The A/C Launch

 

Lifting a paraglider in stronger winds can be difficult, because of the great amount of force that the wing generates.   Also, the glider has a very rapid ascent as a result. The paraglider can ascend so fast that when you pull the brakes to stabilize it, it can lift you into the air (commonly call “launched”). In some scenarios, aborting with the brakes might not be safe because how high the wing pops you into the air.  Flying in stronger winds should be done with caution and this is a skill that takes a gradual approach.

One solution to the rapid glider ascent is the A/C launch. This launch is called this because the wing is lifted with one hand on the A risers and the 2nd hand managing the C risers to slow the wing’s ascent during a high wind pull up. After getting proficient at lifting the wing using the standard method, this variation can be learned almost instantly. The trade off is that you lose the ability to symmetrically lift the A risers as you can with the standard preset hands technique. If you have solid kiting ability, it is easy to center the wing after checking up the wings ascent. After checking the wing with the pull of the C risers, you release them and go to normal kiting mode with the brakes.

The technique is also useful in lighter winds. In winds from 3 – 5 MPH, wings often slingshot from mid-way up to past overhead. Properly timed brake application can deal with this well, but the feel of using the Cs to check the wing is preferred by many.

It is also possible to steer the wing by scissoring the A and C risers left and right, but it is not nearly as easy to steer this way as using the brakes. Because of this, I prefer to teach using the A/C as a “lift and check” technique and after this, to just go to normal brake kiting.

If there is a bit of cross wind, you will not be able to lift the downwind wing extra asymmetrically (in slightly cross winds, it help to lift the downwind wing first to help the wing come up balanced overhead). Instead, just move a little to the upwind side of center and this will help the downwind wing start up a little quicker. This also works on slopes where one side of the wing is lower on the hill. In such a case, just move a little to the side of the uphill wing to help the lower part of the wing raise first.

The benefits of the A/C launch include the following:

• Greatly reduced lift is created during the check when using the C riser. Checking with the brakes the wing is much more likely to yank into the air while a thermal or gust is hitting the launch.

• During a check with the C risers, the wing remains more stationary overhead. When you have to do a strong check with the brakes, the wing falls back further and if you release the brakes too quickly after this, the wing will surge. With the C riser check, the wing is not creating near as much lift as the same check would result in with the brakes.

• For aborting, the C riser strong pull is the best way to abort a launch. If you do get lifted into the air while doing an A/C, pulling the C risers hard and full will be much better than burying the brakes to achieve an abort.TECHNIQUEThe brakes are set up and held in the same way as you do with preset hands, how it differs is that only one hand lifts the A risers. The benefit of this is that the second hand can grasp the C riser and use it to stop and slow the wing down during and at the end of the ascent.
  

  Brakes are in normal “preset” position, both A risers go in left hand and both C risers go into right hand.  I used to teach this with the As in the right hand and the Cs in the left – this picture is from that period.   New pictures will be updated shortly.

  

  Use the C risers in one hand on any glider that has a riser system with the full 4 riser set. On a 3 riser system (with a combo C/D), use the rear riser / C riser.

  Lift the wing with as much A as is deemed necessary for wing ascent. The technique varies in method in different conditions and some wings like slightly different method.

  In light (3-5) winds – Use the “Lift and Check” method:

  Leave the C riser slack as you begin the ascents. When the wing is half way or a bit more up, pull enough C riser to check the wing up overhead. This will be about 5 inches for a wing not ascending super fast, to 10 inches if the wing is shooting up super fast.  If for some reason the wing comes up crooked, you can use pull the C riser strongly to kill the wing and abort.

  In moderate (6-10) winds – You can use either, but Lift and Check is better in the lighter end of this range:

  For more moderately strong winds, you can smoothly pull the Cs as the wing ascends at about 50% of the way up. The biggest benefit is that instead of having to pull hard on the brakes to stop the wing from over-flying you (this often results in the pilot getting yanked violently into the air), you can pull 5 – 8 or so inches of C riser to manage how fast the wing comes overhead. The key is to learn to adjust how much C riser to pull as the wings ascent speed dictates. Click the below image for a video that shows the whole process in slow motion, then at full speed.

  In strong (11 +) winds – Use the “Slow and Release” method:

  Use about 3″ pull on the Cs while lifting to slow the ascent from the beginning. The slight pull on this will slow the wings ascent and eliminate the wings power and surge off the ground. As the wing ascends you can adjust the pace by how much C you pull. If the wing is coming up too slow, just let off a bit of C or lean a little more into the As. If the wing is coming up too fast, just pull a little more C. Once the wing is about 75 – 80% overhead, you can let go of the As and Cs and the high wind surge will already have been controlled. Wings will vary, but once you get this one down, your high wind launches will have far less stress.

  At this point, the C risers are pulled about 2 – 3inches.

  If the wings ascent slows too much, let up on the C risers.

  If the wing continues to ascend, pull a little more C riser.

  

  Click Picture above for Video of an A/C launch.

Above – Slow and Release Version of the A/C launch.

• It happens pretty quick, watch for quick pull of left hand.It is best to experiment with this technique in moderate winds at first. Practice how much C to pull and when to release. Once the wing has climbed overhead, simply release the C riser and go to the brakes to center the wing. If the wing is off to the side, centering is not difficult because of the higher winds.

How Body Positions Control Wing’s Direction as it ascends:

If the wind is slightly cross to the launch, since you cannot lift either side of the wing while doing A/C technique, you can adjust this with where you center yourself to the wing.   For example, if your body is centered slightly to the left of center, the right side of the wing will tend to come up first and the wing will end up slightly on your left after its ascent.  If the wind a bit cross from your left, it would be beneficial to be offset a little to the left to help the downwind wing come up first.   With cross winds, getting the wing to balance is always helped by lifting the downwind wing a little earlier.   Remember, if the wing comes up crooked, an abort is the best way to hedge your bets.   To abort, just pull the Cs firmly and you will kill the wing and its power quickly.

Whichever direction you turn (to the left or right), it is good to be slightly on the side you turn to.  The reason for this is that the risers will be easier to get around on the turn side.   For example:  If you turn to the left and the wing is slightly on the right after its ascent, it forces the pilot to duck more and or lean a little to the right during the turn to the left.   On top of this, the turn involves a slight move of the body in the opposite direction from the wing.   This can make the offset worse.

When the wing is just a little left of center when the turn happens, it is easier to rotate around the risers and the turn itself will help move the pilot more under the wing.  Practicing with some offsets will teach you how much to use and how much effect this will have with the wing.