THE FIREBIRD MATRIX ... loading ...

Scene from the film 'The Matrix' : Police break down the door to a darkened room, and pin a seated girl in their torch-light. "Freeze! Put your hands behind your head!" The policeman advances from behind with handcuffs. He takes his last breath.

The girl blurs into action. Two blows stun the policeman. The girl leaps into the air, and time seems to stop. She poises herself for a deathly kick, glistening in her black leather, two metres above the floor. In the space of the next heartbeat, she has blocked bullets, run around the room using the walls, and devastated the three policemen.

All is quite.

She takes out her cellphone, and makes an important call.

The Matrix blew my hair back. I was rivetted to my seat. And when it ended, what did I do? I went straight back to the ticket office for another ride.

Is Firebird's Matrix that kind of glider? There's only one way to find out.

CONSTRUCTION : "Engage the launch program"
Big cell openings provide for easy inflation. She has to be guided all the way with the A-risers, and tends to hang back slightly, rather than overshoot. Roll control on the ground is wonderful - I could allow the Matrix to fall over onto its wingtip, before bringing her back overhead using only the brakes.

The construction is tidy. Long, colour-coded risers (that are half the width of most, but sturdy nonetheless) end in the normal triangular maillons with black elastics to keep the lines together. Split A-risers, for easy 'big ears'. Soft brake toggles, with neat magnetic studs. Only one bifurcation on all the lines means simplicity, and reduces the drag. It looks very clean in the air.

HANDLING : "I know kung-fu"
The Matrix was a film with radical combat scenes - the heroes needed to be masters of martial arts to survive even the title scene. Firebird's Matrix couldn't be more different - you don't need to fight to survive big air, the wing does all the kung-fu for you. There's a high level of feedback from the wing, but the passive stability is phenomenal. This, combined with its sweet response to weightshift make thermalling a pleasure. After a while I flew the bubbly ridge without holding the brakes, just because I could. Behind me, the Bagheera suffered a 30% asymetric in the same air.

GLIDE : "Follow the white rabbit"
I flew beside the Apco Bagheera L for a glide test. Trim speed would be very close for equally weighted pilots. As it was, I was lighter than my companion, and he gradually pulled away from me on speed and glide (1km/h, 0.2 on glide). The Bagheera set the standard in the DHV2 class (and won many a competition's Serial Class) this last season, so this kind of performance is superb for the DHV1/2 Matrix. We made a big glide on an into-wind transition, and both wings impressed me by coming in high. On another flight, an equally weighted pilot on the Ozone Octane M (DHV2) had better speed on trim, but slightly worse glide. The Matrix flies like a dream, and outglides most wings.

SPEED : "As fast as a speeding bullet?"
The speedbar has a 2:1 pulley which engages on the A's and B's equally, the C's sliding to reach midpoint between them and the D's. Pressure on the bar is moderate. A Freex Spear (Small) and the Matrix were matched (glide and speed) on a head to head race on full speed bar. The Bagheera (Large) had more speed and better glide full tilt, as did the Spear (Medium). The Matrix is fast enough to do well in its class, but it won't be pulling away from anything, or outgliding the higher-performance wings at speed. At this point I must comment on measuring the speed of a bullet.

"Welcome to the real world, Neo." :
My reading for the top speed of the Matrix was 43.5km/h (the brochure gave 52km/h). Almost all the gliders I have reviewed yield a lower top speed than what is qouted in the promotional literature. On another (much warmer) day, I clocked the Matrix at 46km/h. But bear in mind that I was 15kg below the maximum allowed weight on the Large. If you're unsure why speeds vary so much, read my article on speed. In the case of the Matrix, I'll award Firebird the 'red pill' for creative optimism. What matters more than the exact speed is the relative performance against other wings flown in identical conditions - I flew five wings on the day of the review within three hours to get fair comparatives. The wing is not as fast as the Swing Arcus M (DHV 49), the Ozone Octane M (DHV 50), or the Bagheera L (DHV 49) for my weight. But the glide will bring you in high, even on the speedbar, so you'll still be smiling.

SECURITY : "Operator, I need an exit."
Pitch and roll stability is good, and recovery from the extremes is well balanced, with mild energy retention. Big wingovers are dampened and need time and gusto to build up to. There was no tendancy to spin. A powerful heave on the right brake becomes no more than a tight turn, and the beginning of a spiral. Spirals had a completely predictable entry, tightening only after a full 360degrees and offering a rapid, spontaneous exit, with a mild surge. Asymetric collapses were difficult to induce, and usually only tucked in the nose. Big ears remained tucked, and needed a short stab on the brakes to open. Front tucks did not drop back much, and reinflated of their own accord with a very mild surge. The approach to stall is good for a safe, fun glider. The brakes need to be held almost to the seat-board for many seconds. At stall point, the Matrix begins to shudder, trying to regain airspeed. It resists the full stall with spirit and a large amount of brake pressure, preferring to drop into a mild parachutal stall. Eventually it submits, dropping far back, then flopping lazily overhead. Exit is simple, as the glider remains overhead in the stall. B-line stall is difficult to pull in, but stable in descent, with hardly any surge on its delayed exit.

Subsequent to the review the DHV issued a safety notice : A flight behaviour that deviates from the type certificate for a Firebird Matrix L, MZL GS-01-746-00 (certified paraglider) was recognised. This information concerns a stable stall. All such gliders having a serial number beginning with 16xx or 18xx must be checked before their next flight. The check will be carried out by Firebird Sky Sport AG, Schaefflerstr. 15, D-87629 Fu:ssen, Germany, Tel: 049/8362/98320.

SUMMARY : What is the Matrix?
An excellent recreational glider, with top marks for glide and feel in the air. It services the same market as the Swing Arcus, though it offers better feedback, agility and glide angle. Anyone from the newly licenced to the weekend xc pilot will want to go straight back for another ride. It is competitive, secure and fun, and will leave even the most jaded skygods smiling. With the cool image of the Matrix already supplied by the film, all you need to do is get into the air, and you'll soon be your own hero, at cloudbase.

If you're unsure of which class you should be interested in, read my article on upgrading.

SPECIFICATIONS :
Matrix L - Firebird Sky Sports AG
Certification - DHV1-2 GH

* Note : Apply the correction factor to scale the results to a standardised condition of 1000m altitude, 1013.2 hPa Qnh pressure, and 15 deg.C. air.

Thanks to : Tristam Burrell (FB Distributor, SA) for the use of the Matrix. Jeff Ayliff, for the great photographs. The boyz at Firebird, for creating a glider that is really fun in the air. Email them at firebirdag@gmx.net or info@firebird.de

.