Anyone try paragliding?

tuttie wrote:

I used to teach paragliding and have some not-so-positive opinions on
the subject...
....
If you fly in laminar air--say at the beach--where there is no thermal

On hot summer days, the sky above the Swiss Alps is literally filled
with paragliders. Summer days over mountains... not exactly what you
would call a no-thermal situation. Despite, there are very few
accidents, in fact, there are even years without any accident at all.
Modern equipment is very safe, if it is well maintained. Paragliding is
very safe, if done carefully.

Stefan

I was witness to a paragliding accident in which an expert parachutist
(over 1000 jumps) died. The winds were about 5mph right about sunset.
He experienced a wingtip deflation and spiraled in to slam his face on
a rock.

When I got to him he was attempting to breath and air was excaping
through his forehead. I gave him CPR for about an hour before the
paramedics arrived.

Now go tell the family of that young man that Paragliding is "safe" .

Sorry my friend, but if you think thermaling in the alps is "safe" you
may be dead wrong some day.

Antonio

Antoñio wrote:

Sorry my friend, but if you think thermaling in the alps is "safe" you
may be dead wrong some day.

Paragliding is not less safe than other aviation activities. There is
still a risk in everything you do, of course.

Stefan

In article .com, tuttie wrote:
1. You are under a wing that can and does collapse. In fact, in any
sort of thermally conditions you *will* experience a partial to full
deflation.

Really? The paragliding people around here go out and *soar* their
paragliders quite deliberately in thermal conditions. They get some
pretty good altitude gains too. Sometimes they make us glider pilots a
bit envious because they can launch straight into the lift. If we're
using the winch, if there's no lift in the immediate vicinity of the
airfield we are stuffed...

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"

I hope my contribution is not counter-productive, but I also have a friend who
was injured paragliding, and could easily have been killed. He hurt his back
in a hard landing, after a deflation - he lived , but won't be doing any more
sporting activities. What scares me about it is, according to his account of
the incident, there was a nothing he could have done to predict or prevent
this event, and b nothing he could do about it once he was caught in it.

This is different from aviation, where virtually everything that is likely to
befall us is the direct result of our actions, and we have, at least
theoretically a the possibility to preclude them from happening, and b the
possibility to recover from many situations, even after we have allowed
ourselves to get into them.

I have no business (or desire) in trying to scare someone away from something
that millions enjoy, and that I know little about - but that helplessness
doesn't sound like fun to me. I won't be joining you up there, even if the
open air must be exhilirating.

G Faris

Stefan wrote:
Anto=F1io wrote:

Sorry my friend, but if you think thermaling in the alps is "safe"
you
may be dead wrong some day.

Paragliding is not less safe than other aviation activities. There is

still a risk in everything you do, of course.


Interesting that this should come up today. I was watching a show
on TLC last night with a video shot from a paraglider that crashed. I
wasn't aware of their susceptability to turbulence. At the beginning,
the pilot and ground crew seemed concerned because the previous day
there had been turbulence that caused some scary moments. Right after
the pilot reported that conditions seemed better, he hit some
turbulence. It appeared that one side of the canopy collapse, sending
him into a hard spiral from which he could not recover. Eventually,
he had to cut away the canopy and deploy a reserve. He ended up
crashing into a tree. Funny part : Right after he told his buddy that
he was in a tree and would probably break his leg if he fell, the lines
gave way and down he went. He didn't break his leg.

Overall, I was surprised that the canopy could collapse so easily
because of turbulent air. I've skydived several times (similar
looking system) and have never heard about this. Here in Central AZ,
skydivers are always jumping, even when the 110F+ temps are creating
some nasty convective turbulence. What is it about paragliding that's
so different. All I've noticed is that the paraglider canopy looks
thinner and is often pointed at the ends.

Just wondering,

John Galban=3D=3D=3D=3D=3DN4BQ (PA28-180)

Greg Farris wrote:

the incident, there was a nothing he could have done to predict or prevent
this event,

I simply don't buy this. He made a mistake. Modern paragliders don't
"just collapse".

and b nothing he could do about it once he was caught in it.

If high enough, modern paragliders will recover, and if everything
fails, responsible paraglider pilots wear a security chute. If not high
enough, though... well, then you're in about the same situation as in a
low spin.

I don't know about the place you live, but where I live, there are
usually a lot more paragliders in the air than aircraft. Despite this,
at the end of each year, there are more dead aircraft pilots than dead
paraglider pilots. Of course, if you see die your best friend, you don't
care about statistics.

Stefan

Greg Farris wrote:

the incident, there was a nothing he could have done to predict or prevent

I simply don't buy this. He made a mistake. Modern paragliders don't
"just collapse". His mistake may have been as simple as flying in
unflyable conditions.

this event, and b nothing he could do about it once he was caught in it.

If high enough, modern paragliders will usually recover. and if
everything fails, responsible paraglider pilots wear a security chute.
If not high enough, though... well, then you're in about the same
situation as in a low spin.

I don't know about the place you live, but where I live, there are
usually a lot more paragliders in the air than aircraft. Despite this,
at the end of each year, there are more dead aircraft pilots than dead
paraglider pilots.

As I said, there is always some risk in every flying. And if you see die
your best friend, you don't care about statistics, of course.

Stefan

Yes. And if you had ever been in a paraglider yourself in a thermal
you would know that you often experience partial deflations. It is not
visible from the ground looking up, but it does happen and often.

Of course, some are trained enough to deal with partial
deflations..and some chutes are more resistant to them than others.

My statement stands though: If you thermal in a paraglider you *will*
experience deflations.

Antonio

The paraglider is not the same machine as a parachute, as you have
noticed. It has a higher aspect ratio (width to length ratio, for you
non-pilots) which gives it a greater glide ratio. Greater glide ratio
equates to greater instability in a paraglider. Instablility, in this
case, is the tendency of the paraglider to collapse under, for example,
the varying the front-to-back air pressures of thermal activity.

Paragliders are not designed to take terminal deployment -- that is, a
full-fall deployment. They are made of lighter materials in the sail
and lines. They can come apart at terminal velocities.

Paragliders have more cells to inflate and are not nearly as stable as
parachutes.
Once inflated, parachutes tend to stay inflated while paragliders do
not. Any small end-cell deflation in a paraglider can cause a
spiraling down condition. Unless the pilot is on the ball and shifts
pressures to the deflated side the spiral develops to a point where it
is unrecoverable. This happens in matter of seconds.

Finally, the shape and condition of the paraglider is critical. This
shape changes over time as the material wears and the lines stretch or
the fabric becomes more porous. The flight characteristics of a worn
paraglider can make it positively dangerous regardless of the
conditions.

Antonio