Okay, i've never written a suggestion before, but there are some things that i think folks should know that it seems they don't about buying a paraglider off the 'net...

I've owned some fifty paragliders and a ridged wing or two. I currently have seven... i think. and a couple of motors and a trike. as well as an old Eipper delta... I took my first flight more than a decade and a half ago. So i know a few things about jumping off the barn with a bedsheet! (My first paraglider was a converted 1986 nine-cell para-comander and a french diaper harness...)

I'm a USHGA licensed pilot with experience in cliff launching, tow launching, ridge sauring, cross country, powered paragliders, & maneuvers and  i've felt the PuCkEr once or twice.

A good general tip is to do your research before you buy some three hundred dollar wing off the 'net without any questions. Questions are a must. The reason for this yarn is to give you a list of questions to ask.

Paragliders have a rather limited lifespan that is measured in UV (ultra-violet) hours. Most gliders built before '99 only have an expected lifespan of about 100 hrs. while our fancy newer wings can have over five or six times that if taken care of properly.

Though, some wings can be a year or two old and have several hundred hours. What determines the quality of the paraglider is the UV age, perossity, general condition and it's main use over it's lifetime.

A paraglider that was purchased last year can have over two hundred hours and if it's been used for tow launching it has had the extreme stress of the towing several times a day since new. Not to mention that it's probably gotten wet a few times due to the fact that most towing is done with a boat. Towing stresses the ripstop porcher marine fabric most gliders are made of (There are several materials used by the differant manufacturers.) and it can lose it's perossity up to ten times faster than a slope launched wing. The other factor is the stress on the lines and battens, towing can actually stretch the kevlar or Dyneema lines of the glider and it will lose it's eliptical balance. Also, a towed-up wing has lead a rather dynamic life due to having been put through extreme over-the-water maneuvers that a sauring pilot won't try. Of course, these are extreme descriptions, but all are real factors you should consider when shopping for your first wing or your tenth. The point is that one pilot might take extremely good care of his gear and the next guy might go through a wing a summer.

I mentioned the "perossity" of the porcher marine nylon fabric earlier... This basically means how well the fabric breathes. (The less air that passes through the fabric the better.)  A perossity check can be made by any reputable glider sales outlet, or by the manufacturer. A nice crispy feel is a good indicator of low perossity.

When asking your questions you should always ask for the wing's last perossity test date and the results. You'll get the last dated test results with the wing, providing the owner kept his paperwork. ( Sometimes there will be a stamp on the wing near the identification plaque showing it's current inspection info.)

Another thing you should know is the history and main use of the wing. Was it a school wing? (Dude... you don't want that one!)  Has it been used by a trainee pilot? (P-1's are usually pretty tough on the gear.) Has it been used in mountain tundra or on a beach? (Grass is best, sand will harm the nylon.) Was it used with a motor? (Exposed to strange, multiple launche sites and oils & fuels often, but probably well cared for..) All these things have their factors on the wing's expected condition.

Now! This one's my pet peeve... I've seen some folks selling high performance aerobatic aircraft to a stupid kid from the midwest with absolutely no knowledge of the sport or the equipment, knowing full well he's going to go jump off a cliff with it tied to his back! For cripes sake, gentlemen! We can't have this going on!

NEVER sell a paraglider or the related equipment to an unlicensed pilot under any circumstances. You can ask for his USHGA license number and verify it on the ushga website. Or you might get the old "I'm gonna go get lessons as soon as i get some gear!" story... I don't think so. Ask him by who and fallow it up with an e-mail or phonecall to his instructor. It's someone's life and it's worth more than the few bucks you're looking at getting out of him. (Yes, even if he's an idiot.)

And with that off my chest, here's why:

Paragliders have differant uses just like any other aircraft. You wouldn't want your sister flying away in an F-22 raptor, but maybe a piper cub J3. There are aerobatic wings that are made for tumbling, S.A.T.'s and misty flips... and there are gliders that simply aren't capable of these things. Lett's take the Gin Bolero+M for instance as apposed to, lett's say, an UP Katana2: The Bolero is considered a really well behaved wing that basically flies itself. You can have a full on assymetric deflation up to 70% on one side and the wing will return to normal flight within half a turn without any pilot input at all. It's amazing! i've personally put one into a high speed dive streight into a full-on McTwist/helicoptor and it flew out before i could get to my reserve handle! (BTW: Don't stuff the brake while doing assymetric spiral dives...)

If you should find yourself flying the Katana for some reason... perhaps you've been chased to a cliffside by crazed gunmen and all you have is the Katana. Try hiding somewhere first, but If you do end up in the air in this thing, and get into a bad situation, you'll have about ten seconds to wish you had looked harder for that hiding place! A high performance wing, Once it's taken a collapse, will not return to normal flight in time to save your butt in most cases. You can actually lose a couple of thousand feet before then and should you get locked into the dreaded "death spiral" (Named this for a reason...) you're toast. This cannot be recovered from by anyone but the best of the best. (Oh, yeah... a late model reserve chute sized for your weight range should be considered indisposable!)

The folks who determin what a wing's use should be is called the DHV. This is a German testing facility that puts the glider through a miriad of purposfully intended situations to determin it's reaction to the given input or any lack thereof. A DHV test pilot will be towed up to a few thousand feet, put the glider into an induced deflation or dive etc. and guage it's reactions. After the wing's run their gauntlet it's given it's DHV rating. There are three main ratings, 1,2 and 3. A DHV 1 is considered to be the safest, most reliable and slowest wing and will be flown by most newer pilots. At least for the first few years of your career. and, unless you're into competition, a DHV-1 should be your choice throughout your entire career as a pilot. The 2 and 3 are intermediate and advanced wings respectively, built for speed and high-end maneuvers and should never be flown by a novice pilot. Though, it will impress your friends whenever they remember the day you died... horribly.

The questions you should ask when looking at a used paraglider are:

What's the DHV rating?

What are the total UV hours?

When was it's last inspection and perossity test?

Age and year of manufacture?

What was the wing used for?

Where was it mainly used?

Who was the pilot?


Want fries with that?

Dude, Can i date your sister?

The equipment you choose will mean the differance between life and death. There are no two ways about it. You can get killed.

Remember, it's your life (And maybe mine.) you're messing with. It's not a game. These are certified aircraft recognised by the federal aviation administration as an ultralight vehicle and they're capable of reaching altitudes of ten thousand feet and far beyond. You'll be flying the cutting adge state of the art in private aircraft. and make no mistake, you will be a real pilot in charge of a real aircraft sauring amongst the real clouds.

Make informed, well researched descisions and you'll be welcome to fly with me any time. If you go to the local flying site and pull out a pro wing and start tooling about, someone will see your ignorance and you'll get busted. (I know 'cause i got nailed the first time i tried it and i had been flying for three years!) You can't fool a seasoned pilot. It's like trying to convince Chuck Yeager you're a flyer... You'll just look stupid.

There are training instructors in almost every u.s. state and the cost is a huge bargain for what you'll take away. I know paragliding looks simple, and it is... but there are elements that you can't see with the human eye that can only be taught and learned under controlled conditions. You're going to need these tidbits of information sooner or later.

So... Now you know the basics. You'll be able to make a reasonably concise discision when you find a glider you think you'll buy and hopefully enjoy for years to come.

Thanks for reading and i hope to see you at 5000 agl in a soft, wide thermal someday.



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Fly safe!

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