Anyone try paragliding?

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

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)

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

Anto=F1io wrote:
The paraglider is not the same machine as a parachute, as you have
noticed.
snip

Thanks for the thorough explanation. I appreciate it!

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