Design Insight: Hike-and-fly submarines

Submarine-style harnesses, with their long, streamlined fairings designed to minimise aerodynamic drag, are becoming a common sight nowadays. The idea itself is not particularly new. If you dig around, you will find some initial concepts flown back in the early 2000s. However, it wasn’t until 2021 that the first prototypes of the Ozone Submarine came out. Since then, submarine-style harnesses have dominated all high-level competitions, as other manufacturers followed with their own models, all aimed at XC comp flying.

Last year however, some new, sub-2kg ultralight submarine-style harnesses appeared. One of them, the Supair ALP (Aerodynamics, Light, Performance) is already available on the market. Others, such as the pro-model by Neo, are still in the earlier stages of development.

I was intrigued to compare the new light harnesses with their more complex and heavier cousins to understand whether their design features are likely to make subs less of a niche product. Plus I wanted to ask, are they really necessary for the hike-and-fly race scene? Also, given the...