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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.

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.


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.


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?

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?


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.


A pre-flight check should be executed...

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


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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