This harness has been in development for 3 years, with Felipe Resende and Bach le (architect and designer) with lots of ideas and development. The Vissta XC has a long fairing for aerodynamic purposes. The interesting part is that the shape of the pod, and the shape of the rear fairing are narrow. In designing that harness, Flow said: We aimed for a fully featured conventional competition harness that offers the best low drag coefficient in the market with around 5 kilos and especially for packing it small to fit in a large bag.
The Vissta XC shape was created after working on CFD (computational fluid dynamics), to find the most optimized low-drag shape which is implanted on that harness.
FLOW installed clips on the shoulders (see pic) and those are for future low-drag speed arm connections!
Two rescue systems on each side, with a steerable reserve, are possible. There’s also a nice feature covering the pins of the pod to prevent them from tangling with the lines when pulling the pod.
Two zippers for the drag chute are also reachable on each side, Two little openings for the pee system also on each side, and two lower zipper pockets (13cm width) under the seat on the rear side that can be used for the hose of the water ballast and to control damping the water in competitions, or even if you want to put inside some gloves, chocolate or else…
The Vissta XC holds also one removable radio pocket inside and in another side a detachable pocket to insert any items of your choosing ( see pics)
The cockpit is wide and the angle is perfect. Attached to the cockpit, is a thin but long compartment with a zipper to fit a battery pack, your cellular, Chocolate bars..etc… Easily reachable in the air!
Perhaps FLOW will introduce a detachable cockpit with possibly a below storage? that opens from above? I wish... let's wait and see what the future brings...
As I always mention before writing a test flight of a harness, every harness is very difficult to describe just because each pilot has different body shapes and geometry.
The FLOW Vissta XC M size fits perfectly my height of 1.81, and 75 kg weight.
The Vissta XC pod features a split line adjustment option on each side that could make your adjustments infinite for the incline foot pad, or high lengths of the pod. This feature with those lines makes it more appropriate to adjust for many individuals.
The Vissta XC has a seat plate but with very easy access on the seat plate to fit narrower ones if the pilot wishes to! The seat position has also an angle front adjustment on each side that you can lower or raise the seat position.
The back seat position has three adjustments! easily reachable in the air. Those adjustments make the back and the sitting position very comfortable and also very precise to adjust!
The video I’m attaching also will cover all those features and will let you see that for better understanding.
The ballast pocket under the seat holds around 4 kg of water. You can also install ballast in the back compartment. I found also that it would be possible to add a 2, or 3 L liter of ballast water ballast under the cockpit as FLOW installed two side pillars for support without letting it rest on your lap. It hangs on those points.
The back storage bag under the fairing is bigger than the Impress 4, and a bit less than the Arrow.
Inside the bag storage, there’s a pocket for installing the water camel for drinking during the flight.
The pod closure has two magnetic pieces to close tightly. In the air, no wind comes in.
Getting inside the pod requires placing the already installed strap on the edge of the pod and also it has a red ball to insert it into your shoe laces. That is the most efficient way to get inside the pod, otherwise, without that strap, it would be difficult to enter after take-off.
When setting the shoelace strap, make sure also that your main chest strap connections to the seat plate ( also adjustable red, and green stripes going to the seat plate ) are not too loose to prevent you from slipping forward too much when you take off, because it will require more knee bent to catch the pod if you are too way forward. (I’ll explain it in the video)
My usual harnesses are the Impress 4 L size pod M and the Arrow L size. I found that the Vissta XC M size fits me like a glove after my adjustments.
The comfort for the back is quite high resembles the Impress 4 for that matter, knowing that the Impress 4 offers one of the most comfortable rides. I found myself inside the Vissta XC sitting in my preferred chair! The legs are naturally supported, and there’s no pressure on the body whatsoever! FLOW installed a 35 X 15 cushion on the lower back which provides good back support. It can be moved by a few centimeters to your taste.
The weight shift capabilities are slightly above the Impress 4 and close to the Arrow with slightly more weight shift capabilities! For an XC/Comp harness, it has an excellent balance.
The roll movements can be described as balanced. More stable than the X-rated 6/ WV GTO 2. Close to the Impress 4 and Arrow in that matter.
The chest strap has an adjustment, is flat on the upper side for sure, and is reachable easily in the air. ( Resembles the Genie race 4 chest adjustments)
The shape of the harness and pod stays streamlined with the air with difficulty in getting the pod lower down or higher up unless it has been badly adjusted. So the pod stays streamlined. The rear fairing is big, and the take-off reminded me of when I test-flew the Submarine. I had to put the rear fairing on windy days under my arm to keep my vision clear. The rear fairing stays well inflated in the air and doesn’t move if you have secured both zippers at their max edge. That way the rear fairing is pressurized.
The Vissta XC checked all the boxes for me. The very high comfort for long flights, the excellent weight shift capabilities, the aerodynamic shape, two side rescues,! All that with slightly less weight than my Impress 4 L.
The construction is very neat and it seems to resemble the Niviuk Arrow construction details.
It can be folded like the Impress 4 to fit in a large bag, which is difficult to find these days…
I had some nice and comfortable flights with the Vissta XC. landed with a good feel, and relaxed body.
I think from the conventional harnesses in the market (except Submarine types) The FLOW Vissta XC could be one of the most interesting harnesses as it joins the Useful and pleasant in a foldable harness. Business and pleasure at the same time :-)
An interesting tool for test flying if you aim for that type of XC/comp harnesses.
