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.
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.
What happens when you fly too slowly?
Below the minimum speed or stall speed, the wing stops flying and will descend straight down like a parachute. This is a very unstable situation and often leads to a spin or stall.
See the chapters on Aerodynamics (stalls) and Advanced flying.
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.
A pre-flight check should be executed...
Before you take off, you should check at least these things: pilot, lines, canopy, wind, airspace.
How tight does the chest strap of the harness need to be?
A short distance beween the karabiners results in a stable flight but enhances the risk of twisting, for example after a collapse.
A large distance between the karabiners results in a higher sensitivity to weight shift but also to more dynamic reactions of the paraglider.
You are standing on take-off and you feel the wind coming a bit from the side. Is that a problem for a safe launch?
B is the only correct answer for an Alpine or forward launch in the mountains. When you choose to execute a reverse launch, C is a possibility as well. For a tow launch, sometimes a 90 degree crosswind can be safe to start for more experienced pilots.
A paraglider glides down through the air. But at what speed?
These are all speeds relative to the air!
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.
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.
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