7.
Recovery:
The Aspen5 recovers from a Spiral Dive automatically as soon as the brakes are
released. Release them smoothly and always finish a Spiral Dive with safe altitude!
Caution:
When exiting the Spiral Dive make sure your position in the harness is neutral.
Recovery from a Spiral Dive can be delayed if you are weight shifting to the inner side of the
turn.
5.3. SIV manoeuvres
No matter what category of canopy you fly or what level of certification it has, in turbulence
or in strong thermals you may experience all kinds of collapses.
The Aspen5 behaves comfortably in these situations. Indeed not only does the glider deal
with extreme flight situations automatically, but it also offers – for its category – an above-
average degree of safety. Even so, you must follow all safety rules when practising SIV.
Always pay attention to your altitude.
Before performing any SIV manoeuvre remember:
Practise throwing your reserve on the ground, in a simulator, so that reserve deployment is
efficient and automatic.
Rapid altitude loss and considerable rotational forces may develop during unstable
manoeuvres. Take account of these factors when throwing your reserve.
5.3.1. Asymmetric Collapse – one side of the canopy collapses
Initiation:
Take hold of the outer A-line on one side and pull them down smoothly. The wing
tip will collapse to form a characteristic Big Ear. The size of the ear depends on the depth to
which the lines are pulled. You can stop any turn tendency by applying the opposite brake
and by weight shifting onto the inflated side of the canopy.
Recovery:
Under normal conditions the Aspen5 will re-inflate spontaneously when the pulled
lines are released. Inflation time and loss of altitude can be reduced by suitable piloting. To
stop any tendency to turn off course pull the brake on the inflated side (be careful not to
overreact and stall the inflated side) and weight shift to that side. If the collapse remains then
re-inflate the collapsed side by ‘pumping’ the brake on the collapsed side.
Caution:
It is very important to execute this manoeuvre very carefully. Due to the high
compactness of the leading edge it is quite difficult to find a right degree of pulling of A-risers
down. This applies particularly to the asymmetric collapse of 75% at full speed. Therefore a
cross line was used for certification of Aspen5. In your own interest we don´t recommend to
perform 75% collapse at full speed without cross lines.
5.3.2. Full Frontal Collapse
Initiation:
Take hold of both A-risers at the top and pull them down fluently until the leading
edge collapses.
Recovery:
Recovery time depends on how much of the canopy has collapsed. In normal
conditions the Aspen5 will recover normal flight automatically as soon as the front risers are
released. Applying the brakes on both sides simultaneously can help re-open the paraglider.
Caution:
It is very important to execute this manoeuvre very carefully. Due to the high
compactness of the leading edge it is quite difficult to find a right degree of pulling of A-risers
down. If you pull them down too quickly, a massive collapse could happen!
5.3.3. Deep Stall
Initiation:
Pull both brakes smoothly until the sink rate increases markedly and the forward
speed reaches almost zero. The pull on the brakes should be controlled so that the canopy
stays inflated and doesn’t fall back into a full stall.
