Swing Mistral - Safety First

by Arie
(Netherlands)

With 5 years experience on an Astral 2 it was time to decide on my next wing. After testing several wings I turned back to Swing and flew their brand new Mistral 5.

Immediately I was surprised with the big difference between the Swing Mistral 4 and 5, as the last is much more lively. Of course there are more exciting canopies but the Mistral has made a perfect combination of safety and performance.

Starting the wing is very easy, it rises quickly without extra input and is easy to hold. (I even started with no problem in slight back-wind conditions.) Backwards starting the Swing Mistral 5 is easy too, although I missed the D-riser at first.

The brake pressure is average and easy to hold over a longer period. Turns are very controllable, flat/steep turns, spirals and wing-overs all are perfectly manageable.

All specials, tuck, asymmetric, ears and others are pretty unspectacular.

My first flight in the Swing Mistral 5 was 2.5 hours in turbulent air and the wing gave me a lot of confidence by dampening and resistance to collapses - even with no brakes, just for testing. What surprised me were very small collapses during flight, they didn't have any influence, but they were hard to prevent.

For me the conclusion is easy, I love it. Although there are more agile wings it gives me trust to fly around long in turbulent air safely with excellent performance.

I would rank the Swing Mistral 5 at a 3/4 position in the 1/2 spectrum. The wing is designed for its class, it's not a cranked down 2 class wing that might bite your back.