This is from Bernhard Greindl (Skyline) "We always spoke about this issue - now its real: Skyline Paragliders! After Skyline AC and Skyline FALCON, we are working on a Paraglider range. Matthias Klinger is now part of the Skyline development department and will be, together with Bernhard Greindl, responsible for all Paraglider designs.
Matthias Klinger designed his first gliders in the 90ies, yet that time with an AR of 7.4!!! After some years, he retired from Paragliding design and exclusively developed rescue chutes for soaring. Since 2 years we are in intensive contact with Matthias and now the time has come working on the Skyline Paraglider range."
Matthias Klinger:
"I am looking forward to placing my 20 year experience in Glider design to the Skyline range. First prototypes are currently in production. I am sure that we will reach our ambitious aims regarding Performance, Handling and quality right now"

Skyline are currently working on EN D and EN B gliders to be presented soon...

 

From Skyline : Introducing Matthias Klinger:
Matthias Klinger is born at 05.02.1969 at Dortmund/Germany . In his childhood his main occupation is to build model aircrafts. His fascination in aviation leads in a career as a hangglider pilot in 1987.
The first paraglider appears and are also seen in the flat lands. As an aviation fascinated hangglider pilot he can not ignore this new sport.

In a nice, friendly and happy evening with some other guys a bet is born: Matthias bets, that he could build a paraglider in one day . Naturally nobody believes him. And one day in the morning in 1990 he starts to design and build a paraglider, made of foil bought at the local do-it-yourself store. At the evening he goes to the small hill, the local meeting point of his friends and flies a with it! He wins the bet – and also got infected of the paragliding design virus, which he did not get rid of till today.

From this time he is very often in the air with the paraglider – not only with his homemade one. Now his interests changes more and more to the design of paragliders. 1991 he designed a glider with AR of 5,4, which was a lot at this time. But he is very proud that a friend of him flew 70 km in Russia with his glider!

Matthias next project is a glider with maximum speed of 45 km/h. (which is very fast at this time…) He test this glider at the Dune de Pyla in France, and find out, that this glider is very stabile. With his own design he is lucky to be a friend of Horsti and Brigitte – designer for parachutes. Horsti got a certified aviation factory and Matthias learns a lot about materials and the processing technology.
Although Matthias designs only for himself, he is working with 3D CAD Software. Next glider is with complete closed leading edge. The performance was better, but the opening of collapses is a little delayed, but he is sure that it is possible to build a paraglider with much safety and closed leading edge. But the acceptance and the trust of the pilots is not enough.
The pilot has to see the openings for the air... so he changed this concept.

With different software he studies the lift distribution, designs new profiles and compares the theoretical data with the test results.
With a good friend he develops a new software to calculate the lanes, profile and ribs – with the tension of the wing!

1997 Matthias Klinger makes for CP Products the MONO, which is showed first at the Stubaicup 1998. It is a DHV 2 class glider with a aspect ratio of 5,2. 1999 CP Products introduces 3 different models with Matthias Klinger as designer: The MONO, the MACRO (DHV 2-3) and the CUT, with an unbelievable (for this time…) AR of 7,4 and a top speed over 60 km/h.

For different reasons Matthias Klinger leaves CP Products in the year 2000 and stops designing paraglider as a profession. In the following time he constructs rescue chutes for sailplanes with high speed opening over 320 km/h. Also he is asked to build a parachute with glide ratio over 6, which he constructed successfully. With his DHV certified company PARAIMPULS he makes all service work and also sales of paraglider and accessories.

He is in contact again with Skyline since 2006 and the first plans to make a new range of SKYLINE gliders is growing. Since 2008 he is now a part of the Skyline R&D Team.