At the beginning of each flying day, you need to carefully inspect your glider and harness. In any form of flying, you never include assumptions in your checks. The checks are done to ensure your safety and that the paraglider is ready for flight.
The pre-flight of the paraglider wing is not the same as a reverse harness connection check. Every time you launch, you need to do the harness connection checks. During a training session, the wing is inspected at the start of the session or any time something occurs (lines snagged on a rock or root during a launch, wing dove into the ground,, etc.) that may have damaged the paraglider.
I break down the pre-flight routine into 4 sections – preparation/layout, lines, fabric, and hardware. It is imperative to inspect all of these during the preflight.. Order is not as important as making sure all four part of the checks are done.
- Preparation / Layout
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Spread the paraglider out in the normal fashion (on its back with lines upwind) for launching, but if there is light wind, you need not yet build the arch (you will do this as part of the pre-flight). If there is wind, you can build a wall to help clear the lines and make sure the stacking of the risers is correct. If there is light or no wind, arrange the risers so that the A-risers are on top and not twisted between the line and the carabiner. In the final phase, when everything is better sorted, you will check your riser stacking.
- If there is a wind and you have basic kiting skills, in addition to spreading the wing manually, you can kite the wing up high enough to stretch out all the lines and lay it down into a wall. This can be done with or without the harness connected, but again, this depends on your skill level. You can then visually make sure the lines are all contiguous and that there are no friction knots or debris (twigs) in the lines.
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- Lines
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Walk into the center of the lines. Look for any clusters that could form a cravat (bunch knot). Clear any twigs that are in this area. Check for any cut or frayed lines. When checking the lines, if they are sheathed, you look for any exposed white. The core of most lines is some form of polyester, and it is bright white. If a line has a cut sheath, the white will show you that the line needs to be replaced.
- Check all lines by looking for any severed or compromised lines. If the wing has sheathed lines, look for exposed white or off-white line cores that are exposed by the sheathing being cut. This includes the lines that are laid on top of the bottom surface as well as the lines that go down to the risers.
- Make sure to look at the lines where they meet the quick links at the top of the risers. Sheathing can get damaged frequently here if a brake line has been misdirected around a line. If a pilot has a routing issue with a brake line, this can saw through some of the sheathing. This is why we check the lines just above the quick links. Replace damaged lines before flying.
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- Fabric
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Circle the airfoil and inspect the wing for any signs of damage. Look at each of the following as you inspect the wing:
- If you are laying out at the launch spot (not staging), in light wind, arch the wing to ensure that the center will lift first. While arching or in, lift the leading edge and look as far back as you can see at the top surface of the wing. Look for any tears or seams that might be compromised. Another option for inspecting the top surface of the wing is to, after spreading the wing on its back, drag one side of the wing from the wing-tip on top of the other side. This is possible in very light winds and gives the pilot a better view of the top surface of the wing.
- Look at the bottom surface (with the glider laid out like this, it is facing up already). Look for any tears or compromised seams.
- The most common place to find cuts is near the leading edge. This is because during a landing, pilots can let the wing dive into the ground and rocks, sticks, or bushes can tear the wing as it dives, inflated into such. The ribs inside the wing need a look as well. If a wing ever dives forward directly into the ground, there is a bursting force in the cells, and sometimes the seams of the ribs can get compromised.
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- Hardware
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The final checks are the hardware connections at the paraglider’s risers.
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- Begin by checking the layering of the risers. At the beginning, you just made sure that the A-risers were on top. Now that the lines have been organized a bit, it will be easier to see that the risers are stacked correctly (As on top, next Bs, then Cs, Ds, and brake lines)
- Next, check each of the quick links. Make sure the gates are at least hand tight and that the line keepers are in place.
- Look at the stitching on the risers and make sure it all looks sound.
- The speed system is in good working order.
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Inspect the brake lines and pulleys. Make sure that the brake lines are not getting worn out and that the pulleys are functioning properly.
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Do not forget to check your harness for structure and integrity. Also, make sure you check your reserve system (pins are not pulled out!, speed bar is correctly routed and ready for flight, no damaged webbing etc.) before getting into the harness. For bunny hill flights, I tie the speed system lines off and do not connect the speed bar. This is because often, without the locked off speed bar, it can slip down and trip students during the many flights we do on the small hill.
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If you find anything in any of the above checks, you should repair it prior to flying. A slightly frayed line of sheathing might not be enough to prevent you from flying or training that day, but get it fixed as soon as possible. Fabric tears, seam problems, or any hardware issues should be repaired before flying. If any issue comes up along that you are not sure of, consult your instructor or local paragliding pro.
