DO NOT USE OTHER’S EQUIPMENTS!!!!

 

You are always told that ‘’DO NOT USE OTHER’S EQUIPMENTS’’. Well, I was never told that when I started paragliding.
Two years before, I went to a trip to Bir, it was raining there when I reached. After 2-3 days the weather cleared and was suitable for flying. I went on the site and saw that it was too windy for me, resulting; I had to sit, observing others fly. My friend Ram, from manali, gave me a lot of information about that site. He wanted to fly but he didn’t get his glider, so I gave him my glider to fly as he was in that weight range. I never knew that he changed the settings of my harness.
The very next day, the weather was good for flying. I opened my glider, pined up my harness, and was ready for a flight. I picked my glider up and felt that I had no feeling on my glider, I thought it may be because of the extra weight that I am carrying in my harness to equalize my weight. I pushed myself off the ridge and leaned forward everything was normal. But when I tried to sit in my harness, it took me back with it. I got damn scared!!! I was not getting the judgment of my brake lines nor could I see the landing area. I don’t what happened but I got a strike in my mind and tried for weight shift though I never practiced for it any time, a picture of a biker came in my mind while doing weight shifting to sharpen his turns. While doing this I made a judgment of landing, the mountain was too high so I could take as much time I wanted. At last I landed down safely, in the landing area, without any damage to myself and my glider.
That day I learned a lesson, never use other’s gliders and don’t let anyone use yours.
PLEASE NOTE: IT MAY RESULT MORE DANGEROUS, OTHER THAN JUST A LESSON.

Equipment maintenance.……………..

We all do respect our equipments, but I feel, we should again recall its maintenance. This knowledge is mostly given in a beginner book.
The proper maintenance of our equipment is critical to maintenance airworthiness. Taking a few simple precautions we can significantly extend the life of our canopy.
• Do not expose your canopy to more sunlight. Keep the paraglider in the bag until you are ready to fly and pack it up as soon as you can after flying.
• Do not expose your canopy in excess of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not store your canopy in your car, or in your trunk, or in the bed of a truck. Extreme temperature can also degrade the rubber bands used for the proper deployment of your reserve parachute.
• Never use a knot to tie a broken line together. It changes the line length appreciably and reduces the breaking strength significantly.
• Keep your paragliders dry. Paragliders are flight certified while dry & a wet glider may behave quite differently. If the canopy gets wet, dry it in the shade or indoors. Do not sore it packed up wet since it may weaken the fibers. If your paraglider gets wet in the ocean, you must flush the salt water out of the paraglider thoroughly, and then dry it thoroughly before packing it up. Crystallized salt may abrade and weaken your lines, and therefore the lines may need to be replaced if soaked in salt water.
• Avoid washing your paraglider with any soap or detergent; it is normally best to only use water. If dirt gets ingrained in the fabric then a mild non-abrasive detergent may be used with a soft sponge. Never scrub the canopy with anything other than a soft sponge or cloth as you may damage the lightweight fabric and the UV coating.
• Do not make any attempt to repair the glider yourself. All repairs should be done by a qualified repair technician. An exception to this rule is small tears in the fabric that are not located on high-stress areas may be repaired with special self-adhesive rip-stop nylon sail repair tape. Do not walk on or kink the lines.
• Avoid dragging the canopy along the ground.
• Do not pack up the canopy on hard surface with objects that could cause puncture damage (rocks, sticks, thorns, etc.).
• When storing your glider for extended periods, loosen the ties to reduce the stress on the fabric and allow better air circulation.

(Reference- PARAGLIDING: A Pilot’s Training Manual)