
We lay out the canopy in a semi-circle before take-off. Why?
When the center cells fill first, the canopy will rise steadily and straight.

When is the best time to put your legs down during the landing approach?
D is the safest option. The others are either uncomfortable and unwanted because you can't use weightshift anymore, or unsafe if you are too late and land on your bum risking a back injury.

Which pre-launch check is the most important?
Even though all newer harnesses have a safety feature to prevent you from falling out of the harness if you forget your leg straps, this is very uncomfortable and on an older harness it may be a fatal mistake. Checking lines and canopy is of course very important as well.
See the section on Launching in the Basic techniques chapter.
Which data do you need to calculate the wing load?
The wing load is defined as the weight on the wing per square metre. Therefore you need the total take-off weight and the flat surface of the wing to calculate it. For example, a 25m2 glider flown by a pilot with a TOW of 100kg has a wing load of 4kg/m2.

What do we call the risers that are connected to the lines running to the leading edge of the canopy?
These are the A-risers connected to the A-lines.
It's sunny on launch and you're ready to take off, but the wind has been from the back for quite a while. What do you do?
Gliders suffer the most from direct sunlight. The airtight coating is damaged by the UV-radiation. Don't leave your glider out in the sun unnecessarily.
Additionally, sitting on the reserve parachute may damage it without you noticing, so it might fail if you ever need it. Never sit on your harness.

During daily inspections you notice a tear of about 2.5cm or one inch in the canopy of your paraglider. What do you do?
1. You fix the tear with ripstop tape on both sides of the fabric.
2. You take the glider to a dealer or manufacturer to have it professionally repaired.
You can fix a tear smaller than about 5cm (2 inches) yourself. Larger repairs should be done by a professional.
See the chapter on Equipment.

What is the weight of the fabric used to make paraglider canopies? (g/m2)?
Very light fabric strong enough for paragliders can be as light as 25g/m2. Very strong and heavy fabric weighs 40g/m2 or more.
At around 35g/m2, you can calculate that the weight of the fabric of just the top and bottom sail of a 25m2 canopy is a bit less than two kilos.

You're on a straight course and you don't need to change direction any time soon. What do you do with the brake handles?
Modern paragliders fly best without any brake applied - at the so-called trim speed.
But by applying a little bit of pressure, you take out the slack in the brake lines. You feel better what the wing is doing and you can react quickly and subtly to keep the wing straight overhead. This is called active flying.
If you have some more experience it doesn't hurt to let go of the brake handles and relax, but only if it's safe to do so.

A paraglider glides down through the air. But at what speed?
These are all speeds relative to the air!
Your result is shown above.