Just in from Gerry Charlibois in Hawaii, and we didn’t ask him to write any of this. It is slightly edited as other manufacturers were mentioned and prefer not to go down that path of comparing.
>>>>Kuddos to the AirBorne Team
We have logged 20 hrs each on our 2 new Arrow wings on our XT-912’s. I want to thank the AirBorne team for coming up with the best trike wing I have ever flown. I feel like I am flying a hang glider again. Starting with the take off in our constant 25 degree crosswind of 15mph, this wing compared to the SST has a much lighter controls. To explain in short form, it does not take as much energy to hold the wing level on acceleration (in a crosswind) to get it up to flying speed. Lift off is so much quicker than on our SST’s. The Pfactor is also less noticeable. My clientele is mostly first time flyers and the sooner we can get their hands on the D training bars the better. Climbing out in convective air with a wing that does not want to “fall off” makes my job easier and the student more comfortable. This is the first wing that I have flown that does not want to do that. I have XT Tundra Bases with certified aviation tires on so we are a little heavier than factory. At 5300 rpm with light pull in, 93 mph at zero sink makes for easy catch up to the other trike we are cruising with (we do a lot of dual flights with couples). This analysis has been evolving over the last week as I fly this wing in different conditions. Today had us launching in 15 to 20mph at sunrise. Again, Gene and I were happy how it handled on takeoff. The air can be edgy as we climb out and normally we will try to stick to a straight out climb, but this wing has a stable feel and as an instructor I feel ok to let the student get their hands on the training bars and help with a safety climb out circle over the airport. Coming in to land in challenging conditions this wing feels like it is on a rail. Today landing at 10 to 18 knots, what stood out to me was the length of ground effect, we flew at 6 inches for 300 ft. I look at this wing and the subtle changes from the SST and cannot understand why it is so far superior to any wing I have ever flown. Granted, the top surface and sail work looks like it came off a million dollar sail boat. In my opinion, every trike wing designer just got left in the dust by AirBorne!
PS. This was not a paid endorsement.

Gerry Charlebois
http://www.birdsinparadise.com/