13
Incidents
ENGLISH
Deflations
Due to the flexible form of a paraglider, turbulence may cause a por-
tion of the wing suddenly to collapse. This can be anything from a
small 30% (asymmetric) collapse to a complete (symmetric) collapse.
If you have a collapse, the first thing to do is to control your direc-
tion. You should fly away from the ground or obstacles and other
pilots, or at least not to fly into them... Asymmetric collapses can
be controlled by weight shifting away from the collapse and applying a
small amount of brake to control your direction. This act will most of
the time be enough for a full recovery of the wing.
Once a glider is deflated it is effectively a smaller wing, so the wing
loading and stall speed are higher. This means the glider will spin or
stall with less brake input than normal. In your efforts to stop the
glider turning towards the collapsed side of the wing you must be
very careful not to stall the side of the wing that is still flying. If you
are unable to stop the glider turning without exceeding the stall point
then allow the glider to turn whilst you reinflate the collapse.
If you have a deflation which does not spontaneously reinflate, make
a long smooth progressive pump on the deflated side. This pumping
action should take about 2 seconds per pump. Pumping too short and
fast will not reinflate the wing and pumping too slow might take the
glider close to, or beyond, the stall point.
Symmetrical collapses normally reinflate without pilot input, however
15 to 20cm of brake applied symmetrically will speed the process.
If your wing collapses in accelerated flight, immediately release the
accelerator and pull the trimmers to the slow or neutral position
before attempting to reinflate the canopy.
Cravats
If the tip of your wing gets stuck in the lines, this is called a ‘cravat’.
This can make your glider go into a spiral, which is difficult to control.
The first solution to get out of this situation is to stabilise the glider
Spiral Dives
If you turn your Viper 3 in a series of tightening 360’s it will enter a
spiral dive. This will result in rapid height loss. It is likely that that
the wing has neutral, possibly unstable tendencies during the spiral
dive which will require active piloting to return to normal flight.
Safe descent rates are possible but high speeds and high G-forces
can build quickly leading to disorientation. Excessive G forces can
lead to loss of consciousness. High descent rates increase the like-
lihood of the wing remaining neutral, possibly unstable in spiral.
Ozone strongly recommends to not perform spiral dives
with high descent rates.
To initiate a spiral dive, look and lean in to the direction you want to
turn and then smoothly apply the inside brake. The Viper 3 will first
turn almost 360 degrees before it drops into the spiral (depending
on the input). Once in the spiral you should apply a little outside
brake to keep the outer wing tip pressured and inflated.
To exit the spiral dive, weight shift away from the direction of rota
-
tion and smoothly release the inside brake. As the Viper 3 deceler
-
ates allow it to continue to turn until enough energy is lost for it to
return to level flight without an excessive climb and surge.
Always be prepared to pilot the wing out of a spiral dive. In case of
neutrality/instability use opposite weight shift and smoothly apply
enough outside brake to provoke the glider to exit the spiral.
IMPORTANT: The Viper 3 is a small and dynamic wing, the
entrance of the Spiral dives is very quick and the sink rate
high. Spiral dives are dangerous and put unnecessary strain
on the glider, they cause disorientation and need time and
height to recover.
Do not perform this manoeuvre near the to the ground.
