Originally posted by Sparks
Ok a few questions:-
1. I have flown solo in fixed wing gliders so understand thermals, ridge lift, wave etc. and have found some of it pretty rough (rotor under wave particularly !) What is the real risk of canopy collapse in turbulence and how good are modern canopies at re-inflating?
2. How far can you go with modern canopies ?? Glide ratio ??
3. Are the licensing standards transferable across countries ?
4. How long will a canopy last - I've heard 4-5 years before UV exposure makes it suspect. Inspections every year ??
Roll on Sunday
1.) First, you will learn to judge meteorological conditions, you just dont
start and lets see what will happen. Flying Waves (Lenticularis) is a no no
for paragliders to many large scale turbulences, in Germany its forbidden to
fly in such weather conditions (Foehn). Wind is not wind, if you fly ridges
the air should be laminar, to much turbulences and you better land or stay
on ground. Its similar for flying thermals, they can be very strong turbulence,
you just dont enter it if you are not ready. Collapses happen, but usualy there
are instant re-inflating also. With the expirience you will learn to avoid
canopy collapses, we call it "active flying". And canopy is not canopy, there
are beginner canopys and others for Pro's. Beginner canopys can re-inflating
without any pilot input, the expert things need pilot reaction for re-inflating.
2.) modern canopys, (the Expert ones) have usualy a glide ratio of aprox 8:1
but like i said they need an expirienced pilot in difficult conditions, if you
are not interested in championships, its beyound me why fly a more difficult
thing if you can have a much more relaxed flying with just 6.5:1 or 7:1 glide ratio ;)
3.)
The International Pilot Proficiency Information 4.) In Germany the inspections are made every 2 years. And how long does it take
until UV exposure makes it suspect depends on how often you are flying. Normaly
you can fly your paraglider without problems 6+ years, if its still in good condition
even longer. The reserve is ok for 10 years, after that you need to buy a new one.
Originally posted by GtoRA2
Ghost
those are some great pics, but I dont get how it works? You just find a nice windy
spot or what? Is it based on updrafts on how long you can fly?
When flying, you can actually soar like a bird taking advantage of rising air in the
form of thermals or ridge (wind) lift. Paragliders dynamically are closer akin to the
wings of a 747 than to a parachute. A parachutes purpose is to bring you down to the
ground slowly. The purpose of a paraglider is to go up higher into the air allowing
you to fly for hours at a time, covering miles of terrain, by utilizing the upward
movement of air to keep you afloat.
And Sparks, here is some fun movies from paragliding in california area:
astockerI hope you have a lot fun at Sunday! :D
We have bad weather right now, raining,
not even a chance for groundhandling *grmpf*
R
Gh0stFT
