We all know that the less porous our canopy fabric is, the better. It is important that our wing stays pressurised, and cloth that leaks air will reduce that pressure. But is it equally important all over the wing, on the bottom and on the top surface? The proper maintenance [...]
In the workshop, we see all sorts of damage that wings suffer, ranging from the very minor through to extensive damage. So far, we’ve been able to find an economic option for everything that’s come in, despite some pilots’ concerns that their wing might be a write-off. But what are [...]
Last week on a short cross country flight, I was heading away from my climb towards the edge of the cloud when I hit very strong lift that took me by surprise and into the cloud briefly before emerging into clear air. It prompted me to share some personal reflections [...]
The risk of suffering a deep stall has featured in SkyWings Airmail in recent months. In March, Nigel Page observed that “porosity and line shrinkage can both make a wing more prone to deep stall”. So how serious a risk are these two factors to our flying safety? There are [...]
The lines of our paragliders have loops at each end to connect the maillon, to other lines or to the line tab on the canopy. But how are the loops made, and is there anything we should look out for? In the early days of paragliding all lines used were [...]
There was a safety incident reported in SkyWings last month where a paraglider service workshop had failed to attach a segment of the brake cascade. Clearly that’s a mistake that should not have happened, but how do we minimise the risk that mistakes are made in the preparation and checking [...]
I’ve focussed before on line strength and line length, both of which are critical to the safety and performance of our gliders. But what are the practical steps we should take to make sure our lines remain up to the job? It used to be assumed more widely than it [...]
Emergency parachute systems Last month we looked at the different types of reserves and factors to bear in mind to make sure they give good service. But how long can we reasonably expect to have full confidence in a piece of equipment on which we may have to rely to [...]
Time to think about repacking your reserve If you only take one thing away from this article (as well as seasonal best wishes from Aerofix) please let it be a new year resolution to get your reserve repacked. So why it that so important? It’s a tough life for a [...]
