PARAGLIDING SCHOOL, LESSONS, COURSES | TANDEM PARAGLIDING | LEARN TO PARAGLIDE | PARAGLIDERS | CAPE TOWN | SOUTH AFRICA

• Making it wider : The more feedback (roll motion) from your wing to your harness, easier to weight-shift.
• Making it tighter : Less rolling motion in harness (apparent stability), greater risk of Twisted Risers (Recovery) after a Collapse (Asymmetric, Recovery) or Spin (Recovery). Changing this adjustement will produce a "hinge" effect between the 2 wing halves. A 38 cm adjustment (between the centres of the riser bottom ends) is good for 90% of wings. For the others you must follow the wing manufacturer's recommendations. This adjustment and that of Harness Recline Angle are the 2 factors which will make the difference between landing with a smile or having a green face following a turbulent flight.

• You have an ugly spot on your wing, and it doesn't come off with soft water alone. Keep the spot. Never try to clean your wing with chemicals that may affect your material's resistance in the long run. See also : Line Length Change.
• To get rid of trapped dirt, hang the trailing edge of your wing on a tight rope, using clothes pins, such that the leading edge is above ground. Starting from the center, clean the cells by shaking the trailing edge and remove the dirt gathered in the cup of the leading edge. At the tips, remove the dirt through the cross vents.

1. One twist. Size of O-rings : O.D.=3/4", wire thickness of 1/16". Open the quick link. Leaving lines in place on the quick link, remove riser carefully (don't twist it once removed). Insert O-ring on quick-link under lines on solid quick link side. Re-attach riser into quick-link as it was before. Give 1/2 turn to O-ring and re-attach on other side of lines. Close the quick link.
2. Two twists. Size of O-rings : O.D.=1", wire thickness of 1/16". Open the quick link. Take the line loops out of the quick link and keep them sorted by sliding them onto a pen. Insert the O-ring into the open quick link and give the O-ring a 1/2 turn. Insert all the line loops through the O-ring after the twist, and hook them onto the quick link. After the lines, give the O-ring an opposite twist, and hook it onto the quick-link. Close the quick link.
   Tighten the quick link with a light torque of a wrench, just enough so it can't be undone by finger strength.

• When you fly, the dynamic pressure (above that of surrounding air) in your wing is determined by q=1/2_V2. Assuming a speed (V) of 50 km/h (13.9 m/s) and a density (_) of 1.225 kg/m3, this results in q=118 N/m2 or 0.00117 atm.
  When you press down on your wing with both hands (effective area of about 0.024 m2) and a force of 20 kg (44 lb), this results in a pressure of 8167 N/m2 or 0.0806 atm. This is 69 times the typical dynamic pressure in your wing !

1. Quick-Link. See Image: Quick-Link (stainless steel). It doesn't look as cool as a thick aluminum anodized carabiners, but it resists better to fatigue crack propagation. This is because both sides are loaded under symmetric tension, instead of the carabiner's one-sided bending loads which occurs before the gate is under tension due to its mechanism tolerances.
2. Quick-Out Link. Special connector for those who require a rapid disconnection (in flight).
3. Carabiner. See Image: Twist-Lock Carabiner (short), Image: Button-Lock Carabiner.
   • Mountain launch. Put the gate to the inside. A twist-lock mechanism can be opened by an speed bar line after a reverse launch, allowing the riser to slip out. A button-lock can be depressed by a part of your gear which protrudes, so you want the button to face outward (gate inward).
   • Tow launch. Put the gate to the outside (if tow bridle attached to carabiner). A number of people have had problems with carabiners coming undone when tow bridles are routed throught them. It is better to add a small triangular quick-link through the end of the riser to attach the tow bridle, then have the gate to the inside.

• Speed. An increase of 20 kg (44 lb) typically increases the airspeed by 5 km/h (3 mph). Your sink rate will be proportionally increased (disadvantage). See also Ballast. Launch and landing speeds will increase (not good for beginners).
• Brake effort increases for a given amount of brake travel (amplitude). But piloting can be achieved with less brake travel, partially compensating for the increased effort. The main difference is increased effort at slow speeds.
• According to Note A... Following a Frontal Collapse (Execution) at maximum speed, the reaction is more dampened. It is less vulnerable to the initial collapse, seems to react more at first but has a smaller forward surge (dampens more quickly), and offers a more progressive re-opening, reducing the risk of a cascade of events.
• Pitch stability. According to Note A... Understanding : The wing has less mass compared to the pilot's, reducing pitch amplitudes. It is more difficult to produce a collapse while provoking pitch motions.
• Avoidance manoeuvre (ample and rapid pull of one brake). The wing is less sensitive to a Spin.
• According to Note A... During a Spiral Dive, the pilot is much more physically strained and there is more kinetic energy, but rotation is easier to maintain and exit from the Spiral Dive is calmer (less pitch and roll motions).
• In turbulence and thermals. According to Note A... This is where the influence is greatest. The wing is more mobile for low angles of departure from overhead position, but is more solid. Less bouncing around in turbulence. Less lines-go-slack events. Less need to use the brakes, more relaxing, you can let it float more. Better penetration into thermals, instead of the hitting-a-wall-of-wind feeling. More precision in the turns.
• Resistance to collapse for the same airspeed. If brake pull is increased to match the same airspeed as before (less loading), the angle of attack is higher, making the wing more resistant to collapses. The change in the angle of attack (and resistance to collapse) is roughly proportional to the change in wing loading. So there is more benefit in resistance to collapse (at same airspeed as before) than the gain in airspeed (when keeping the same brake pull as before) which only varies with the square root of the change in loading. But remember that more brake pull, put you closer to a Stall (Full, Recovery).

1. A 300 yard dental floss roll. It is small and compact. You can use it to pick up rescue items from the people on the ground if you are in a tree.
2. A charged-up radio, set to a common frequency.
3. A whistle to call for help.
4. A small tool to undo your riser links to the lines. It can help to get your wing out of a tree.
5. A flexible "rope" saw, if you fly over hard wood trees (requires 2 hand to operate). For cutting into trees with resin (like pine), which would clog a "rope" saw, a saw with a folding rigid blade is better (can be used with one hand).
6. Industrial strength pain killers. If you crash far from a road, this can be your last chance to prevent shock and keep you clear-headed.

Air Travel

1. If you change country, register your valuables (paraglider, harness, variometer, and radio) at the airport's customs office prior to checking it in at the airline. You will then have a card itemizing your gear with serial numbers, which may avoid you from paying tax again.
2. Don't leave your helmet in your PG bag as it can get crushed.
3. Put electronic equipment (radio, vario) in your hand luggage to avoid being called down to the tarmac for suspicious items.
4. Put fragile stuff (not electronics) in the middle of the wing.
5. Put wing, harness inside a large garbage bag. I once had my wing stained by another's broken red wine bottle.
6. To avoid having a PG bag strap ripped off by a conveyor belt, put it all in another bag.
7. Don't put a note on the reserve handle that says "do not pull".
8. Don't bring a pyrotechnic reserve deployment unit on the plane.
9. Your Leatherman multi-purpose tool will be confiscated if you carry it on you or in your carry-on luggage.
10. If you have a 2-meter radio in your carry-on bag, be ready to show your amateur-radio license.

Sunglasses
Avoid polarized sunglasses. They are good to reduce dominant horizontal polarization from a broad, smooth horizontal surface directly ahead and slightly below the viewer's eye level (good for driving or fishing), but when flying, the terrain below is usually too irregular to produce orientation-specific polarization. Also, they may interfere with viewing liquid-crystal displays (LCD) such as your variometer's. Horizontal power lines will be more difficult to distinguish because their reflection is absorbed.
About sunglasses in general... If your eyes are good you can see better in all conditions without sunglasses. For people with eye problems which require a tint, yellow/orange lenses can help to spot the edges of clouds, inversions, but can cause problems with distance perception. Get the lightest tint you can stand. Prescription non-tinted glasses already filter out most UV rays.

Unsheathed "Comp" Lines
Typically found on competition wings. The rule-of-thumb is that they add an extra 0.25 to the trim speed L/D, (more when accelerated). The reactions from the wing in turbulence are a little "drier", the lines tangle more easily and pick up more debri on launch. If they do not have a special UV treatment, they will degrade quicker from sun exposure. They absorb moisture more quickly (snow launch). They are more vulnerable to mechanical damage (like when stepping on lines over hard ground).
See also: Reduced Pilot Drag.

Knot - Brake Line
For tying your brake line to its toggle, see : Image: Non-slip loop knot.
Line Tab - Junction Method. Some wings have external tabs under the wing for connecting the lines, made of a folded strap sewn back into the wing. There is a good and a bad way for the end loop of the lines to connect to this tab : Image: Line tab - Junction method.

Brake Pulley Noise
Tired of hearing your brake pulleys squeak ? Do not use petroleum-based lubricants, they could find their way to your wing and damage it. Use a Silicone-based lubricant and wipe away any excess.

Reduced Pilot Drag
Reducing aerodynamic drag at the pilot level, by use of a profiled harness or other means, will improve you L/D at any airspeed, but more at higher airspeeds. For the same "no brake (trim)" situation, the L/D is mainly improved from a better sink rate (slightly raised angle of attack from reduced drag below the center of drag) while airspeed remains about the same (contrary to what many still think). See also Top Landing - Increase Body Drag, Unsheathed Lines.

Accelerator Adjustment

• Line length.
• The proper length of lines attached to the foot bar, is when you achieve riser pulley contact (max travel) with your legs in full extension.
• Reducing activation force.
• If you have a single step foot bar...
Get a 2 step foot bar. The first step will give you more leverage from pushing with knees less bent.
• If you are already using a 2 step foot bar...

1. Fly it as-is. If these conditions are met:
• The core is not obviously damaged.
• Broken area will not interfere with piloting (like a brake line going through the pulley).
Then just leave the line as-is and replace it as soon as possible.
2. Welding. If these conditions are met:
• The core is not obviously damaged.
• The core is heat-resistant (will not melt like Dyneema does).
Then we can apply this procedure (See Image: Welding a broken line sheathing):
• Fray the ends of the broken sheathing.
• Butt together the sheathing ends, covering the core.
• Briefly heat the frayed sheating ends so they melt together.
The sheathing should remain free to slip from the core, otherwise you have over-heated and the sheating is melted into/with the core. This method is a temporary fix, most likely the core has been damaged to some extent, so still replace the line.