3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2 Jan - Apr 2 3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue | Page 17

The top of each line is attached to
small fabric loops sewn into the
structure of the wing, which are
generally arranged in rows running
span-wise (i.e., side to side). The
row of lines nearest the front are
known as the A lines, the next
row back the B lines, and so on. A
typical wing will have A, B, C and D
lines, but recently, there has been
a tendency to reduce the rows
of lines to three, or even two (and
experimentally to one), to reduce
drag.
Paraglider lines are usually made
from Dyneema/Spectra or Kevlar/
Aramid. Although they look rather
slender,
these
materials
are
immensely strong. For example,
a single 0.66 mm-diameter line
(about the thinnest used) can have a
breaking strength of 56 kg.
Paraglider wings typically have an
area of 20–35 square metres (220–
380 sq ft) with a span of 8–12 metres
(26–39 ft) and weigh 3–7 kilograms
(6.6–15.4 lb). Combined weight of
wing, harness, reserve, instruments,
helmet, etc. is around 12–22
kilograms (26–49 lb).
The glide ratio of paragliders ranges
from 9.3 for recreational wings to
about 11.3 for modern competition
Vol 4 | Issue 1 |Jan - Feb 2019
models, reaching in some cases up
to 13.For comparison, a typical sky-
diving parachute will achieve about
3:1 glide. A hang glider ranges
from 9.5 for recreational wings to
about 16.5 for modern competition
models. An idling (gliding) Cessna
152 light aircraft will achieve 9:1.
Some sailplanes can achieve a
glide ratio of up to 72:1.
The speed range of paragliders is
typically 20–75 kilometres per hour
(12–47 mph), from stall speed to
maximum speed. Beginner wings
will be in the lower part of this range,
high-performance wings in the
upper part of the range.
For storage and carrying, the wing is
usually folded into a stuffsack (bag),
which can then be stowed in a large
backpack along with the harness.
For pilots who may not want the
added weight or fuss of a backpack,
some modern harnesses include
the ability to turn the harness
inside out such that it becomes a
backpack.
Paragliders are unique among
human-carrying aircraft in being
easily portable. The complete
equipment packs into a rucksack
and can be carried easily on the
pilot’s back, in a car, or on public
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