MacFly Paramotor Review

• Ground Comfort - After leaving my prior company you could have stuck anything on my back and I would have said it was comfortable. And by all means, pretty much everything out there is comfortable. However, the MacFly does a few things that make it just a step above everything else. Their weight distribution is by far the best I've seen. The engine sits as close as possible and the gas tank sits as high and close as possible. Looking at the MacFly side by side with other units and you notice the fuel tank is a solid 3-6 inches higher off the ground. This means the weight is close to your back and higher up on your back. Because of this, everyone I have try the MacFly says it's definitely the most comfortable one out of all of the units I have. The other thing is that it's also the lightest 150cm cage unit I've tried. It weighs about the same as all the 130cm cages. Needless to say, I find it to be the most comfortable on the ground because of the weight and most importantly, weight distribution.
• Thrust Line - The thrust line on the MacFly is another location I find it to shine. On launch, you don't get pushed downward into the ground. The thrust line is perfectly aligned with the carabiner and you can easily get a perfect lean back without having to push through a lot of downward thrust. In the air this perfectly balanced thrust line means you don't get any bucking forward and backward when getting on and off power. On some units when you get into the power it presses the top of the motor forward and you get this bucking forward and backward effect when getting on and off power. Every unit has a little bit of this, but the MacFly does a really good job at keeping you from rocking/bucking forward hardly at all when going from idol to full throttle.
• Torque Steer - This is another thing where the macfly really shines. There are two ways the macfly counter torque steer. The first way is the swingarms are offset and the second way is the carbon fiber spars. The combination of these two make the macfly the most straight flying paramotor I've ever flown. There is literally, no torque steer. Hammer full and you just keep going whatever direction you were facing. Most units compensate for around 80-90% of the torque. MacFly is pretty dang close to 100%. Nothing is going to truly compensate for 100%, but it gets freaking close.
• Twisting Effect Over Top - This one is something pilots who fly aggressively will understand. When I go over top on a big wingover on most paramotors, I slightly lag behind the wing and twist just a little bit. This only happens when going to the right because the motor is twisting us slightly to the left. This can be very dangerous and hard to control on wider paramotors which is why I am a big fan of 16 inch wide frames. Of all the frames I have flown, the MacFly does the best job at countering this slight twist effect and it's the most "on rails" flying paramotor I've ever flown. When I take it up over top I do not experience hardly any twisting effect if any at all. This gives me so much more confidence to do big aggressive wingovers and barrel rolls. Because of this, I do bigger and better wingovers on the MacFly.
• Weight Shift - There are a few things I consider when looking at weight shift. First is the "flick ability" of the weight shift and the second is the high G maneuver weight shift. The flicking weight shift is that little pop you give it when diving around low near the ground. That little pop can make you feel more connected with the wing and is just all-around fun. The high G weight shift is about how easily you can get into that weight shift or if you have to fight against countering weight shift under G forces. The MacFly's low flicking weight shift is by far, the best I've found on any swing arm paramotor out there. You can shift around ever so slightly in the harness and easily roll your hip just a hair to give it that juicy weight shift I love. I find it to be very effortless when playing low to use the weight shift whereas on most frames I tend not to do much weight shift. It has that little "pop" that's just so much freaking fun. Now in the high G maneuvers, I find it to be very easy to add however much weight shift I want. The biggest thing for me is that I don't have to fight against counter weight shifting which usually only happens on wider frames. The weight shift is so nice on the high G maneuvers and I find myself actually using the weight shift more than I do on any other frame. It's just so easy and effortless!
• Brake To Net Clearance - This is a little thing that I find to be nice and won't spend much time talking about it. When you let go of the brakes and just cruise, the distance from the brake toggle to the netting/cage is insane! There is so much space!
• Harnesses - The MacFly can come with a few different harness options. The best two are the SOL REV harness and the Dudek harness. I have both harnesses and here are my thoughts on the two. The SOL REV harness is a sweet harness that has a lot of little things that I like. There are huge pockets on both sides, the padding is great, and it’s super lightweight and comfortable. However, the SOL REV harness is not as easy to get into, especially if you are a larger guy. I find that for pilots under 180 pounds or 5’10, the SOL REV harness is not the one you want. If you are smaller than that, the harness is super comfortable on the ground and in the air. Once you get the leg straps adjusted correctly, it’s not hard to get in and out of the seat. The small Dudek harness is not a bad option for smaller pilots as well. On the flip side, if you are a larger guy or girl, the Dudek harness is the better route to go. It’s extremely easy to slip in and out of and just about as comfortable on the ground and in the air. Personally, at 170 and 5’9 I find myself preferring the SOL REV harness. My mechanic at 5’7 and 140 prefers the SOL REV harness. My students that are 180+ are preferring the Dudek harness.
• Cage Options - MacFly makes 3 cage options. The standard, the folding, and the travel cage. The only cage that has the carbon spar option, which is a must, is the travel cage. The travel cage is a full titanium cage and frame. When you order the carbon spars you also receive the titanium spars and they are interchangeable. Now the other cool thing is that the frame for the travel cage and folding cage is the same. So if you ever want to switch between them, you can. With the travel cage there are also 3 sizes. 128cm, 138cm, and 150cm. The 150cm is large enough to comfortably fit the 140 prop and that’s the size that I went for and would recommend. The marketplace we are in today is all headed toward the 140 prop. I would personally recommend ordering the carbon spars because that additional torque compensation is a must have.
• Cage Strength - I won’t be the first to admit that the MacFly is by no means the strongest paramotor out there. It can for sure take a beating, given it is a titanium frame and cage, but it’s no tank that’s for sure. The carbon spars are going to be more fragile but they are slightly protected by the titanium cage. I would say this is not a great power forward unit. It is better than some out there but also not as good as some others. The cage is definitely strong enough to take new pilot mistakes without breaking. We are using a MacFly at our school and it’s comfortably handling the abuse.
• My Complaints - Like I mentioned at the start of this post, every paramotor has pros and cons. The only cons I’ve found so far is that there are little things on this frame that are weak. The buckles that tighten the net are weak and easily broken. I broke one when trying to tighten the net when we first got it. Now, I tightened the net again last night and didn’t break anything, so I was probably a little too rough on it the first day. In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t really a big deal but it is the one complaint I have.
• Students & Instructors Thoughts - I’ll happily admit, I know I’m slightly biased despite trying not to be. Because of this, I wanted to get as many people's honest opinions that don’t have any skin in the game. So I’ve had all my students and instructors try the MacFly side by side with other things and tell me what they think. Out of my class of 7 students, 6 of them said right off the bat that they preferred the MacFly. They found it to be more comfortable on the ground and easier to use. The MacFly is the unit I see them all reaching toward when it’s motor time. Now I’ve had only one instructor fly it so far, but he was pretty hesitant that it would be better than the unit he has. He flew it for 20 minutes, landed, and proceeds to go on and on about how it’s more comfortable and flies better in every way. He then buys one. Lol.
• Lead Time & Availability - MacFly has impressed me a bunch with their lead time on these units. We are currently in the process of buying a large bulk order so we can have them on hand, but at the moment we don’t. That being said, the lead time is about 1-3 weeks right now for a unit, which is very impressive. There is nothing like getting things quick! Like I mentioned, we are working towards having a bunch in stock and on hand, and will probably have 5-10 ready to go come July.
• Parts & Service - Just like the lead time on units, the lead time on parts is very fast. Most stuff is ready to ship right away and you can get most everything in 1-2 weeks. We are also looking to purchase a slew of parts to have on hand.
• Pricing - Here is a quick breakdown of the MacFly:

MACFLY MOSTER 185 PLUS PACKAGE - $9,374

• MacFly Travel Cage 150cm With Carbon Spars
• Vittorazi Moster 185 Plus MY22 (2.87 Reduction)
• 140 E-Prop
• Acro Arms
• SOL REV Harness
• 17L Fuel Tank
• Off-Grid Throttle
• Tachometer & Hour Meter
• Delivered Anywhere On The Lower 48

• Black Powder Coating +$115
• Dudek Lightweight Harness +$180