Turns
Orca 5 is an agile wing, with smooth
reactions to all pilot’s actions. Handling is
actually easy and forces grow
proportionally to position of the brakes.
Adding some weight shift will make the
paraglider turn really quick and tight.
The combined technique (weight shifting
and brake input) is by far the most efficient
method of turning. Turn radius is then
determined by the amount of inside brake
used and weight shift. Additional
application a little outside brake after
initiating the turn with maximum weight
shift increases turn efficiency and the
outboard wing’s resistance to collapse (in
turbulence, the edge of a thermal etc).
In case of necessary turning in confined
area at slow speed (e.g. slope soaring), it is
recommended to steer the decelerated
canopy by loosening the brake at the
outside of the turn while applying just a
little more brake on the inside.
Caution:
When entering a turbulent area
you should brake a little to put up the
tension. It will allow you to react instantly in
case of a problem. Too hard or too quick
pulling of one brake can cause the wing to
enter a spin.
Thermalling and soaring
When flying Orca 5, minimum sink is
achieved with light pull on the brakes (15 to
20 cm depending on total weight in flight)
and closing the trimmers. Just be careful
with closing the trims when flying at low
weights - it is not advisable.
In turbulent conditions the canopy should
be flown with a small amount of brake
applied. This improves overall stability by
increasing the angle of attack of the
canopy. The canopy should neither rock
back nor surge forwards, but always stay
above the pilot. In order to achieve it, the
pilot should accelerate the canopy by
letting off the brakes when entering a
thermal (accordingly to its strength) and
brake it on exiting. This is part of basic
active flying that can spare you many
potential collapses.
When soaring the slope, minimum height of
50 m above the ground is recommended
for safety reasons. It is important to comply
with air traffic rules, especially when many
pilots share airspace close to the hill. The
avoidance manoeuvres often happen to be
impossible in such conditions.
17
FLIGHT
ORCA
