The Boson is the Dudek performance tandem glider offering. What does that mean? Better fuel
economy? More speed? Well the only way to know how different it is, is to use the original
Dudek Orca XX Cabrio as baseline example. The Boson is small, 31 or 34 vs the 42 square meter
Orca XX. That in itself is revolutionary considering they both pickup around 300 kgs (Boson 31
at 300kgs, Boson 34 at 350 and the Orca at 310kgs)
So what does a 31 vs 42 square mean for the tandem pilot? It means a lighter glider to pull-
up/launch. Where the Orca requires a bit of wind or full commitment of pilot and passenger to
pull up, the Boson is a easy effort for the pilot, even on his own steam. It pulls up with little
effort and inflates evenly and instantly.
Secondly a smaller glider means reduced drag so fuel efficiency is a given. With less drag, an
increase in average speed can be expected. But the question is, can the glider deliver more
speed whilst not becoming inefficient. The answer is a resounding yes!

The Boson delivers more lift in this WINGMAN’s opinion and that at a slower take-off speed
then the Orca XX. Somehow the design, even though it’s a smaller glider, also delivers an
increased climb rate over the Orca XX. At this point the reader must be thinking this is too good
to be true. What is the catch? This WINGMAN is still scratching his head trying to figure that
out.
The risers and break handles are in a similar position as you would expect on the Orca,
however, as soon as you start activating the trimmers it becomes apparent that with a High
Hang Point setup, it won’t be long before the trimmers are unreachable. It is possible to shift
the magnets and set the brake lines to a lower position so this should be your concern when
flying this kind of setup.
The brake system is 2D and requires little pressure to activate. Hardly any more then would be
expected from a Solo glider. In addition to this, there are TST toggles equipped to the Tip
Steering system which allows for a very comfortable arrangement during XC flying. Instant love
for the glider as far as this WINGMAN is concerned.
The toggles also require little pressure to use.
Handling is agile for a tandem glider. Much more agile and this is where the performance starts
to show. Spirals and tight turns are easy to accomplish, giving both the passenger and the pilot
an experience close to that of Solo flight.
Then there is the Speed. The Orca XX is a very popular product for commercial pilots, and it will
stay popular since it can do slow cruising at speeds between 42 and 46 km/hr. In contrast, the
Boson is meant to give pilots a means to stay with their Solo flying friends. Trims fully in she
does 49km/hr or 26.5 kts. With a third of the trim open on a test payload of 437 lbs (198 kgs),

she will run 65km/hr or 35kts. That is very impressive considering it’s just a 1/3 of the trimmer.
It’s quite conceivable that the glider can do as advertised, a cool 75km/hr.
But a word to the wise, with more speed comes a greater requirement for thrust and
horsepower. The test machine was a Nirvana F200 XC which is built for endurance and high
thrust but even it had to run at 90% of throttle setting to maintain the 65km/hr (flight altitude
4000ft)
The landing slows down to a very controllable crawl once inside Ground Affect and a competent
tandem pilot will use the flare capacity to stop on a dime without needing to run on the ground
with the passenger.
Overall the Boson represents the future of Tandem Foot Launch where pilots can cover larger
distances and keep up with their Solo flying friends. The Boson is is also ready for the next
generation of Powered Paraglider engines that deliver higher power-to-weight ratios.
This WINGMAN will not be giving up his Boson for any other model.

WINGMAN – Eugene Cussons