Mac Para Magus XC2 EN D
(Cross Country magazine)

STANDFIRST: Marcus King goes for some big days out on the latest XC machine from MacPara

QUOTE: This wing just doesn’t want to come down.

MacPara’s Description
The Magus XC2 is a high-performance glider designed for pilots who demand and expect the most from their equipment. As a serial class glider it benefits from new technologies inherited from the Magus 7.

Background
Mac Para is a Czech company that has been around since the early 1990s. Since then it has gradually grown to become one of the major brands in our sport. At the helm from the start has been manager and designer, Peter Reček. Peter, who has been a member of the national Czech paragliding team, graduated in design engineering from Brno University of Technology (VUT).
Over the last few years the company has enjoyed a large amount of competition success with their Magus range, with pilots such as Petra Slivova, Tomas Brauner, Greg Blondeau, Yassen ‘Big Bird’ Savov and the Valic brothers. Mac Para has also gained several world records with the Valics, Greg Hamerton and Petra.
The company is based in the northeast of the Czech Republic in the town of Roznov pod Radhostem. The town is close to flying sites on the Beskydy hills. Production is split between the facility in Roznov and Gin’s production plants in Korea.
Having enjoyed lots of success with the Magus range the company introduced its serial sibling in the form of the Magus XC back in 2007. The Magus XC2 is the latest incarnation of their serial racer.

CONSTRUCTION
I’ve always had a liking for Mac Para wings, with the colour design enhancing the their aspecty look. The Magus XC2 doesn’t fail to deliver on this – with an aspect ratio of 6.65 it looks sporty from the moment you unfurl it.
The leading edge features a mix of Mylar and plastic rods – their ‘RFE’ system – to keep the profile in shape across the speed range. The rods used in the RFE system aren’t as big as those found on some of the latest wings on the market. The cells are all open, with rectangular shaped openings. The canopy is made from Porcher Skytex, with 45g/m2 cloth used on the leading edge and 40g/m2 further back.
Perhaps surprisingly the wing isn’t a true three-liner. Although there are only three risers on each side, the C lines have split tabs in the centre of the wing to give that section of the wing more support. All the lines are unsheathed Aramid/Kevlar. The A lines are red and the main brake lines orange; all remaining lines are yellow, making it easy to grab the important lines.
As with most MacPara wings the brake system uses rings on the trailing edge to bunch the tips under braking. The company has also used what they call a ‘reinforcement flap system’ in the centre of the wing to stiffen that section of it.
The risers are very sleek with no unnecessary fuss. The lines are held in place with rubber rings. The brake handles are reasonably-padded material loops that are attached to the C risers with magnets and have a swivel to stop the brake lines twisting. The speed system has a stepdown ball which lets you know when you have reached half bar.
Mac Para get top marks for their construction with the wing finished to a high level, as you would expect. The wing is available in four standard colours and five sizes covering all-up weights from 70kg to 135kg.

LAUNCHING
Reading the test report for the wing I noticed that it had gained a C grade for launching, saying that it could overshoot. That, along with its aspecty look, had me wondering if it would be a bit of a handful on the ground.
However, I launched in various conditions from a forward launch on a super stable day at St Hilaire, to reverse launches in strong midday winds in the southern Alps. On every occasion the wing behaved impeccably. A gentle pull on the A riser brings it smoothly overhead with only a small amount of braking required to control it. I’m sure a heavy-handed approach would see it pulling you off your feet but with a little finesse I found it easy to launch.

FLYING
Once in the air I found the wing felt very taut and solid – it behaves as a single wing. Brake pressure is reasonably stiff and ramps up if you pull hard, giving plenty of warning as you near the stall point, which is great when you are cranking hard in a tight thermal. I found I got plenty of information from the wing through the brakes. The wing doesn’t have a nervous feel – it’s more that it gives you very good information so you can fly it actively.
With the bunching system on the brakes I felt the Magus XC2 was very agile. It’s easy to control the level of bank with the brakes alone – you only really need weightshift when you want to bank hard or to cut into a particularly strong bit of lift, and then only small body movements are needed.
In climbs, the information the wing passes to the pilot through the harness and brakes is detailed without being overpowering. It felt like I could feel the nuances of the thermal around me. This was especially true in lighter conditions, allowing me to use the wing’s agility to make the most of any lift.
It was soon obvious that one of the Magus XC2’s strengths is its climbing ability. There was no tendency for it to sit back, even in strong active alpine conditions, although I found it was best to let it fly fast with only enough pressure on the outside brake to feel the wingtip.
A quick glance through the test report for the 27 size which I was flying shows very few D grades. In fact it only receives three Ds, all for accelerated asymmetrics (two at the minimum weight and a C and a D at the max weight). I flew the wing on a couple of occasions in very strong thermals mixed with a stable air mass and windy conditions, and while the level of information coming from the wing helped catch most potential collapses, inevitably I got hit a few times. On all occasions the wing behaved predictably and was easy to get flying again with no major drama.
On glide the bar is easy to use and there is a good level of acceleration with minimal increase in sink, as you would expect from this class of wing. It’s hard to quantify performance but it’s obvious this wing performs well. The sink rate feels impressive and combined with good speed gives a good glide. I was particularly impressed with the lack of pitching on glide, the wing cutting through the air nicely. Gliding with other gliders of this class and a few older comp wings I never felt at a disadvantage, leading me to conclude this wing is definitely up there with the leaders.

CONCLUSION
Mac Para have produced a great serial racer that is accessible for pilots moving up to this class. Great handling and performance combined with forgiving behaviour for the class create a serious wing for those big sky missions, that will keep you smiling. This wing just doesn’t want to come down.

Reviewer
Marcus King flew the Magus XC2 27 (90-110kg) at an all-up weight of 105kg using the Sup’Air Shamane harness.

WE LIKED MOST
Agile handling combined with great performance in a forgiving wing

RECOMMENDED FOR
Pilots moving up to the serial class or pilots wanting a partner for big days out

Cross Country magazine