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consequence of attempting to fly with too
high angle of attack.
In more detail we differ between three
different forms of stall.
BEWARE!
Spin and full stall are both
dangerous and somewhat unpredictable
manoeuvres. Do not stall or spin your
paraglider on purpose. However it is very
important to learn how to recognize the
symptoms of a glider about to stall or spin
so that you can take correct action to
avoid it happening.
Deep Stall
The UP Trango XC³ has no inherent
tendency towards deep stall. It will recover
from a deep stall brought about by over-
braking, by pulling on the rear risers, or by
releasing the B-risers too slowly after a B-
stall, on its own without any pilot input as
soon as the brakes or the risers are
released.
Should you however find yourself in a
deep stall (as described above, this could
happen through flying too light on the wing
and pulling big ears) the situation can be
rectified by simultaneously pushing both
A-risers forward until the glider resumes
normal flight. Avoid applying brake to one
side if you think that you are in a deep
stall as this could lead to a spin.
Always
remember
that
practising
manoeuvres where you fly close to
minimum airspeed must only be carried
out under professional supervision and
with plenty of altitude.
Full stall
Wilfully induced full stalls remains the
realm of the true experts of our sport.
The full stall is when there is no more
laminar airflow along the surface of the
canopy, and the wing has gone from being
a wing to being just a bunch of
material at the end of some lines.
Once the airspeed has been reduced
to below the minimum speed for the
canopy the wing will stall. To the pilot it
feels like dropping backwards, not
unlike the sensation felt when a jester
removes your chair from under you
when you sit down. In this phase it is
important to avoid releasing the brakes
again,
as
this
may
lead
to
uncontrollable shooting forward of the
canopy. In extreme cases pilots have
fallen into the canopy through poorly
timed full stall releases.
In the next phase the canopy stabilises
somewhat above the pilot again. The
wing tips will often tend to try to re-
inflate quite violently, and it requires
considerable force to maintain the
wing in the stalled configuration.
It is important to stabilise the wing
above the pilots' head before releasing
the brake lines. The pilot accomplishes
this by slowly releasing the brakes until
the wing is all but re-inflated across the
entire span. In this phase the wing will
be moving somewhat along the cross
axis. The pilot attempts to release the
last bit of brake input as the wing is
surged forward
– this will cause the
wing to resume flight with the least
possible diving tendency. Pilots should
note that timing the release wrongly
may cause the wing to dive quite
aggressively and be prepared to catch
the dive.
Test pilots have also tested the
asymmetric release of full stalls on the
Trango XC³. This manoeuvre is ONLY
for reference and should not be
emulated by owners.
CAREFUL!
The approach
of the minimum speed is
recognised through the
