Testing, testing, comparison of paragliding reserve parachutes

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Testing, testing, comparison of paragliding reserve parachutes




by Christophe » 02/07/12, 13:17

Comparison of rescue parachutes (not very eco-friendly as a subject but interesting for neophytes of free flight) and completes this subject: https://www.econologie.com/forums/parapente- ... 11196.html published in Paragliding +

Comparison of paragliding or paramotor rescue parachutes

Read also this recent testimony of a Belgian pilot having made a rescue which could ... very badly end: http://www.parapentebelge.be/parapenteb ... 0anodin%20!

Help does not make us invulnerable!

In a cross-country course, Tuesday May 29, 2012 with Antoine (wind passenger monitor in Annecy) A slightly windy day from Montmin Passage via the Margeria, the Colombier, the Acluzat. The bulk of the group passed further north towards the Grand Arc while we are three pilots bypassing the tooth on the right to join the Grand Arc. (departure around 2200m). The crossing of the Albertville valley is a bit shaky. Arrived in the middle of the valley at the highway level, and in a fraction of a second, my sail plunges to the right, closes and immediately leaves in a twist. Propelled forward, my body finds itself horizontal; I am hung in the waders and in a rotation of an incredible speed. The completely twisted lines to the risers push my head forward. At 45 degrees in front of me, I have only one cloth left. I manage to launch the rescue which opens very quickly but whose lines come to wrap around those of the sail which is always in rotation. I have time to grab my microphone and say twice: Marcel, help! I go down like a stone. After a (very long) moment and still in auto-rotation (although braked by the rescue a little open), and without my understanding how, the rescue is released slowly and mirrors with my sail. I always go down as fast. Completely tilted forward and without the possibility of reaching the D, I grab the orders hanging in front of me and quickly wrap them around my hands. After an infinite time (being my position in the harness), I manage to make ten turns on each side and the sail comes back to me. Thierry Moreau guides me and encourages me on the radio. The rescue takes over and I start to descend vertically. Left with 1900 m of vacuum under me, I have at most 3 or 400 at this time. I go down to the highway interchange without being able to do anything. I have the choice between the river (the torrent), two lines of poplar along the river, the highway and all its access ramps and 3 ponds spread on either side of the river . I have just flown over several thousand hectares of meadows and cultivated fields and the only place where it is not good to land is under my feet. My sail drifts and pushes me towards the torrent (Isère). A few tens of meters from the ground, a new gale towards the poplars. At this moment, I see the medium voltage line which bars the river and which I will narrowly cross before crossing the torrent a few tens of meters high. The breeze blowing in the corridor of the river brings me back to the power line. At the moment of touching it, chance will want that at the last minute, a small squall pushes me towards a small island on the edge of a river that I will collide with feet together and legs bent. Violent contact at the level of the head which will leave me groggy for a few seconds (well, I believe because the other pilots will have found very long the time when Thierry calls me on the radio, to ask me if all is well.) After a few seconds (minutes), I can answer the radio to reassure everyone. I am on an island completely surrounded by water and it is a pebble that my head hit. My help, still swollen, pulls me back and (miracle) in the axis of the gravel pit. My paraglider is less than three meters from the torrent. I master it. Thierry announces to me on the radio that he is trying to land quickly to join me. A motorist who saw me descend is already there but cannot join me because of the water that separates us. I reassure him. The emergency services have been notified, but ultimately they will be canceled. Thierry joins me and then it's Guy who arrives (the shuttle). I repack as I can and it is in a meter of water (the dead arm which separates me from the shore) that I cross my material. When I measure my chance of being unharmed, the backlash arrives and I collapse a little: tight throat, trembling hands…. It is in a completely second state that we will return to Florimontane after having recovered all the other pilots who have landed in the meantime. Two hours dozing off to try to get back on track and then a light supper. The next day, I go back in cross with the others. After a first failed decoration in Montmin, I go back to Lanffont's teeth with the group. I quickly understood that I would not go very far. I have lost all my bearings, the slightest movement of my sail provokes disproportionate piloting reactions and I remain constantly "hung" at my controls. I decide to stop and announce my premature landing to the group. I returned to the fear of my paragliding beginnings. Very difficult moment after landing taking the measure of everything that needs to be rebuilt. My analysis. After discussion with the instructor, we evoke the possibility of a lack of reaction (tempo possibly). What I remember is that the extreme violence and the speed of the incident, never any SIV internship will allow me to manage it (I obviously speak only for myself). The twist (several turns) did not allow me any reaction. In this case, the Ds are obviously inaccessible and the tension in the lines does not allow to isolate one to pull the sail. I lost almost 1500 m during the time of the maneuver - what would have happened with less height? The rescue parachute risers, under the force of friction, have partially melted and will be replaced the next day. My major misfortune is obviously to have fallen in the only place to avoid in this immense valley. The miracle is the presence of this small island about thirty meters wide on which I land, the end of my sail being 2 or 3 meters from the water of the torrent. If I fall into the water, the violence of the river leaves me no chance. With 10 laps of hanger around my gloves, I will put (on dry land) long moments before being able to remove them. I would have been unable to reach a line cutter. The island on which I land is visible on Google (coordinates: 45 ° 34'06 .31 N; 6 ° 13 '14.87 E - village of Chamousset / Aiton). It seems that the cause of the incident was the crossing of a shear zone between valley breeze and weather wind. Two days later, in quieter weather conditions, we will fly to the Semenoz for more than three hours, not really relaxed but determined to fly. I had total confidence in my sail, confident in what the pilot training courses had taught me and convinced that the reserve parachute preserved me from everything in case or ..... We will have to face the facts: in paragliding, we will never master everything! Be careful !
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by Capt_Maloche » 02/07/12, 21:13

Yep,

it is clear that in this case there is little chance

the conditions of paragliders unacceptable for a paramotorist are essentially the cause of this type of accident

flying in uneven terrain is super tricky, I have no control at all, we must constantly anticipate the movement of air flows

Rich will be the one who will invent a pair of glasses capable of visualizing the movement of air masses
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