The Swoop

The Swoop range is the result of tests performed since 2004 with Val Montant. It opens the doors to a whole new way of flying. Val was the forerunner of this new discipline. On 27th February 2006 after having flown a mini-wing, Val was walking back home through the Saléve when he slipped on an ice patch. Unfortunately, he did not manage to hold on and fell off the cliff. We are paying tribute as the Swoop range reflects his innovative vision of flight and mountaineering.

The theory might look simple but the reality is a lot more complex: we wanted a good glide, to be able to fly above shallow slopes, trees etc. Moreover the good glide had to allow for foot launch and landing. We had to abandon the idea of copying or adapting skydiving parachutes because of their lack of performance.

We quickly realised that even though it is easy to design a mini-wing with an acceptable glide, it is much more difficult to make it resistant to turbulence. On the top of that the mini-wing had to have a sound behaviour on diving trajectories when it is set to a very low angle of attack.

We had to build several prototypes to find the right airfoils. In the end, using our experience gained with the design of the “performance parachute”, we got the “SWOOP”.

The usability is very high: with the 14m2 and the 16m2 wing, it is easy to foot launch, land in null wind and soar in strong laminar wind. With the 10m2 it is bit more demanding, but still possible. As soon as the trims are off, the wing accelerates, the trajectory dives and you enter the world of speed flying.

The structured airfoil (use of diagonal ribs) and high tension cloth give the wing speed and acceleration qualities very different from those of a sky diving parachute. The glide at landing is superb and allows endless flairs without the need of a hook turn. This greatly increases safety as you can land on foot on hardcore surfaces after a long approach in a straight line without having to bank hard before hand.

Our main concern has been to make this wing as resistant to collapses as possible. The Swoop is very solid in turbulence. Trimmers off, it is perfectly fitted for the practice of “Speed Flying” and to give you the freedom of limitless radical manoeuvres.

Warning. Using a mini-wing is a new activity that requires a specific training. A good level in paragliding or sky-diving might be an advantage but does not dispense from starting the discipline with caution. The control responses, trajectories and approach slope are very different from that of other disciplines; practise with a qualified instructor is compulsory.