Flare Moustache

Flare Moustache

This is not just another paraglider or speedwing or miniwing. This is the beginning of new flying style. XC paragliding, paramotoring, akro, hike and fly, speedflying, speedriding and now flaring. The Moustache is the first wing that combines the glideratio from a small paraglider with the speed and dive of a speedwing. It’s the first paraglider you can not only steer left and right, you can also dive down like a hanglider. The Moustache adds another dimension. The Moustache is developed for coastal soaring. We do use the smaller sizes for speedflying and speedriding, but it offers a very different flying feeling. The Moustache has much more aspect ratio than normal speedwings, this is part of what takes away this snappy Go-Kart feeling many people like on speedwings. It’s a weired combination of a very fast wing that is less reactiv than speedwings with the same speed. Simply put; You can’t compare it to any other wing out there. The closest to flying a Moustache is flying a foil kite, which is highly dangerous and we don’t recommend.

It’s important to understand the Moustache is not made for thermal flying, xc flying or akro flying or hike and fly. It also not certified. It only has a load test. Like on speedwings and reflex paramotor wings, the Moustache has not been tested for collapses. So better don’t push it to the limits and stop flying when it gets really turbulent or very thermic.

The big question is; How experienced do i need to be to fly a Moustache? It depends where and which size you fly. Let’s take a closer look;

Advantages

• It has depower like a kite, so you can launch it relaxed in stronger winds without getting dragged
• You can dive down by going „hands up“
• You can improve you glide by pulling down the handles
• Full-speed it is more stable than a paraglider on speedbar
• It converts speed into lift really well
• You can fly active really well with it
• A 15m is as fast and steep as a Mirage 13, yet it can glide like a 18/19m paraglider.
• A 13m is as fast and steep as a Mirage 11, yet it can glide like a 16 m paraglider.

Important to know

• Stallspeed is much higher than on normal gliders. You can’t fly slow.
• Collapses can probably be very violent and aggressive
• Collapses can result in a cravat
• It needs a high take off speed in no wind
• Landing speed is also very high in no wind

Moustache for coastal soaring

This is where it has been tested and developed. The Moustache is made for coastal soaring. Soaring a Moustache can be easier than with a regular paraglider, since it doesn’t drag you in the wind and often doesn’t collapse when overshooting. But you have to understand what is different and when it could be much more difficult than with normal wings.

Launching and soaring a Moustache is easy when there is enough wind. Landing is what can be very difficult, due to it’s high stall speed. It gets difficult everywhere where you don’t have a lot of space to land, in soaring specially when you need to topland. With paragliders those common techniques are used to top-land:

1. Fly behind the liftband, wait there and sink it in
2. Taking in the ears to sink down
3. Coming in very low, turn against the wind and flare
4. Pumping the brakes to increase sink

The first three techniques often no longer work because;

1. The stallspeed from the Moustache is often higher then the windspeed, so you can’t hover, you always keep flying forward
2. It’s not possible to take in the ears
3. Once you flare you create a lot of lift and shoot back up
4. This one works great if you stall it every pump, but it’s the most dangerous one obviously

That’s why it’s important to start soaring in a place with easy landing options. Give yourself time to get to know this new wing. Soaring sand dunes next to the beach, the Moustache is likely one of the easiest wings for this, especially in stronger winds. But maybe your homespot is a steep coast with no landing options at the beach on high tide and very small top-landing area. Then the Moustache might be very hard to land again there, so only experts should fly it.

To answer the big question:  It all depends on the spot and the size you want to soar.

Moustache for speedriding

Taking off with not winds works great on skis. The moustache launches well also in no winds or even tailwind if you have the right technique. But the takeoff speed is higher than with regular wings in the same size. It’s very easy and intuitiv to fly proxy along the snow. Touch and gos are easier then ever and riding works as well a if you have space and it’s not too steep. What doesn’t work well is to steep faces, where you break a lot with your skis to keep the speed low. But you can ski over bumps with it and have hands up, let the lines go totally slack and it won’t collapse:-) Thanks to the amazing glide you can get, it allows you to fly with skis in many ski-resorts you could not have done speedriding before. The cooles thing is landing uphill on the moustache. Come in „hands up“ full speed and simply flare uphill easily any slope you want and make a gentle and slow landing. You will be stoked about this one!

The main question is; How experienced do i need to be to speedride a Moustache? If you fly in calm conditions it’s not very hard to use it on skis. However if you want to ride without taking off, the moustache is the wrong wing for you.

Moustache for speedflying

Even thought the Moustache has a better glide than all other speedwings in the same size, the take off speed is much higher. A 15m flies as steep and fast as Mirage 13. But it also needs the take-off speed from a 13m speedflying wing. Same for the landing speed. A Moustache 13 needs the speed of an 11m speedwing for taking off and landing. So don’t think a 15 is gonna be a „piece of cake“ to footlaunch. Flying asstograss with the Moustache is our favorite flying style currently. There are so many ski-pistes you can follow a half meter of the ground with high speeds in full control. In fact you will feel much more relaxed flying asstograss with the Moustache, because it can generate sooooooo much more lift than a classic speedwing. Big fence in front of you? Cows? Car crossing? No problem, if you fly fullspeed, you can climb about 15m. Remember it also has a very high landing speed, so you want to avoid landing downhill or with tailwind!

Moustache in Turbulences

Paragliders are optimized for performance and safety. They don’t built them for maximum collapse resistance, they are built to collapse softly and recover quickly without hassle. Also the Moustache is not built for maximum stability, it’s a compromise of maximum depower and stability. It’s not un-collapsible, but it’s more stable than a paraglider when fully accelerated. This stability is the „passiv“ safety of the Moustache. But also the Moustache can collapse in strong turbulences, especially when you don’t have an active flying style. How the Moustache does collapse, has not been tested, but from other reflex gliders on the market we all know it can be brutal. So take care to not get a collapse when flying fullspeed, they will be the worst ones.  This is where you need to be honest with yourself. How good are your active flying skills? Can you fly High-B Wings or C-Wings without ever getting collapses anymore (more then a wingtip flutter)? Can you fly 100/ 150 / 200km XC without collapses? Do you sometimes still get frontals or collapses bigger than 30%? Just because you are an experienced speedflyer doesn’t mean you can fly active. Active flying is something you learn while flying thermals and XC on paragliders.

If you have excellent active flying skills, you’r paying attention and don’t push the limits too much, you won’t get collapses on a Moustache. If you are not perfectly active flying yet, then make sure you soar only in laminar winds and be super careful to not accidentally fly into a leeside while soaring. Keep in mind; When soaring in 50km/h of winds, leeside turbulences are brutal. In fact they are 4x as strong as in 25km/h…

Know your skills, know the limits and respect them. Don’t fly the Moustache in crazy winds, unless you are on a low sand dune with only sand and grass. Soaring in strong winds means it’s usually also more gusty. Learn to fly those conditions in forgiving terrain or don’t fly in it at all.

In speedflying no one flies proxy in turbulences, because it’s no fun. Soaring stronger winds, will often come with turbulences. The question is not if the Moustache can handle this, the question is if you can handle it? Some pilots will be able to soar conditions safely where beginners will get brutal collapses quickly.

We think the biggest danger for a Moustache are thermals. Don’t soar spots when it’s thermic. Strong winds plus thermals can create a very bad mix. So if you wan’t to soar your Moustache in the mountains or inland, you want to go early morning, or late evening when there is almost no thermal activity. Obvious winter is a good time as well if you have a lot of snow cover, to stop thermals from forming. (they might still form over trees!)

Moustache career

Most people need to make a few flights on the Moustache to figure out how things work, to built up the confidence and flying techniques. Only after this learning time they really start enjoying it. Give yourself time to understand this new system and this new wing. You might feel the risers are a nightmare. We thought the same, now we like them better than normal ones. The more you fly it, the more you will enjoy it. Once you soared a few hours on it and go back to a normal paraglider, that’s when you really start to appreciate the Moustache. Soaring normal paragliders or miniwings feels so wrong after a few great soaring sessions on a Moustache.

At the beginning you will hopefully be very careful when it gets a little turbulent and stop flying soon. After lot’s of flying, specially soaring in stronger conditions, you might get the feeling this wing is un-collapsible. It’s not! This is where it starts to become very dangerous. All you need to do wrong is fly into a leeside you didn’t recognize as such, or get some nasty thermals while soaring or hit the wake turbulence really unlucky of a tandem doing wingovers in front of you.

This wing is prone to make you overconfident. Be aware of this!

Choosing the right size for soaring

The Moustache has a huge windrange, because it can glide very well but can also fly very fast with poor glide, so it’s easy to get down and move forward. You will also feel much safer flying fullspeed. Soaring a normal paraglider or miniwing, most pilots only use the speedbar in case the wind picks up. On the Moustache you are „full speedbar“ when you simply put your hands up. It’s very convenient and it still feels very stable. So you will fly „full speedbar“ much more often than you ever did before, even if you buy the same size wing which you are normally soaring. On the other hand what really sucks is soaring a Moustache when you can barely stay up. That means you are constantly pulling hard on the handles and get tired arms and wrists. Plus you are flying close to the stallpoint, meaning you have no flare left. If you get dropped, you can’t flare. To turn you are very close to the spin point. All of this simply feels wrong.

We found those factors made the biggest difference in which size to choose for soaring:

1. How high and steep your soaring face is. If the wind is coming up 45° or even more, you have tons of lift. If you only have small and not so steep dunes there is only half the lift in the same windspeed.
2. Windspeed obviously makes a big difference.
3. Take off weight also makes a difference.

This explains how a 85kg pilot can soar a 13m in winds as low as 12 kts (ocean surface) on a high and steep coast. On the other hand for a small dune a 60kg pilot needs an 18 in 15 kts winds.

We strongly recommend you to not buy it too small. Buy the Moustache 1-3 meters bigger than your normal soaring wing if you want it to start as early as your other wing. You will be surprised how long you can fly them when the wind picks up. There is really no need to have a very small one for strong winds.

• If you have been soaring mostly on 20m plus wings, get the 22 Moustache, unless you fly steep and high dunes / coast, then you can also take the 18.
• If you have been soaring mostly on a 16m, get a 18m Moustache, unless you fly steep and high dunes / coast, then you can also take the 15.
• If you were soaring a 13m before, get the 15m Moustache, unless you fly steep and high dunes / coast, then you can also take the 13.
• If you were soaring a 10m before, get the 13m Moustache.

If you don’t have a homespot for soaring, we recommend you following;

• 80-105kg take off weight standard size is 18
• 60-80kg take off weight standard size is 15

Only buy a 22 when you are either a heavy guy, or you live somewhere the wind is usually weak.

Only buy a 13 when you are either very light, or you want to soar in very strong winds, which will also be more turbulent. The 13 has a very sharp stallpoint, compared to the other sizes. It’s easy to pull too much accidentally. A 13 is only for pilots with lots of soaring experience on smaller wings.

All the 4 sizes have the same risers and therefore the same „speedbar travel“. This means that a 13 will be percentage-wise much more accelerated than a 22. In other words, the smaller the Moustache, the more „dive“ or „depower“ it has.

Keep in mind; It will likely be easy to sell your Moustache again 2nd hand, when you want to buy a different size. There is only one brand for a while that makes them and they can only make so many every year…

Choosing the right size for speedriding

Since take off speed doesn’t matter as much on skis, you can easily go for a 13 or 15. Keep in mind that footlaunching them it’s much harder.

Choosing the right size for speedflying

As mentioned above, a 15 needs about the take off speed from a Mirage 13. A 13 needs about the take off speed from a 11m Mirage. Landing speeds are also very high in no winds.

How long will it last in the sand?

This obviously depends how you treat it. Remember the most important part is always the leading edge. So don’t smash it on the leading edge and don’t have it lying upside down too much. If you treat it carefully, it will last very long, even when used in the sand. Flare uses a very special fabric, no other brand has yet. It’s a very durable fabric with only 33g/m2. And the Moustache has an even stronger leading edge and wingtips, the parts that will be used the most. The lines are highly resistant dyneema lines. They also last very long, just need a re-trim after a while. You will be amazed by the material Flare has chosen and be able to use your Moustache for a long time, even on sand. It will last longer than most other wings out there!

How to order

Flare has a new Sales system. The dealers are called Pro Partners and have all Demo wings and they make sure you get the right size and knowledge you need to safely fly the Moustache. But you order directly from Flare and pay Flare directly. You will get a Discount code from us, so you get 150 Euros discount and Speedflyingschool as a Pro Partner get’s a small margin for our work.

Tech specs and marketing text

https://go-flare.com/Products/