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 part is indicated by C (the orange line)?
A diagonal rib connects the upper left corner of a cell with the lower right, or sometimes runs across two or more cells.
This allows the use of fewer lines, reducing the weight and drag of the paraglider.
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.
For a paraglider in the mountains, what wind speeds are considered safe to fly?
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.
What happens when you brake a paraglider so much that the air speed falls below the minimum speed of about 25km/h?
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.
What are the minimum requirements for a safe take-off?
A straight headwind is not necessary, you can take off in a slight crosswind. The runway should be clear of cables and other obstacles, but a 500m radius is not necessary. It is however essential to be able to abort your launch, for example when you notice a knot in the lines.
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.
Which lines carry the most weight?
Most of the weight is carried by the lines attached to the front of the canopy.
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