Scott Barrett, the designer, and Cameron Tunbridge are flying actual prototype hang gliders here at the Worlds (not those gliders that get defined be omission by CIVL as prototypes). There are three prototype Airborne Rev's and two of them are here.

I'm obligated through journalistic ethics to not reveal too much about the Rev. It is a prototype and not a production glider, but the hope is that it will be ready for sale to pilots who want to fly it at the Canungra Classic in October. This is now the down season for Australian pilots not in the northern hemisphere and the Classic opens the Australian competition season, early because it is in the tropics of Queensland.

I can say that the Rev is not a C5, but an almost completely new glider from Airborne. There are many new features some that have been recognized before as good ideas, but not implemented or not implemented successfully in the production glider, or implemented and then forgotten.

It has a new planform, and a new sail cut, and takes very seriously (as Wills Wing does) the issue of leaks into the sail, which cause additional parasitic drag.  It has a new approach to curved tip wands, composite battens, and shear ribs. It appears to me that if Airborne (and Scott Barrett) are willing to talk in depth about their glider when it is released that they will have a very interesting story to tell.

Here is a non aerodynamic related older idea that has been realized before but not made widely available on production hang gliders:

The kickstand (stinger) is actually attached to the keel when holding up the keel. This is a vastly sturdier connection than you'll find on other gliders with kick stands (Moyes, Wills Wings, Airborne C4). I really hate it when my glider falls over when the base bar moves a little when it's up on the kickstand. This little fix solves that problem.

This view gives you the opportunity to see a couple of other features that have been implemented in the Rev.

I hope to be able to reveal more about the Rev in the future, perhaps before it is finally released. Scott is testing and tuning it now, and it won't be released unless it is an improvement over the C4 and compares well (or better) to other gliders flying in the Worlds.

Scott apparently had implemented at least one of its major features last year on the C4 that he flew at the pre-Worlds, where he won the pre-Worlds.

I hope to be able to fly the Rev (13.5) in Australia in January and give a full report then.