Most paragliders nowadays have short rods in the leading edge. Why are these there?
Rods in the leading edge ensure that the cells are kept in shape and open. Therefore the air can flow in easily during take-off.
After take-off you notice that you need to pull quite a bit of right brake to ensure the paraglider flies straight ahead.
What is going on?
The left of the wing is clearly braked more than the right. Wind will push you in a direction but will not turn the glider. Therefore a knot in the lines which will cause braking is most likely.
When the course of two paragliders crosses at the same altitude, what do they do?
On the right is in the right. The one coming from the left gives way.
See the chapter on Rules and regulations
You can sense an asymmetric collapse is about to occur by:
An asymmetric collapse is caused by a loss of air flow around the canopy on one side. You can feel the onset by a loss of brake pressure on that side. When it actually collapses, it will rustle and usually open again by itself.
What is katabatic wind?
Katabatic wind arises when air cools, for example at night, and flows downslope. Cool air is heavier than warm air.
What is the relationship between the glide ratio and the glide angle?
A larger glide ratio means you can fly further for every metre of descent. Therefore it means a flatter flight path. Since the glide angle is the angle between the flight path and the horizon, this angle decreases when the glide ratio increases.
Which line material has the following properties:
sensitive to heat and moisture causing stretching and shrinking, white color.
Dyneema is a trade name for polyethylene fiber.
Drag of a paraglider depends on
Drag is not dependent on temperature, nor wind direction.
See the Aerodynamics chapter.
FL095 is...
FL095 means Flight Level 9500 feet. Flight level is an aircraft's altitude at standard air pressure indicated in hundreds of feet.
Which of these instruments is suitable to measure groundspeed?
A GPS calculates your position on (or above) the earth in time intervals. Therefore it can tell you your groundspeed as well.
A TAS measures True Air Speed. An anemometer measures wind speed. A variometer measures ascent and descent rates.
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