My impressions of the suit used in Crosswinds

[LouDiamond 1]

A while back I posted about my having the opportunity to fly one of the suits used in the movie Crosswinds. There are a lot of similarities in the suits made by LOIC and the copy made by Matter(MTR-1). However having seen 2 of the original Crosswinds suits and the MTR1, I can say that the ones made by LOIC are far superior in several areas despite their apparent similarities. During the holiday boogie in Eloy I was also able to see another of the Crosswinds suits used in the movie and flown by Omar A. (discription of it can be found HERE)

Since there are similarities in the suits I will only post what I noticed was different on the ground and in the air. For an overview of the MTR1 click HERE

RIGGING:
As far as rigging goes it was identical with the exception that the cutaway/reserve handles are secured with a piece of velcro(pictures to be posted soon). The arm cutaway handle is much smaller and secured with a small piece of velcro as well. The channel system used to house the arm cutaway cables was seen on Omars suit and on this suit. This suit also has a storage loop(s) for the excess cable that extends past ones hand so that it is out of the way. Both the Channel and stoage loop(s) are not found on the MTR1.

DONNING:
Like the MTR1, this suit is a pain to put on.


BODY POSITION:
Again , it is similar to the MTR1 review with the exception that I felt this suit has a wider stance than the MTR1 and requires more hip flexor action to tension the suit correctly.This could be due to the suit being a little big on me.


MY THOUGHTS:
Despite being older, the Crosswinds suit(s) are better from the materials to the construction(workmanship), and in flight characteristics. Everything about the Crosswinds suits seems very durable unlike the MTR1. I felt that the Crosswinds suit had better forward drive than the MTR1 and lacked that super "floaty" feeling found in the MTR1 but the crosswinds suit does feel floaty when compared to a Birdman suit. The suit seemed to be really easy to fly as long as you kept it tensioned properly. If you fly it dirty you get some wobble. Turns seemed crisper and again lacked the "sliding" feeling found on the MTR1. Acrobatics were easy to perform and the suit flew well in any orientation. One difference in this suit and the one Omar owns is that it lacks the air inlets on the back of the suit. Other than that, the 2 Crosswinds suits seem identical in design. The crosswinds suits also utilize bungy cord to secure the booty to the heel of the foot where as the MTR1 has a large piece of elastic. This difference is purely cosmetic and has no effect on how the suits fly. The Crosswinds suit seems to have better inflation in that you don't get the feeling of being inside an inflated bag like you do with the MTR1. Again, I won't be trading in my Birdman suit anytime soon but I will hang onto this suit becasue it is fun to fly and it is a piece of wingsuit history. I will post pictures of it when I get back from Florida in a few days.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[VectorBoy 0]

I will hang onto this suit becasue it is fun to fly and it is a piece of wingsuit history. I will post pictures of it when I get back from Florida in a few days.

[LouDiamond 1]

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Do you own this suit or just borrowing it Scott?

The suit is in my posession and the owner left it to me to decide if I wish to keep it and I have.

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You mentioned that Omar's suit has vents on the back, can you elaborate?

Yes, they are much like what you have on your suit and according to Omar don't really work ,if at all , for back flying. The pictures of Omar's suit can be seen HERE The description of Omar's suit and the vents can be found HERE

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[bbarnhouse 0]

Your clicky of Omar's suit is invalid.
Please try again!

[piisfish 140]

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Your clicky of Omar's suit is invalid.
Please try again!

when you click on the 1st link, just read the text and go down 2posts... There you can find the valid link to the pics...

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[bbarnhouse 0]

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when you click on the 1st link, just read the text and go down 2posts... There you can find the valid link to the pics...

Thanks but at the time the link wasn't operational. That situation has been resolved.
Ya shoulda seen Lou n that suit...LOL

[VectorBoy 0]

Ya shoulda seen Lou n that suit...LOL

[LouDiamond 1]

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Ya shoulda seen Lou n that suit...LOL

What you talking about woman? I made that suit look good



Try this CLICKY

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[LouDiamond 1]

Photos are posted and are pending approval HERE

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[ManBird 0]

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The arm cutaway handle is much smaller and secured with a small piece of velcro as well. The channel system used to house the arm cutaway cables was seen on Omars suit and on this suit. This suit also has a storage loop(s) for the excess cable that extends past ones hand so that it is out of the way. Both the Channel and stoage loop(s) are not found on the MTR1.

Crazy. The Crossbow, the successor to the prototype of which you speak, also lacked these features. The excess cable just extends past the arm, and a French link was used on the large handle. The S-Fly, as I understand it, does have these features (I know it has a small velcro cutaway handle).

Parasport Italia, I believe, had something to do with corner-cutting on the Crossbow's production. Nothing against PI, just saying that some money-saving sacrifices were most likely not Loic's doing. Evidence being that features that were cut from the prototypes reappeared in the S-Fly.

The Crossbow also has elastic on the booties, and feels like you're in a giant trash bag or tarp when you're in flight. Not to start another Matter vs Loic debate, but your description of the Matter as compared the Crossbow prototype further cements the idea that the MTR-1 was little more than a Crossbow clone.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[LouDiamond 1]

Pictures are up and visable NOW

Took a flight today in the suit with SM1 and a few others and while it is super floaty , it has no where the forward speed of even a classic II. I was trying to catch up to chuck who was flying dirty below me and was not having any luck. Super slow but super hang time. You definately need another like suit to fly relative and efficiently at the same time. Unzipping the arms is harder than on a Birdman suit as there is not enough tension on the sleeve to cleanly unzip. It was not an issue however since my Firebolt opens soft and on heading and i had time to deal with the zippers.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[VectorBoy 0]

Its intersesting that the zippers to the openings for the main lift web and laterals go up to the collar on this suit and the Matter 1 & 2. But down to the waist from the opening on the new S-fly, Hmmn?

I also noticed that there were no airlocks on the wing inlets on Omars suit.

[LouDiamond 1]

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I also noticed that there were no airlocks on the wing inlets on Omars suit.

If you'r refering to the inlets on the back of the suit, then yes, there are what was thought would work as an airlocks but Omar feels that they don't do much. As for the zipper direction(s) I think it's just evidence of the evolution of one of the two products you mentioned.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING