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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.

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.

Standing on launch you see a rain shower approaching. Do you take off?

No, flying in the rain is illegal under air law. Yes, paragliders are not affected by rain and the accompanying wind will dry the paraglider quickly. Yes, if you can be sure that you have landed before the rain shower arrives. No, rain showers are often accompanied by wind gusts, which can be very dangerous for paragliders. Additionally, a wet canopy is more dangerous to fly.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Yes that is a problem. We need the wind to be straight from the front to take off safely. Up to about 45 degrees is usually not a problem. You lay out the wing facing the wind and during the acceleration phase you correct your course to fly away straight from the take-off. Up to about 45 degrees is usually not a problem. You lay out the wing straight down the take-off and correct the wing during the inflation phase. Up to about 90 degrees is usually not a problem. You lay out the wing straight down the take-off and correct the wing during the inflation phase.

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.

We lay out the canopy in a semi-circle before take-off. Why?

This reduces the tendency of the lines to tangle. This ensures that the canopy will fill from the middle cells towards the tips. This ensures that the outer cells will fill with air first. This is the only way you can separate the brake lines from the main lines properly.

When the center cells fill first, the canopy will rise steadily and straight.

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.

'Big ears' are a descent technique and serve to increase your descent rate. Additionally, in which situation is pulling 'big ears' a good idea?

When trying to fly into a strong headwind. When flying in turbulent conditions. When turning in a small thermal. All of the above are correct.

Pulling big ears reduces the wing area and therefore increases the wing load. This stabilizes the canopy somewhat. It also increases the flying speed but in most cases this is counteracted by the extra drag the ears create.

What is the weight of the fabric used to make paraglider canopies? (g/m²)?

500g/m² 350g/m² 35g/m² 10g/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.

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