Morph Harness Does Pron
Bill Degen tests the Morph harness with thanks to James Paulus
T
he Morph is a unique harness that can be flown hanging, prone or seated by easily changing position while flying.
It is made by Cloud 9 ; a hang gliding harness manufacturer owned by Bill Pain based in Australia. This harness is a remarkable achievement involving some complex design; Firstly the pilot has to be able to rotate through the 2 main risers, so a spreader bar allows the pilots body to pass through. Then webbing attachments need to hold in two directions as well as during rotation, and ropes that support one way have to provide the right support the opposite way up. The Morph achieves this by having four lower support ropes off the main risers to the harness shell while the main risers are attached inside to a ‘belt’ of padded webbing with a seat board on one side. Shoulder and leg ropes support in both directions. The result is a harness that is fully usable in each position plus it has a variable angle option which allows angle adjustment when seated. In prone, upper body support isn’t quite as good as dedicated prone harnesses; it feels a bit different but once set with my upper back straight for prone, I was glad to find it didn’t detract from seated comfort. If I let the adjuster rope off, I could fly feet
10 A i r b o r n
first lying on my back, which isn’t comfortable or aerodynamic and that position wasn’t so good head down in prone either. Bill confirmed he felt it was best set at one position, however the angle adjuster is a good easy way to find the right angle, which you can then tie off. Flying prone gives more speed range and feels most natural to experienced prone pilots. It surprises many people that the supine/seated position has less drag than prone because of the angle that the air passes the pilot. Think of a body angle that matches say 9 or 10:1 (assuming a skyfloater) and also remember the wing has a high angle of attack as it moves forward and downwards through the air at that 10:1 angle. When leaned back seated your body lines up pretty much perfectly to the actual airflow. Another factor I find when prone is that turbulence seems to not feel as bad; possibly because a water filled human body is spread out more when prone. It could also be that I’m more comfortable with what I’m used to.
Getting in As with all harnesses, I recommend hooking in and locking the harness
Above; Seated and on glide past Sumner beach. Looking at the telltale angle on the front wires, I could have leaned back a little further for less drag
Right; Out of prone for approach, note the excellent vertical body position; much better for feeling glider trim at launch and landing
Below; The upright extensions are simple and light weight, they fasten with velcro ties in a few minutes
