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Section 7
Dangerous situations and extreme flying
07 Dangerous situations
and extreme flying
Dangerous situations
Pilot error, extreme wind conditions or
turbulence which goes unnoticed by the pilot
for too long may leave the wing in an
unusual flying position, requiring special
reaction and skills on the part of the pilot.
The best way to learn how to react calmly
and correctly in a serious situation is to
attend safety training, where you will learn
how to manage extreme situations under
the guidance of a professional.
Ground-training is another safe and
effective method of familiarising yourself
with your glider’s reactions. Launch can be
practised, as can small flying manoeuvres,
such as stall, asymmetric collapse, front
stall etc.
Any pilot who flies in turbulent conditions or
who makes an error in handling the glider is
at risk of getting into an extreme situation.
All of the extreme flight figures and flight
attitudes described here are dangerous if
they are carried out with inadequate
knowledge, without the right safety altitude
or without training.
IMPORTANT
These instructions are not a substitute
for the need for safety training. We
therefore recommend that you take part
in special safety training which will
teach you how to handle extreme
situations.
WARNING
Always keep within the recommended
limits. Avoid aerobatics and extreme
loading such as spirals and big ears.
This will prevent accidents and avoid
over-loading the glider.
In turbulent conditions, always keep
enough distance from rock faces and
other obstacles. Time and sufficient
altitude are needed to recover from
extreme situations.
Deploy your reserve if the corrective
manoeuvres described in the following
sections do not return the glider to a
controllable flying position or if there is
not enough altitude for correction.
Collapsing the paraglider
Asymmetric collapse
Asymmetric collapses are caused by the
stagnation point moving to the trailing edge
of the glider. A negative angle of attack
makes part of the canopy collapse and tuck
under, and the glider may plunge down, turn
away or spin.
Recovery
Should an asymmetric collapse occur,
counter-brake slightly on the side of the
glider that is still inflated to stop it turning
away and to stabilise it, until the glider flies
straight ahead again. With large asymmetric
collapses, it is important to counter-steer
carefully so that the glider does not stall
completely and go into a full stall.
The part of the glider which has collapsed
generally re-inflates automatically but this
can be assisted by applying light brake
pressure on the collapsed side (but not
hectic “pumping”) while counter-steering on
