| Design, materials and
colours
The Pasha 3 is an elliptical canopy with 54 cells and flat
aspect ratio of 5.35. Mac Para use their latest “Pg” software
to aid design, giving cleaner sails and therefore offering
less drag to the airflow, and giving improved glide performance.
The classic construction with diagonal V-tapes and a system
of de-powering lines and tapes gives the canopy stability
and helps maintain a clean profile. Lines are attached to
every second rib and this construction allows the lines to
be reduced to two tiers except at the wing tip. To improve
the sink rate whilst in big ears a wide area of the surface
is attached to the outermost lines and those lines are reduced
to three tiers. A very simple line layout employing 3 A,
B and C and 2 D main lines allows easy preparation prior
to take off. The Pasha 3 has a 5 point riser including a
trimmer system with claw buckles. Additionally the risers
are split to facilitate Big Ears. The positioning of the
outermost A line makes progressive closure easy. We pay great
attention to small details. The Pasha 3 is equipped as standard
with brake handles with a swivel and magnetic clips. Velcro
closures on the wingtips make access easier to remove any
sand, grass or small stones from the glider.
click images to enlarge
The Pasha 3 is manufactured using the paragliding industries
well established lightweight material with excellent durability;
Skytex 40, from Porcher Sport (NCV). Because for any glider,
the part that always wears out first is the leading edge,
we use Skytex 40 with double water repellent coating E77A
for this. For the less stressed areas of the sail we use
Skytex 40 with E38A coating. For the supporting and diagonal
ribs we use Skytex 40 with “hard finish” coating
E29A. This gives the advantage of a sail that is both lightweight
and very durable. Lines on Pasha 3 are made from the well-established
Edelrid lines series A-6843 of differing diameters.
The Pasha 3 has 3 new standard colour patterns (red, gold
and orange) derived from that used first on the Envy with
the MAC "M” in the centre of the canopy. There
are also three non standard colours (turquoise, white and
violet). Check for availability with your dealer. The glider
is delivered with the Bronco rucksack, spreader bars, T-shirt,
user manual, compression strap and repair kit. For professionals
the MAC Carry Pack is available as an optional extra (or
alternative).
Flying it
Like the Pasha 2 the glider inflates very easily in all
conditions even in a light, nil or cross wind. The Pasha
3 has pleasant ground handling characteristics. The canopy
does not over-shoot the pilot. Only a few steps with lightly
applied brakes and you are in the third dimension. The Pasha
3 is very stable in flight with good speed even when lightly
loaded. The handling is precise in turns and not tiring even
on long flights thanks to the special trailing edge bunching
brake system. This brake system pulls together the trailing
edge when applying the brakes. Just a short brake input is
needed for a flat turn. Trimmers offer you more safety and
control of speed when you have a lighter passenger or when
the wind is strong. Maximum speed can be achieved with released
trimmers. The maximum speed measured with a high wing loading
is 42-43 km/h. Spiral dive is easy to enter. The Pasha 3
is not spiral stable, meaning that the glider exits the spiral
when the pilot releases the brakes and returns his weight-shift
to a neutral position. The exit is quite simple and the pitch
remains well damped. The landing is the biggest improvement
when compared to the Pasha 2. The flare is nice with good
control of speed. With good piloting you do not need to take
a step forward when landing, specially if you open the trimmers
before landing.
The Pasha 3 is available in sizes 38 m2 and 42 m2.
The use of high-quality materials and constant quality control
during our own MAC PARA manufacturing process together with
consistent development work produces high quality products.
We are proud of them. |