Paraglider incident

[SkyMagilla 0]

Paragliding tandem canopy just up and rips clean in half, both flyers saved by two dual round reserve canopies. Yikes! Quick action by the pilot!

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=427_1419154570

[sundevil777 102]

Do paragliders have spanwise reinforcement tapes?

It appeared that canopy did not.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[kuai43 7]

That guy on Mt Everest at the end of the clip sure doesn't seem to be either one of the guys on the tandem.
Funny place for an ocean.

Every fight is a food fight if you're a cannibal

Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. - Anthony Burgess

[JohnMitchell 16]

Looking at the double chin on the passenger I think I know why the canopy ripped in half.

[jimjumper 25]

He'll be out to do a tandem next week!

[JohnMitchell 16]

jimjumper

He'll be out to do a tandem next week!

Our DZ's motto?

"If you have the money, you're under 220."

[gowlerk 2,198]

The Sun is hard on those things. But it's expensive to replace them when they get old, and the backup will probably save their asses. Business as usual.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[RiggerLee 61]

I counted three back ups and I'll bet they were still very glad to be landing in the water.

And in all fairness, he couldn't have G-loaded it harder if he tried.

Lee

Lee
lee@velocitysportswear.com
www.velocitysportswear.com

[obelixtim 150]

gowlerk

The Sun is hard on those things. But it's expensive to replace them when they get old, and the backup will probably save their asses. Business as usual.

Lesson for skydivers?. Never leave canopies lying in the sun if you are packing outdoors. Jump, then pack!!!......Before going for a coffee.

A blown canopy can be the first link in a chain of events that can end badly, if not for you, then the person who buys your second hand main.

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[normiss 801]

Even some basic gear maintenance should catch material issues.
Gear checks are important.
Gear inspection is as well.

I have a canopy at PD now replacing some sun worn panels.

Check your shit people.

[djerbist1 0]

It's expensive to replace them when they get old

Skydiving Lovers
http://www.skydivinglovers.com

[pchapman 279]

They were lucky the instructor deployed quickly.

Paragliding reserves are not intended for freefall speeds and are very lightweight if one looks at them. (They're designed for super fast inflation at the low end of the speed range too, e.g. by having a pulled down apex for a small inflated volume.)

So if you have a massive canopy failure that is beyond the normal 'spinning under a tangled up collapse', then one has to be fast in getting the emergency canopy out before the speed picks up too much -- and the instructor in the video was fast.

I'm not current any more in paragliding but recall the test standards were pretty low. The latest standards (CEN) seem to usually be for 40 m/s, about 90 mph. And that's the actual test speed, not a lower recommended speed. (In skydiving one typically never tests to under 180 knots or about 210 mph.)

(I'm guessing the guy might have been using two regular reserves instead of one big heavy tandem reserves for convenience, but as I said I'm not current so could be wrong.)

[DrDom 0]

I'm a better paraglider than skydiver...
Our canopies are made MUCH less sturdy than a parachute. Not designed to be deployed but only strong enough to get you airbourne. Remember that since we are ground launching that weight is very important. I know it is important in skydiving but we have to launch them ;)

So, the standards are much lower in terms of resistance to destruction (i.e. don't open them at terminal!).

On top of that, you may have about 5 minutes under canopy per jump, I could easily fly 3-4 hours on my paraglider wing. That UV light is devastating.

So I'm not surprised this happens on occasion, though good monitoring of hours, gear checks, and more appropriate flight would clearly have made this last longer.

As for reserves... round reserves on long bridles with no sliders. Designed to open fast and not designed for terminal. I fly PPG as well and we motor sometimes at treetop level... and could easily be deploying my reserve at that height. We just need it to open FAST. You land like a sack of bricks too, worse with a motor.

You are not the contents of your wallet.