http://moyes.com.au/productdetail.asp?ID=47&Cat=Harnesses

I was on the 5:40 AM train from Newcastle (Cardiff) to the Moyes factory hoping to get there a little after 9 AM. This was a big day, the day I was going to get a new harness after years of flying with a hand me down harnesses. I had been afraid to get a new harness because I just didn't believe that I could get one that would fit. I felt that it would be too big no matter what I did and that I would have a big air scoop behind my head. So I kept putting it off, flying a really tight Moyes Matrix Race harness that had previously belonged to Curt Warren and Dustin Martin. (I had also flown previously with a Moyes Matrix (not Race) harness that both pilots had flown.)

But I had taken the plunge a few weeks earlier when I got my pre-owned harness fixed up (after having too many problems with it at the competitions). Now my new harness was ready and I was excited and dreading the possibilities of failure. As I arrived at the Moyes factory (coming into the large assembly area) I found Steve Elliot trying out the harness under the direction of Steve Moyes who was adjusting the cord that allows the pilot to rock up or get head down.

I put on my flying clothes (in this case three long sleeve undershirts, one of fleece, the others thin, and speed sleeves) and got into the harness. It felt good to put on, not nearly as tight as my hand me down ones. This was true even after I put a parachute in its pouch. But I was also afraid that this would mean that the harness was a bit too big.

When Tess makes a harness she takes your measurements and adds to them. Tess had taken my measurements personally (chest 103 cm) and added 13 cm to this particular dimension when making the harness to allow for clothes, etc. I had made sure earlier that she knew I wanted a "tight" harness, that I flew with very few additional clothes (always flying in some hemisphere's summer), didn't put any bags behind my back (but behind my legs) and that there was already plenty of room for my camel back in Curt's harness (whose dimensions she had).

The harness felt great as I put it on and then it was time to hang in it and see how it would fit in the air. That's when the problems began. Behind my head there was my old nemesis, an approximately twelve square inch air scoop. The whole point of having a tight harness was to get rid of this air scoop, this source of drag. I was crestfallen (if I may use such an archaic term). This was exactly the disappointment that I didn't want to experience with my new harness.

The harness fit well, felt good in the shoulders and was the right length for my amphibian shoes (very light weight shoes). But I also noticed something else, I couldn't get my elbows into the neoprene covers that are supposed to streamline the pilot when they go on glide with their elbows tucked in. This would turn out to be a big clue. I also remembered at this time that I had trouble doing this on my hand me down Race harness.

I stated how badly I felt about the big air scoop, but strangely enough no one there (Steve Moyes, Tess, and others) seemed to feel that it was that bad or that unusual. I was able to see the air scoop because there was a large mirror next to the hang area and for the first time I was able to see how I looked when hanging in a harness. To me it looked horrible. I felt really weird with everyone around me indicating that it was not so bad.

Tess stated that she could take in the harness in the chest by about four centimeters, to reduce the over sizing of the harness in this dimension from 13 cm to 9 cm. She asked if I wanted to have a tighter harness. I said that the harness fit fine, but I didn't want the air scoop. She and Steve emphasized that the way to reduce the air scoop was to decrease the chest size. Okay, I went along with reducing the harness's chest dimension, which Tess thought would take two hours.

I really didn't want to impose on her. The harness looked great, and I felt bad about making her redo it. I also felt bad about voicing my objection to the air scoop. I felt, what was wrong with me that I couldn't seem to agree that everything was as it was supposed to be.

Tess spent the rest of the day redoing the harness to reduce its chest dimension. I would pop my head in every half hour or so to see how she was doing, bothering her no doubt, as I saw all the hard work she was doing. Finally about five hours later, Tess was ready with my harness for me to retry. I felt so bad about making her do this.

As I hooked the harness up from the hang point in the assembly room, there was a bit of a small birthday party going on for Steve Elliot within a few feet of where I would be hanging, so a bunch of folks were around including Steve Moyes, Theo, Vicki Cain, Dave Seib, Steve Elliot, and others.

I put on the harness, and indeed it was tighter, but not as tight as my current one, so I knew I was still in good shape. I had moved the mirror back to where I could see myself when I hung in the harness and when I got horizontal I saw that the air scoop was still there and that in fact it hadn't decreased in size at all. OMG.

Okay, now the flaying about began as we tried to figure out what was going on. We put the parachute back in (no effect). Steve Moyes (who is a bit bigger around than me) tried it on, and had a much smaller air scoop. Theo had me put foam sheets on my chest and see what effect that had (no effect on the size of the air scoop).

Then Dave Seib got out his harness, put it on, hung in it, and sure enough he didn't have much of, if any, air scoop. What was going on?

I got back in the harness, there was the air scoop. We adjusted the shoulder straps to see if that helped (it didn't). Dave got down on the floor in front of me and undid the shoulder covers (which are also connected to the neoprene arm covers) and fiddled with them. They are normally Velcroed to the shoulder straps, but he undid this Velcro connection and pulled the shoulder covers about five inches to the sides over my shoulders and over my arms, not over the shoulder straps which are positioned between my neck and the outer ends of my clavicles.

Right then the air scoop went away and the back of the piece that covers the shoulders fit right on my neck, no longer three inches above it (see the picture of Kraig above). In addition now I could easily stick my elbows and arms under the neoprene covers. Suddenly everything was working as it should (well, as long as Dave Seib was there to hold the shoulder covers in place.).

Now I understood why I was having trouble earlier putting my elbows under the neoprene covers. Now I understood my earlier request to get the air scoop out, but not necessarily have my harness tightened. Later I was to learn more.

With Dave Seib's revelation Steve Moyes and Tess got right to the job of seeing what could be done to fit me (and my personal physique) to the Moyes Matrix Race harness. In spite of jokes of my shoulders not being broad enough, it was in fact the case that my shoulders were too wide for the harness as it fit me. That was why I couldn't get my elbows inside the covers. I asked Tess if she felt sure that the shoulder straps were in the right spot and not too close to my neck. No, she felt that they were in exactly the right spot.

You see just because they build the harness "right" doesn't mean it was right for me. It was right for Dave, and right for Steve, and no doubt right for Gerolf and Kraig, and many many others, but it wasn't right for me. This is not something that can be decided by a majority vote. My body was just different enough to cause a big problem.

Tess also felt that reducing the thickness of the harness around the chest was the right thing to do even though it had no effect on the air scoop. Given what I wear and how I use the harness there was no need for the extra width. If Tess doesn't put this much extra width in she normally gets the complaint that the harness is too tight. But my case was different (this often seems to happen to me).

Steve and Tess have, I believe, come up with a solution. Tess felt bad about making the changes to my harness, as it wouldn't be perfect, and wanted to start over again, but I wouldn't hear of it. A few changes with a few extra seams would be just fine with me.

With Dave's help we laid out where the shoulder covers needed to go and it appears that with additional neoprene and other changes to the shoulder covers I will get what I want, a "drag free" harness. Steve Elliot is going to bring it to the NSW State Titles.

I write this story in such great detail to help other pilots who might be in my situation and who could use a little encouragement to make the little stink that they need to make to get what they need and want. I very much appreciate the willingness of the wonderful Moyes folks to work with me. I have the great privilege to be able to go to the factory and get direct help, while most of you will have to go through your dealer and won't have Tess on hand to make the changes that you need (but be sure to talk with your dealer and get these things worked out).

When I got home that night (at Scott and Monica's in Belmont North near Newcastle), late after a long train ride, I told this story to Belinda, and she said, well, I've always had that air scoop. Not that I could ever see it (so she didn't seem to think that it was important to tell me how bad it was, sort of like the reception I got from folks watching me try on the new harness at the factory). And so much for my strategy of having a tight harness to avoid the scoop. I just couldn't see myself.

I learn something important most days. Sometimes I just relearn it.