rules to play paragliding

Rules to play Paragliding

11. Fast descents
Problems with getting down can occur when the lift situation is very good or when the weather changes unexpectedly. There are three possibilities of rapidly reducing altitude in such situations, each of which has benefits and issues to be aware of. The big ears maneuver induces descent rates of 2.5 to 3.5 m s, 4 6 m s with additional speed bar. It is the most controllable of the techniques and the easiest for beginners to learn. The A B line stall induces descent rates of 6 10 m s. It increases loading on parts of the wing the pilots weight is mostly on the B lines, instead of spread across all the lines. Finally, a spiral dive offers the fastest rate of descent, at 7 25 m s. It places greater loads on the wing than other techniques do and requires the highest level of skill from the pilot to execute safely.
12. Big ears
Pulling on the outer A lines during non accelerated, normal flight folds the wing tips inwards, which substantially reduces the glide angle with only a small decrease in forward speed. As the effective wing area is reduced, the wing loading is increased, and it becomes more stable. However, the angle of attack is increased, and the craft is closer to stall speed, but this can be ameliorated by applying the speed bar, which also increases the descent rate. When the lines are released, the wing re inflates. If necessary, a short pumping on the breaks helps reentering normal flight. Compared to the other techniques, with big ears, the wing still glides forward, which enables the pilot to leave an area of danger. Even landing this way is possible, e.g., if the pilot has to counter an updraft on a slope.
13. B line stall
In a B line stall, the second set of risers from the leading edge front the B lines are pulled down independently of the other risers, with the specific lines used to initiate a stall. This puts a spanwise crease in the wing, thereby separating the airflow from the upper surface of the wing. It dramatically reduces the lift produced by the canopy and thus induces a higher rate of descent. This can be a strenuous maneuver, because these B lines have to be held in this position, and the tension of the wing puts an upwards force on these lines. The release of these lines has to be handled carefully not to provoke a too fast forward shooting of the wing, which the pilot then could fall into.
14. Spiral dive
The spiral dive is the most rapid form of controlled fast descent; an aggressive spiral dive can achieve a sink rate of 25 m s. This maneuver halts forward progress and brings the flier almost straight down. The pilot pulls the brakes on one side and shifts his weight onto that side to induce a sharp turn. The flight path then begins to resembles a corkscrew. After a specific downward speed is reached, the wing points directly to the ground. When the pilot reaches his desired height, he ends this maneuver by slowly releasing the inner break, shifting his weight to the outer side and braking on this side. The release of the inner brake has to be handled carefully to end the spiral dive gently in a few turns. If done too fast, the wing translates the turning into a dangerous upward and pendular motion. Spiral dives put a strong G force on the wing and glider and must be done carefully and skilfully. The G forces involved can induce blackouts, and the rotation can produce disorientation. Some high end gliders have what is called a stable spiral problem.[24] After inducing a spiral and without further pilot input, some wings do not automatically return to normal flight and stay inside their spiral. Serious injury and fatal accidents did occur when pilots could not exit this maneuver and spiraled into the ground.
15. Launching
As with all aircraft, launching and landing are done into wind. The wing is placed into an airstream, either by running or being pulled, or an existing wind. The wing moves up over the pilot into a position in which it can carry the passenger. The pilot is then lifted from the ground and, after a safety period, can sit down into his harness. Unlike skydivers, paragliders, like hang gliders, do not jump at any time during this process. There are two launching techniques used on higher ground and one assisted launch technique used in flatland areas.
16. Forward launch
In low winds, the wing is inflated with a forward launch, where the pilot runs forward with the wing behind so that the air pressure generated by the forward movement inflates the wing.It is often easier, because the pilot only has to run forward, but the pilot cannot see his wing until it is above him, where he has to check it in a very short time for correct inflation and untangled lines before the launch.
17. Reverse launch
In higher winds, a reverse launch is used, with the pilot facing the wing to bring it up into a flying position, then turning around under the wing and running to complete the launch.Reverse launches have a number of advantages over a forward launch. It is more straightforward to inspect the wing and check if the lines are free as it leaves the ground. In the presence of wind, the pilot can be tugged toward the wing, and facing the wing makes it easier to resist this force and safer in case the pilot slips as opposed to being dragged backwards. However, the movement pattern is more complex than forward launch, and the pilot has to hold the brakes in a correct way and turn to the correct side so he does not tangle the lines. These launches are normally attempted with a reasonable wind speed, making the ground speed required to pressurise the wing much lower the pilot is initially launching while walking forwards as opposed to running backward.
18. Towed launch
In flatter countryside, pilots can also be launched with a tow. Once at full height towing can launch pilots up to 3000 feet altitude, the pilot pulls a release cord, and the towline falls away. This requires separate training, as flying on a winch has quite different characteristics from free flying. There are two major ways to tow pay in and pay out towing. Pay in towing involves a stationary winch that winds in the towline and thereby pulls the pilot in the air. The distance between winch and pilot at the start is around 500 meters or more. Pay out towing involves a moving object, like a car or a boat, that pays out line slower than the speed of the object, thereby pulling the pilot up in the air. In both cases, it is very important to have a gauge indicating line tension to avoid pulling the pilot out of the air. Another form of towing is static line towing. This involves a moving object, like a car or a boat, attached to a paraglider or hang glider with a fixed length line. This can very dangerous, because now the forces on the line have to be controlled by the moving object itself, which is almost impossible to do, unless stretchy rope and a pressure tension meter dynamometer is used. Static line towing with stretchy rope and a load cell as a tension meter has been used in Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and other Eastern European countries for over twenty years under the name Malinka with about the same safety record as other forms of towing.
19. Landing
Landing a paraglider, as with all unpowered aircraft which cannot abort a landing, involves some specific techniques and traffic patterns.
20. Traffic pattern
Unlike during launch, where coordination between multiple pilots is straightforward, landing involves more planning, because more than one pilot might have to land at the same time. Therefore a specific traffic pattern has been established. Pilots line up into a position above the airfield and to the side of the landing area, which is dependent on the wind direction, where they can lose height if necessary by flying circles. From this position, they follow the legs of a flightpath in a rectangular pattern to the landing zone downwind leg, base leg, and final approach. This allows for synchronization between multiple pilots and reduces the risk of collisions, because a pilot can anticipate what other pilots around him are going to do next.