ADVANCE IMPRESS 3 M

ADVANCE IMPRESS 3

My main harness for the past 2 years was the Impress 2+, which was very comfortable for my taste. Then came the Impress 3 M .

1.81 m and 73 kg inside the M size.

The construction of the harness and details are ‘impeccable”. It is very rare to find between harnesses such a jewel in terms of “finessing”  ;-) !

The harness impresses you to the level of handling it with respect. Swiss precision! ;-)

In the air:

In order to feel better the harness, I did make a flight in the Impress 2 + and the Sigma 8 25 @ 93,and then landed at the take off in the same conditions and switched to the Impress 3 M @ 90 all up.

Immediately after take I felt more roll movements than the Imp 2+ has. May be I am a bit skinny inside the M size.

Conditions of the day were like small 3m/s bullet thermals with 10 m “radius”. “Frequent on our sites”.

It was an exceptional day for trying to put the glider in its path using the harness.

My flying was long adapted to a seat board, and used to have a support point inside the Imp 2 when weight shifting, and that, wasn’t available in the Impress 3 as it doesn’t have one.

I think that time is needed to adapt to that feeling that I didn’t get used to it yet after 5 hours. It could be my stubborn head to adapt …

But I felt that “it rolls a bit quicker than I could weight shift to counter steer”.

Nothing out of the ordinary for that level of race harnesses, but just a bit more roll than the Impress 2 +.

The strong points of this harness are its superb comfort in the air by supporting the back and the hips + the light feel of carrying it on the take off.

The pluses:

A comfortable feeling, with nice back and hips support.

Lighter than Impress 2 by -3 kg.

A superb product with excellence in details and construction.

The minuses:

Has more roll in the thermals than the Impress 2. (I am 1.81m and 73 kg) May be a bit skinny inside the M that does explain the roll.

Doesn't have a "support point" when you weight shift (no seat board edge) like the Impress 2, but it needs time to adapt to its weight shift characteristics.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110040226962521480605/ADVANCEIMPRESS3M

More feedback:

Flying inside the harness i thought I'd make a small modification for skinny people, to limit the "slack" roll i was feeling.
After receiving some e-mails of pilots that found a similar feeling in roll movement,here's a photo of the modification that i don't recommend to make before contacting the pros at ADVANCE to be on the safe side. But it worked fine for me.
A small strap on each side about ± 16 cm (see pic) would suffice but i did install the trims to see at what point it will erase the roll excess.
I found that just a bit of pressure would be enough. No need to pull them hard. Just a slight pressure.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110040226962521480605/ADVANCEIMPRESS3M#5664862914670979250
 
https://picasaweb.google.com/110040226962521480605/ADVANCEIMPRESS3M#5664867032364545746




 
And i did install the neoprene cover on the chest strap to prevent the inside hard webbing's to hurt the chest on take offs when leaning forward.



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