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Despite a good flare, you have a lot of speed just before touching down, because you landed with the wind in your back. What do you do?

You land on your feet and try to run it out during landing. You pull in your legs and land on your bum - the foam protector or airbag in your harness will absorb the blow. You stretch out your legs and land on your back. This ensures the airbag gives maximum protection. On touch down you drop forward and catch the fall with your arms.

A is the safest option if you're not familiar with a PLF (parachute landing fall) which needs practise. Your legs are much stronger than your back or arms.

Although on a flat grassy surface, you could get away with answer B, it can be very dangerous when stones, holes or other objects are hidden in the grass.

Using the protection in your harness as a landing option is not safe - would you park your car against a wall at full speed because the airbags will catch the blow?

'Big ears' are a descent technique and serve to increase your descent rate. Additionally, in which situation is pulling 'big ears' a good idea?

When trying to fly into a strong headwind. When flying in turbulent conditions. When turning in a small thermal. All of the above are correct.

Pulling big ears reduces the wing area and therefore increases the wing load. This stabilizes the canopy somewhat. It also increases the flying speed but in most cases this is counteracted by the extra drag the ears create.

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?

Stay there and be ready to go. Parawaiting is part of the sport and it's not uncomfortable in the sun. Hold on to the brakes and risers but sit down on your harness. The reserve parachute under your seat is a comfortable seat. When the wind turns you're well rested and ready to go. You disconnect the wing from the harness and pack up the glider. The vulnerable material suffers from the sun. As soon as the wind turns you unpack and get ready again. You bundle up the glider in a 'field pack', take off the harness and lay your equipment in the shade. That way, the materials aren't damaged, you can rest a bit and you will be ready quickly when the wind turns.

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.

What do you do when you can't hear the instructor over the radio during a flight?

You throw your reserve parachute. It is much too dangerous to keep on flying. You keep course to the landing field. Close to the landing field you spread your legs to indicate to the instructor that something is wrong. He or she will then give instructions via signs. Don't forget to keep thinking for yourself as well and make sure you land safely on your feet in open space. You turn around and fly back to the take-off to try and notify the instructor there, so he or she can give directions. You do nothing. The paraglider will touch down sooner or later by itself.

B is correct, A and C are nonsense of course.

Answer D is the second best choice in case your mind goes blank, you panic and you don't know what to do. It's better to do nothing in that case.

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?

Let go, because holding them all the time is unnecessary and tiring. Hold them at all times, because the wing will shoot in all directions if you let go. Hold the handles lightly and relax your arms. This ensures a bit of pressure on the brake lines. Hold the handles and pull them down quite a bit. The wing will fly slower and more stable that way.

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.

What happens when you brake a paraglider so much that the air speed falls below the minimum speed of about 25km/h?

The glider stalls, ie it doesn't fly anymore. The glider will fly on as slow as you want. The glider collapses.

The photo shows what happens when you pull so much brake that the air speed of the paraglider falls below its minimum speed. The glider stalls. Therefore we sometimes call the minimum speed of a paraglider the stall speed.

Don't do this while flying! Unless you are on an SIV- or acrocourse.

Older gliders can also enter a deep stall when you brake too much - see the chapter on Aerodynamics.

Standing on launch you see a rain shower approaching. Do you take off?

No, flying in the rain is illegal under air law. Yes, paragliders are not affected by rain and the accompanying wind will dry the paraglider quickly. Yes, if you can be sure that you have landed before the rain shower arrives. No, rain showers are often accompanied by wind gusts, which can be very dangerous for paragliders. Additionally, a wet canopy is more dangerous to fly.

D is the only safe answer. You can never be sure that you have landed before the rain arrives, so C is risky. B is only partly true for light rains, but again you're taking a risk. A is not true, although flying in cloud is illegal in many countries.

You just landed. What do you do?

You bundle up the glider in a 'field pack' and take the shortest way to the designated packing area. You bundle up the glider in a 'field pack' and take the shortest way to the edge of the field and from there to the designated packing area. You report to the instructor. When he or she says it's ok, you bundle up the glider in a 'field pack' and walk to the designated packing area. You pack up your vulnarable glider on the spot and then you report to the instructor.

Directly after landing, look around for other gliders that are about to land and clear the landing area as quickly as possible, without disturbing others.

A pre-flight check should be executed...

...before take-off. ...after every flight. ...every six months or as often as the manufacturer recommends. ...only by your instructor.

Before you take off, you should check at least these things: pilot, lines, canopy, wind, airspace.

For a paraglider in the mountains, what wind speeds are considered safe to fly?

Only nil winds from 0 to 1 Bft. Only light winds from 2 to 3 Bft. Only with wind from 0 up to 3 Bft. Only with wind speeds over 3 Bft.

Wind results in turbulence in the mountains. While soaring on a ridge or at low dunes or flying in flatlands may be safe up to 4 Bft or a bit higher using a smaller mini-wing, in the mountains a wind speed up to 3 Bft (a maximum of 20 km/h) is the maximum for most pilots to fly safely. Strong winds are considered 25 km/h or over.

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