Dr Matt Wilkes has produced an outstanding contribution to paragliding safety. Together with his many supporters, sports professionals, regulators and the team at the Thames Valley Club he ran a study on emergency parachute deployment during the annual reserve repacking event ... and reached some valuable conclusions about rescue systems and how to use them.
Read more
Early production models of the Gin Gingo Airlite 4 and Gin Verso 3 harnesses have been noted to have issues with the rescue handle being too short. This may cause the handle to work loose after prolonged agitation of the harness due to transportation or ground handling. To determine if your model is affected, please refer to the PDF which gives details of the recommended action.
Read more
Supair have identified an ACRO 4 harness with missing safety stitching. One of the shoulder webbings was not correctly sewn with the ventral cross strap, but only pre-glued before the automatic manufacturing phase. Although Supair perform two inspections of their harnesses, the procedures for the ACRO 4 were less rigorous before September 2019, so all ACRO 4 harnesses produced before September 2019 should be inspected!
Read more
In two seperate incidents, A lines have separated in flight on the Supair SORA 42 tandem glider. While investigations are underway, Supair advises all pilots to stop flying this wing.
Read more
The tipstall (B3/C3) is a relatively new descent technique that not many pilots know about. It is an effective alternative to Big Ears, but only on some wings – it depends on the wing design. It relies on the outer B or C line stack being in just the right position to create a neat stall that gets swept back in the wind.
Read more
Big ears: a flappy flight manoeuvre, misunderstood, maligned and even feared by beginners, this stalwart of the cloudbase regular is an essential skill for all pilots. Let’s strip it down to the basics, so you can tuck with confidence.
Read more
The Advance EASINESS 3 is a reversible harness/backpack with a wind-filled impact protector under the seat. Amongst its competitors, the EASINESS 3 is #2 on price and #1 on being lightweight which is remarkable given the robust construction and refined appearance. It’s only 2.3kg in the M size: backpack and harness. On your back it will make your paragliding kit appear to be as compact as a hiker’s bag.
Read more
The Triple Seven KNIGHT is made “to make the entry into the world of thermal- and XC flying as easy, intuitive and safe as possible” which is a noble goal and matches the aspirations of the largest group of paraglider pilots: the ‘weekend warriors’. Low airtime pilots need a wing that will help them with their progression, and that’s where the KNIGHT fits into the Triple Seven range, between the ‘high A’ Pawn and the ‘high B’ Rook 2. Does it offer the right balance of passive safety and agility for the average EN-B pilot?
Read more
Carlo had the opportunity to try out the Skywalk X-ALPS4. Like its predecessor, X-ALPS4 is an ultralight 3-liner with 6.99 aspect ratio, nylon wires, complex internal design, and certified EN/LTF D. Skywalk explain that they deliberately chose a 3-line concept for the X-ALPS4 because they feel this is currently the best symbiosis of high performance, low weight and ease of use.
Read more
The concept was to fly or hike around most of the Southern sites in a day, a 65km course that would be challenging for everyone. The forecast was for moderate northerly winds and good thermals. Carlo shares his insights from his winning route.
Read more
