USE AND MAINTENANCE
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PRE-FLIGHT CHECKS
Before take off it is important to carry out a thorough pre-flight check.
• Ensure the parachute pins are correctly in place and the zips around the parachute container are closed
• Visual check of structural webbing looking for any obvious damage
• Visual check of the Link Lite carabiners ensuring they are correctly mounted with elastics in place and no signs of fatigue or damage.
• Risers connected correctly to the carabiners without twists
• Speed system attached and not tangled around the webbing
• Leg / Chest strap T locks done up correctly with the elastic bands in place
• Double check your leg straps
PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT
If you are in the unfortunate situation of needing to throw your reserve, do so with conviction:
Look; Reach; Pull; Throw.
• Look at the handle, grab it and pull so the retaining pins are released. The parachute can only be thrown with the right hand.
• Pull out the deployment bag, it is best to pull towards the outside so that the parachute extracts sideways from the pocket, pulling the
handle upwards may not allow the parachute to release. Know your equipment and adapt your technique accordingly.
• Throw the parachute away from you as hard as you can into clear space, not towards your wing. It is important at this stage to
remember to LET GO of the handle. Aim to throw with the direction of airflow to aid a fast opening and against the direction of rotation.
• If after throwing the parachute does not deploy (possible in low energy emergencies e.g. parachutal stall), grab the reserve bridle and
give it a strong pull. This will help encourage the parachute to open faster.
• As the parachute deploys, the next stage is to concentrate on disabling the paraglider. There are several ways to do this – B line stall;
rear riser stall; gathering the canopy by working up the A lines until you have the material in your hands or using the brakes to stall the
wing. The best technique depends entirely on the situation. The most important thing to remember is to completely disable the wing
so that it does not act against the parachute and cause a down-plane. Whichever method you choose do so symmetrically, you do not
want the paraglider to start rotating, this could cause the paraglider to fly into and effectively disable the parachute.
• Due to the position of the reserve bridle hang points on most harness, deploying the reserve parachute tends to automatically put you
in to the PLF position (legs down), if you are not, do everything you can to get yourself into this position so you can absorb the landing
impact with your legs.
• Always use a PLF when landing under emergency situations or under a rescue parachute.
