Sorry I have not been online here for quite some time. Glad I came back to check out all these great inputs.
I have launched a "go fund me" to create a hang gliding harness specifically for the suprone, Position BTW.
I will be working with Michael Berge of High Energy Sports on this project.
The harness we are hoping to create should be perfectly suited for the suprone position with features such as:
1. less than 1 1/2 inches of space between the pilots bottom and the sky below....this does two things. First, it allows the suprone pilot excellent roll authority on hang gliders built for the prone position without having to modify or "rotate" the base tube down wards. The second thing it does is remove the reserve container from under the pilots bottom to the pilots chest. The "under pilot" reserve locations used on most PG style harnesses might work okay for supine (feet forward, below the base tube) but they are a genuine safety hazard flying suprone because in suprone there is the possibility of "bumping" the reserve mounted under the pilot into objects such as base tubes and wheels. (please note: I have successfully dislodged my "under bottom" reserve pin by bumping into my wheels)
2.This will be a cross country style harness....very clean...it will look a lot like a pG pod style harness. It will have a neoprene boot with four internal straps for foot support. I have found the flexible "boot" to be quite easy to launch with a hang glider. It is also quite easy to get out of. It also allows me to use my legs and feet for pitch control....which is a BIG deal. I never use my arms for pitch control now. ALL my pitch inputs are done with my legs and it works fantastic. I can also pull in for speed quicker with my feet than I could in the prone position. In fact, I can pull in too quickly. Last month I stalled my glider at speed by pulling in too quickly....I actually rotated my nose downward so fast (using only my legs) that the airflow broke off the top of my wing.....so caution is advised.
3. In addition to working with High Energy and Michael Berge i am working with another well known engineer in the HG world on this project (name to be revealed at a later time perhaps).. I am also working with a non-hang gliding engineer who specializes in safety restraint systems and have found his input concerning the ability to simply rock upright and flare from the Downtubes on glider that are rigged for prone to be quite valuable. (sometimes we HG pilots can't see the trees because of the forest)...
The reason the FeX and other gliders built specifically for the supine position land so well with harnesses currently available is the DT's on those gliders have less forward rake (a lot less). Trying to aggressively "flare" such harnesses with the shoulders behind the risers on a glider rigged for prone results in the following action/reaction. A hard flare results in failure because the shoulder straps bottom out against the pilots shoulders and the legs and butt, which have been thrown to the rear of the glider, swing back forward causing the nose of the glider to drop.....
I have tried flaring hard from behind the risers five times on gliders rigged for prone and I have had five bad landings....I have tried flaring with shoulders in front of the risers about forty times now and Have enjoyed about 37 perfect stand up landings without the action/reaction of the butt swinging forward as stated above.
I am currently building and testing prototype harnesses that do indeed "solve" this issue.
I plan to take these "proof of concept" harnesses with me to high energy for Michael Berges evaluation and we are going to make something....not sure what yet....but something suitable for XC flight (lots of storage, comfy, streamlined)...
If any of you would like to support this effort, heres's the link....I am really encouraged by the level of interest so far.
https://www.gofundme.com/suprone-hang-g ... arness-r-d
I have three flights in now with my new 'proof of concept" harness and yes, I can just rock up with and flare from the DT's on a glider rigged for the prone position without having to rotate through the risers and I have had three perfect stand up landings.....I will post pics eventually but right now it looks like something built in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory
Side note: For the Flybar idea, (which was designed to be used on gliders rigged for the prone position) to move forward it is vital that there is a suitable and safe harness design for it to move forward with.
I have gone through two years of "monkey business" with harnesses of all types. and Like I mentioned above, a reserve container under the bun is actually a safety hazard in suprone even though it works fine for pg or supine (there are no objects to be bumped into in PG or supine....
If every pilot who wants to fly with the flybar has to go through what I have gone through the past two years the flybar is doomed.....and that would be a sad thing because the flbar works fantastic. I have not found any problems using the flybar.....all the problems I have encountered have arisen from unsuitable harness choices.
BTW...thanks to the "cloudbase foundation" I have had access to experiment with DOZENS of PG style harnesses and found not one of them to be entirely suitable for use with a Flybar on a glider rigged for prone....
Anyway...that's an update.....Sincerely appreciate all the input and the links posted. I will study them all....
Sunny Jim
P. S.
I emailed Steven Pearson about the harness WW uses for the "easy flyer" and he replied that yes, when he flies with that harness on a regular glider he does have to "rotate through" the risers for both take offs and landings....thanks for that Steven Pearson....