handling sessions in the Eifel and the Alps. I flew the Rook 3 in size MS (80-95 kg) with a takeoff weight of around 92 kg. The harness was a Karpofly Extra Light (lying harness). The glider was kindly made available to me for the test by Tripleseven. [If you have no experience with the Lu-Glidz test method, you should first read the interpretation guide for glider tests!] The Rook was the first model that Tripleseven launched in 2012 as a paraglider brand. Some nasty tongues claimed at the time that the original rook was conceptually based on the Mentor 2, albeit with a shark-nose profile. The Rook 2 followed three years later, with which the Valic brothers, as designers, clearly showed that they can set their own accents when building umbrellas. In terms of sportiness as a combination of performance and handling, the result was way ahead in the class comparison (see Rook 2 test on Lu-Glidz). Even so far that Tripleseven only presented the Rook 3 as a successor five years later this summer. Such long product cycles are rather unusual in the paragliding industry. The more exciting is the question of what noticeable development steps the Rook 3 will bring with it after five years; and whether he flies again in the top group of high-B gliders. For me, this doesn't just mean gliding performance, but also the extent to which the glider enables and helps a pilot to use the various qualities of air masses to his advantage. At this point, the Rook 3 is really not bad at all, as much as we can tell. Like a thoroughbred horse, however, it sometimes demands a determined and experienced pilot. Before I get into further characterization of the flight characteristics, here are a few technical details: The Rook 3 has the same designed and projected aspect ratio as its predecessor (5.6 / 4.1). The number of cells has increased by four to now 61, and the line bracing has been adjusted accordingly. The construction as a 3.5 line has been preserved - with only a few additional support lines on the D-level. The line set is a mixture of sheathed PPSLS Dyneema lines on the A and B main lines as well as aramid on C and in the galleries. The umbrella has three main lines per side and level. The shark nose of the Rook 3 has very narrow cell openings. The Shark-Nose, known by Tripleseven as Back-Positioned-Intake (BPI), is even more pronounced on the Rook 3 than on the Rook 2. They are perhaps the narrowest air inlets in its class, just two fingers wide. The profile nose is supported by two crossed, comparatively short rods. In the rear wing, Tripleseven has dispensed with stiffening C-wires on the Rook 3. It's an interesting departure from the concept of curved wave C-wires for load sharing that is otherwise found in all of the brand's newer umbrellas. Also noteworthy is the greatly reduced, almost monochrome design, which dispenses with all unnecessary cross seams. It remains to be seen whether this will bring aerodynamic advantages with the wavy and yet quite wrinkled paraglider surfaces. After all, for some pilots it is certainly an interesting counterpoint to the sometimes much more colorful appearance of other brands such as BGD. Tripleseven uses 40 grams of Dokdo in the upper sail and 33 grams of Dokdo in the lower sail. The interior is made of Skytex 40. At 4.8 kg, the weight remains within today's normal range for the tested size MS. Continue reading "

This article has been translated for your convenience and was originally written in German.