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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 happens when you fly too slowly?

The wing collapses. The glider will enter a deep stall. Nothing, you can fly as slow as you want.

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.

What do we call the risers that are connected to the lines running to the leading edge of the canopy?

A-risers B-risers C-risers D-risers

These are the A-risers connected to the A-lines.

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.

What part is indicated by C (the orange line)?

A cell A top line A diagonal rib A stabilo

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.

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.

Which lines carry the most weight?

The rear lines (C or D-lines) The middle lines (B or B and C-lines) The lines on the front (A-lines or A and B-lines) The brake lines.

Most of the weight is carried by the lines attached to the front of the canopy.

Which data do you need to calculate the wing load?

The weight of the wing, the flat surface of the wing and the weight of the harness. The take-off weight and the flat surface of the wing. The span, the flat surface and the weight of the wing. The aspect ratio and the take-off weight.

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 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.

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.

1 is correct. 2 is correct. Neither 1 nor 2 are correct. 1. is a temporary solution, go for 2. as soon as possible.

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.

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