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knot is too tight and you cannot remove it, carefully and safely fly to the
nearest landing place.
5. LOSING HEIGHT
The knowledge of the different descent techniques is an important
resource to use in certain situations. The most adequate descent method
will depend on the particular situation.
We recommend that you learn to use these manoeuvres under the tuition
of a competent school.
5.1 EARS
Big ears is a moderate descent technique, achieving about –3 or –4 m/s
and a reduction in ground speed of between 3 and 5 km/h. Effective
piloting then becomes limited. The angle of incidence and the surface
wing load also increases. Push on the accelerator to restore the wing’s
horizontal speed and the angle of incidence.
To activate big ears take either the big ear pulley or outer most line
on each A risers and simultaneously, smoothly pull them outward and
downward. The wingtips will fold in. Let go of the lines and the big ears
will re-inflate automatically. If they do not re-inflate, gently pull on one of
the brake lines and then on the opposite one. We recommend that you
re-inflate asymmetrically, not to alter the angle of incidence, more so if
you are flying near the ground or flying in turbulence.
Please, read this carefully: risk of full stall!!!
The ICEPEAK 7 PRO-MODEL has a relatively short brake travel and it
should be noted that by reaching for the A3 line to make big ears it is
possible to apply brake pressure without realising it. The same happens
whilst pulling down the A3 line to make the ears. This can obviously lead
to a significant speed decrease.
The ICEPEAK 7 PRO-MODEL has a new high arch concept and applying
ears induces more resistance. With this new arch, the ears don’t stick but
they do tend to “hang”. Because of this, there will be more resistance,
compared to ears on a standard glider.
The ICEPEAK 7 PRO-MODEL is designed with little cord, which is good
in normal flight conditions. However, on the other hand the glider could
get into trouble when recovering normal speed if it is allowed ears and
achieve an extreme angle of incidence.
These are 3 particularities, which together with turbulent conditions could
cause an unintentional stall.
The solution: big ears may still be applied but the pilot must be fully
aware of the above-mentioned points and act accordingly. To avoid the
stall simply use the accelerator halfway (this is sufficient) to increase
the speed, which naturally rises the speed and decreases the angle of
incidence. In this way you will maintain a safe margin and avoid this
phenomenon. Take care not to pull the brakes while making the ears!!
5.2 2C3 TECHNIQUE
On the new generation paragliders the application of big ears can create
a high degree of trailing turbulence which in turn creates a significant loss
of airspeed. When big ears are applied to high aspect ratio wings the ears
tend to “flap” which also adds to the amount of unwanted turbulence.
This new rapid descent technique was first discovered by our Niviuk team
Pilots in 2009 while flying a competition prototype wing, which because of
its line plan and high aspect ratio would not allow big ears to be applied. In
fact big ears on wings with a profile of 2 lines can often prove difficult.
For all these reasons, we advise the use of the 2C3 descent technique
on the ICEPEAK 7 PRO-MODEL. This technique ensures a rapid descent
is achieved whilst forward wing speed is maintained and so the risk of a
