Niviuk KLIMBER P, User Manual

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4.4 FLYING WITHOUT BRAKE LINES
If, for any reason at all, the KLIMBER P’s brake lines become disabled
in flight, it will become necessary to pilot the wing with the C-risers and
weight shifting until landing. These risers steer easily because are not
under significant tension. You will have to be careful and not handle
them too heavily in case this causes a stall or negative spin. The wing
must be flown at full speed during the landing approach, and the C-risers
will have to be pulled symmetrically all the way down shortly before
contact with the ground. This braking method is not as effective as using
the brake lines, and hence the wing will land with a higher ground speed.
4.5 LINE KNOT(S) IN FLIGHT
The best way to avoid knots and tangles is to thoroughly inspect the lines
as part of a systematic pre-flight check. If a knot is spotted during the
take off phase, immediately abort the launch sequence and stop.
If inadvertently taking off with a knotted line, the glider drift will need to
be compensated by weight-shifting to the opposite side of the wing and
applying a slight brake pull to that side. Gently pull the brake line to see
if the knot can be undone or try to locate the problem line. Try pulling
it to see if the knot can be undone. Beware of trying to clear a knotted
line or untangle a line in flight when close to the terrain. If the knot is too
tight and cannot be undone, carefully and safely fly to the nearest landing
zone. Be careful: do not pull too hard on the brake handles because
there will be an increased risk of stalling the wing or entering a negative
spin. Before attempting to clear a knot, make sure there are no other
pilots flying in the vicinity.
5. LOSING ALTITUDE
Knowledge of different descent techniques could become vital in
certain situations. The most suitable descent method will depend on the
particular situation.
To become familiar with the manoeuvres described below, we
recommend practising within the environment of a competent training
outfit.
5.1 EARS
Big ears is a moderate descent technique, able to increase the sink rate
to –3 or –4 m/s and reduces the ground speed by 3 to 5 km/h. The angle
of attack and effective wing-loading will also increase due to the smaller
surface area of the wing.
To re-establish forward speed and the correct angle of attack, the pilot
must accelerate once the ears are pulled.
Big ears can be applied until landing but should be released at the
moment of braking.
To activate the ‘Big ears’ manoeuvre, take the outer ‘3 A 4’ line on each
A-riser and simultaneously, smoothly pull them outward and downward.
The wingtips will fold in. Let go of the lines risers to re-inflate them
automatically. If they do not, try progressively pulling one brake then
the other. We recommend inflating the wing tips asymmetrically, without
major change to the angle of attack, especially when flying near the
ground or flying in turbulence.
5.2 5B1 TECHNIQUE
With the new generation paragliders like the KLIMBER P, the application
of big ears can create a high degree of trailing edge turbulence. When big
ears are applied to high aspect ratio wings the ears tend to “flap” which
also adds to the amount of unwanted turbulence which in turn creates a
significant loss of airspeed, making it necessary for the pilot to recover it
either using the accelerator or stopping the manoeuvre.
For the above reasons we recommend using the ‘5 B 1’ line. This
technique