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>>> Hang glider MAGIC 4
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If you have additional information (ex: specificity of piloting, various characteristics...) on the hang glider Magic 4 by Airwave, you can supplement his card by adding your comment or write to us :
 Hang glider card : Magic 4 |
Name : | MAGIC 4 |
Manufacturer : | Airwave |
Year : | 1983 |
Pilot level : |
- |
 Manual : | magic-4.pdf |
Document(s) : | magic-4-fr.pdf |
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Hang glider model : | 133 | 166 | 177 |
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Wing area (m²) : | - | - | 16.44 |
Wing span(m) : | - | - | - |
Aspect ratio : | - | - | - |
Hang glider weight (kg) : | - | - | 34 |
Minimum pilot weight (kg) : | - | - | 68 |
Maximum pilot weight (kg) : | - | - | 113 |
Minimum speed (km/h) : | - | - | - |
Maximum speed (km/h) : | - | - | 80 |
Max glide ratio (L/H) : | - | - | - |
Max glide ratio speed (km/h) : | - | - | - |
Minimum sink rate (m/s) : | - | - | - |
Packed length (m) : | - | - | 6.2 |
Packed length short (m) : | - | - | 4.2 |
Number of battens : | - | - | 17 |
Nose angle (°) : | - | - | - |
| Comments |
13/03/2004 |
progression of early magic series,i flew a 166 and found it to have good climb rate with my weight(85kgs).quite stable,tends to weather vane in to wind due to large keel pocket,good to thermal ok in nil wind landings,overall good glider for pilot with 35+ hours wanting to upgrade from calypso/target,not many good ones left but should be cheap 200-300 GBP.some have areofoil of round uprights,little heavy in pitch but ok in roll.rating 3 out of 5.
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29/11/2005 |
By modern standards heavy in pitch (though even in those days pilots resorted to 'pitchies' to reduce this effect). Viceless handling but rather sluggish. The A frame also seems extememly wide compared to modern gliders - especially tall on the 177 too!
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03/05/2006 | [Translation of the original French comment] I have a Magic 177 Fule race, adapted on Veliplane Samourai trolley. Trust me it's a super wing, performant and handy once loaded...
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24/01/2007 |
I'd just like to add that the Magic 4 was also produced in the 155 ft2 size. I owned one from '92 to'94. It was my all time favorite glider. Though I've never flown a contemporary glider having not flown since '99. It was easy to set up and the cam lever to hook back the crosstube pull back cable was a brilliant idea. Pity that Airwave didn't continue this with the Kiss! Takeoffs were reasonably easy but I found that sometimes the nose would pop up followed by a rapid dive as the Magic picked up speed. (But this was probably caused by my crap takeoff technique!) Pitch pressure was good, increasing progressively as the bar was pulled back, and it was easy to maintain a high speed with the VG on full with roll corrections fairly easy to make provided you kept your arms in good condition by flying often. My longest flight was 4 1/2 hours at the Kaimai Range, N.Z. in 20+ knot winds and I only landed because I had to piss, not because I was too tired. I flew the majority of the flight with the VG 1/2 to 2/3 on. Energy retention in turns was very good and I found the IV thermalled best with a good high speed turn until you found the core and then you could ease the bar out into an easily coordinated turn with only minor corrections to pitch and roll. I used to love how quickly you could reverse your turn direction the opposite way to test whether the lift was in fact better turning against the thermal rotation. Not sure if it was, but the IV sure was a fun glider to try it on. Steep coordinated turns were great fun on this glider. You could pull into a steep dive, pick up speed and roll into a 60 degree banked turn and push hard out until your triceps ached and not worry about stalling the glider.
Landings I found to be a little tricker with a good hard flare required to end up on your feet in light conditions. If you left it too late the gilder wouldn't respond and you'd end up nosing in. Top landings were a breeze though particulary in strong condtions. You could line up square into the wind and pick your landing spot and then adjust the pitch angle to come down right on it without fear of nosing in or being flipped over. That's probably what I liked best about the Magic IV. The pitch reponse was very authoritive and had no surprises. Maybe it was heavy compared to modern gliders?, but it was just how I liked it.
My only complaint about the glider was that it was
a real pain to set up on the ground if the ground wasn't flat. The battens just wouldn't go in easily and would always catch the sail with much coaxing required to get them in. Also the battens would bend easily being made of very thin aluminium and checking the profiles was necessary quite often as the glider would develop a turn easily with only a slight increase in the camber of the outboard battens. Overall however in terms of absolute fun and the joy of the sport of hang gliding I award the Magic IVFR 8 out of 10!
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14/04/2009 |
I have a Magic IV 166 Cross-country model and it was the very last one ever made. I flew it 103 miles across western Kansas in 1999. And it hasn't been flown since as it sets on the rack in the garage. I flew it in competition against the best at Dinosaur CO and I could out climb everyone in a thermal but got left in the dust on the long glides. It could be flown flatter in turns than any glider I ever flew. Probably due to it's large wingspan and the light wing loading. I only hooked in at 180. It was easy to launch and at loose VG settings easy to land.
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21/08/2010 |
Salut et fraternité,
Mon amie Corinne ne vole plus en delta, elle vend son Magic IV, certes ancien mais en parfait état. 400€. Visible sur Annecy.
Je l'ai montée plusieurs fois au déco de la Forclaz, je l'ai vue voler et partir en cross, poser à Doussard en poussant, l'aile est précise et très saine. Selon Corinne, le pilotage est assez physique et après 2h de vol elle est crevée.
Photos :
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28/02/2012 |
I flew a Magic four for about eight hours air time in five flights. I found her a great thing to fly, but I hated the landings hard to get right flare so sold her on. Great once in the air.
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08/05/2020 |
I got a Magic 3 and a Magic 4 Full Race, both as 166 square footer. Incredible gliders for that time, of course in comparison to todays topless gliders incredibly slow also, but easy handling, extremely good climbing and lots of fun!
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