MT 1-X

[metallica 0]

Has anyone heard of the MT 1-X military canopy? Any idea where I can get hold of the specs, manufacturer or pricing?
Thanks in advance.

[mjasantos 0]

Hi,
Myself have been a HALO jumper in the military and jumped MT1-X a lot.
This is a Para-Flite canopy.
The MT-1X Main Parachute is a ram air pressurized gliding canopy equipped with a slider reefer system. The canopy is a 7-cell design and has an area of 370 sq ft (34.4m2). This canopy has the capacity to carry 360 lbs maximum. The airfoil system is the high lift low drag proprietory Lissaman 7808, which offers reasonably high forward speed, easy handling and docile stall characteristics. The MT-1X main parachute is available in three configurations; as a free-fall only canopy, static-line only canopy, or as a combination convertible static-line and free-fall model.
You'll be able to find more info or even contact the manufacturer at:
http://www.paraflite.com/
http://www.paraflite.com/tactica3.html
http://www.paraflite.com/email.html
Mario Santos
Matrix FS (Portugal)

[metallica 0]

Thanks Mario, you just ended my 3 days of searching on the net.

• Quote

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Why? Wanna buy one? Lots of DZ's use them as "big boy" rigs. I know where a bunch are. Old double-X's and their derivatives were auctioned off at military DRMO's when the services transitioned to the newer, but barely better, MC-4 system.
Chuck
My webpage HERE

[metallica 0]

What's the difference between the MT 1-X and the old double-X's? I could only find the MT 1-X's on the Paraflite website.

[mjasantos 0]

MT1 - XX – A US Ram Air Canopy system in which the main and reserve canopies were identical. MT1-XX is the name given to the assembly of a main and reserve exactly the same, meaning that for the main you have a MT1-X as well as for a reserve. Is a big back pack (bigger than a tandem rig). That's the operational rig I jumped with. Portugal still has of those.
Mario Santos
Matrix FS (Portugal)

[mjasantos 0]

The military operational reason for having MT1-X for both the main and reserve is specially addressed to when doing HAHO (High Altitude High Opening). Jumping from altitudes of 25000 ft up to 35000 ft (using Oxygen Equipment) and deploying 5 - 7 secs after the exit, permits to cover long distances (depending from winds aloft intensity canopies can cover 15 up to 40 Km horizontally) suspended on canopy taking the best use of the previous calculated downwind resulting leg. In the event of a total malfunction with the main, resulting in a cutaway and subsequent reserve opening, a reserve MT1-X would permit to that jumper continue with their military teammates and still accomplish the mission.
Mario Santos
Matrix FS (Portugal)

[budiman 0]

Hi Santos,

Can you recommend me the manufacture of MT1X beside paraflite.

And I need jupsuit, google, altimeter, helmet, masker + oxygen, shoe , glove will you please recommend me the manufacture.

Thanks.

Indra Budiman, Jakarta, Indonesia[email]
[email protected]

[riggerrob 558]

Half a dozen other companies (Airborne Systems, Irvin, Pioneer, etc.) have manufactured MT-1X to fullfill military contracts.

Also several other companies have designed competing HALO/HAHO systems (Aerazur/Parachutes de France, FXC Guardian, MARRS (Czech Republic), Performance Variable (Germany), Pioneer, Rigging Innovations, Relative Workshop/Sun Path/UPT, etc.).
To research those systems, go to www.pia.com, yellow pages and scroll through manufacturers.

As for helmets, jumpsuits, etc. any of those manufacturers will cheerfully put together a package deal including helmets, goggles, etc. but you might get a better price from a major dealer like Para-Gear or Square One. Again, go research on the PIA yellow pages.

[erdnarob 1]

Hi Mario, you have to remember that Portugal is member of the NATO.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[T-dive 0]

I have 53 jumps with MT-1X system in the early 1990s. Our systems were manufactured by Para Flite Inc. 

Both the harness, main and reserve canopies have the stealth grey color. Trust me, it is really hard to spot it in the air at dawn. 

I also had to open reserve chute and it’s reserve is a 5 cell RAM air wing chute. It is definitely not the same canopy as the main chute. The reserve is relatively smaller. However the reserve had much larger cells than the main canopy. Unlike its main canopy’s deployment bag (it had a white colored heavy duty cordura deployment bag) which is permanently attached to the canopy, the 5 cell reserve canopy separates from the olive drab colored (and it is made from the same parachute fabric) deployment bag during opening. 

The harness is an odd one. It has similar 3 point fasteners as well as a belt that you should utilize. The front side of the harness has 4x D shaped equipment attachment points made of steel. The very bottom of the harness had another 1x steel equipment attachment point which you can utilize to suspend your weapons/equipment sack during flight. This was the most painful part of the system and often times a huge nuisance when you wanted to sit. It was simply at the very very wrong spot, but oh well. You could see all MT-1X pilots have to fix that attachment point to a safe position before they could sit in the aircraft...

Main canopy is a slow opening one if compared to the civilian chutes of early 90s. Sometimes it felt like it takes 5-6 seconds if you are slow. The slider always comes all the way down to your head flawlessly, so mostly it did not have much drama during opening. The main canopy is not very agile. You would give a command and the turn starts slowly, then the turn gets faster but cannot turn as fast as 90s civilian chutes like the 252 sqft North American Parafoil wing. It is quite hard to get the main canopy to a stall. Quite easy flying and quite safe but a boring chute for sure. However the glide ratio is not bad at all. I can somewhat recall it as 4/1 glide slope ratio. On 1/4 brakes the gliding is quite impressive. The final approach required relatively large landing area selection due to the relatively high glide ratio of the canopy. If it hits a thermal during final, it gets effected by it due to its sheer size. Prepare for a much longer glide before a touch down to be on the safe side. It can’t easily point land. Once you land, you can see it’s sheer size, it is a very large chute.

But it is a very cool chute for sure. Quite different by civilian standards.