9
Rapid descent techniques
As a general rule, in order to descend, fly away from areas
of lift. If, for whatever reason, you are taken unawares by
the development of conditions, you may consider using the
following techniques to increase your sink rate.
Big ears
Grab the first risers in the front (risers with a red cover and
one single line) and then pull them down by making an arc
of circle outwards and downwards until the wingtip folds
back under the leading edge. We recommended that you
perform each “ear“ successively and not both
simultaneously.
Keep the risers taut to prevent the wingtips from
reopening until the maneuver is finished. Depending on
the size of the big ears initiated, the sink rate can increase
by up to 3
–
4 m/s. If necessary, it is possible to initiate small
alterations in direction by weight shift control.
As soon as the risers are released, the paraglider should
spontaneously reopen. However, you can speed up the
reopening by „pumping“ the brakes in a single sweeping
movement. When pumping the brakes it is recommended
that one side of the paraglider be opened after the other.
Pulling both brakes simultaneously to reopen ears may
result in a stall.
