Material deep dive — what is inside an APCO wing
Skytex, FLEXON battens, HIT Valves, DSC, embedded hook-in points. Five construction elements as APCO itself describes them.
From the outside, a paraglider looks like a colourful canopy with lines. What is inside, APCO documents itself on its product and technology pages. Here are five construction elements — with what the manufacturer says about them, and nothing beyond that.
1. Skytex — the fabric
APCO uses Skytex ripstop nylon by Porcher. From the datasheets:
- “Sail Cloth: Skytex 27 and 33 gr/m² ‘Zero Porosity’ Ripstop Nylon”
- bottom surfaces partly in Skytex 27 g — on the Nestra Light this saves, per APCO, “approximately 700 gr. with no sacrifice to longevity and durability”
- ribs e.g. from “Skytex 33 gr. hard finish”
Which weights and finishes a specific model uses is in its datasheet under “Sail Cloth” / “Rib Cloth”.
2. DSC — Double Siliconized Cloth
At the canopy’s most critical spot, APCO uses double siliconized cloth. Verbatim from the product pages:
“double siliconized cloth — top front is critical area in terms of porosity as this is where most of the lift is generated”
And: “double siliconized cloth for maximum durability”. So DSC sits at the front of the top surface, where porosity costs the most lift.
3. FLEXON® battens
The leading-edge reinforcement is APCO’s FLEXON® batten system. Manufacturer statements:
- “APCO’s FLEXON® battens — indestructible, no need for special care or folding methods”
- “memory free, do not require any special care or folding technique”
In the datasheets it appears as “Rib Reinforcement: FLEXON® batten system”.
4. HIT Valves®
HIT Valves sit on the leading edge. Manufacturer statements:
- “HIT valve® equipped on L/E for rock solid stability”
- “Well defined wing profile, including our HIT valves, results in a very efficient and stable canopy”
5. Embedded hook-in points (EHP)
On current models, the line attachment is embedded into the canopy:
- “embedded hook in points made from Dyneema fiber”
- on the Nestra Light: “APCO’s embedded hook up points for the cleanest, most aerodynamic connection between line and canopy”
Where all of this is documented
Every one of these statements comes from APCO’s product pages and datasheets; per model, the elements used are listed there. Our product pages link the original datasheets and certificates — the glossary entries on Skytex, FLEXON, HIT Valves, DSC and EHP go deeper into the terms.