Discipline
Paragliding XC
What went wrong ?
Collapses while pushing a CCC glider close to the ridge.
A friend died. Quite a few others broke some bones. Many near miss. Their gliders were set to be the fastest on final glide within the 14cm allowed, which is also the least stable.
A friend died. Quite a few others broke some bones. Many near miss. Their gliders were set to be the fastest on final glide within the 14cm allowed, which is also the least stable.
What would you propose ?
Mandate a rule ecosystem that allows manufacturers to produce competitive and stable paraglider while on the bar.
see section "what do we want".
see section "what do we want".
Comments
Yes this is indeed a common case and an easy way to lose a friend nowadays. For this reason the sport is steering away from the mountains and task setting consider ridge with suspicion. The optimal speed on a Ridge race with nice lift will always be the maximal speed. I hope there is a way to achieve what Luc has in mind.
Luc I agree but even a collapse on B Wing at low altitude negates both reserves (that I am required to carry) and places me at extreme risk. Meanwhile we apply a penalty for 1m into the airspace at 4000m yet reward the guys who fly below reserve altitude. What are peoples thoughts on a Min altitude being applied of 50m AGL throughout a race that would permit a collapse and/or reserve at all times?
In reply to Luc I agree but even a… by christiaandurrant
Unfortunately scoring and penalties would be extremely complicated if not impossible if they must take height above ground into account. The data isn't accurate enough and it would be impossible to judge when a pilot is close to a vertical cliff.
Mmm... It make sense as a statement, but its application can be problematic.
On the one hand, someone can say that "being at 20m AGL at trim speed I am safer than 50m Full bar", and perhaps that is right.
Then, on some cliffs you are from 100m to 30 m for a second or two, to 100 m again... Is just the terrain that undulates underneath you...
We handle this by "eye" and it's ok, but if we where to apply a penalty for that "momentary bust" it would make things more complicated without increasing real safety...
On a textbook "geometrically perfect" ridge I see the point but in reality we rarely get these....