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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Why are the cell openings slightly pointed down?
The cell openings are positioned where the air flow hits the profile of the airfoil.
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.
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.
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.
Standing on launch you see a rain shower approaching. Do you take off?
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.
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