3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2 Jan - Apr 2 3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue | Page 18

transport. In comparison with
other air sports, this substantially
simplifies travel to a suitable
takeoff spot, the selection of a
landing place and return travel.
Tandem paragliders, designed to
carry the pilot and one passenger,
are larger but otherwise similar.
They usually fly faster with higher
trim speeds, are more resistant
to collapse, and have a slightly
higher sink rate compared to solo
paragliders.
Harness
The pilot is loosely and comfortably
buckled into a harness, which offers
support in both the standing and
sitting positions. Most harnesses
have foam or airbag protectors
underneath the seat and behind
the back to reduce the impact
on failed launches or landings.
Modern harnesses are designed
to be as comfortable as a lounge
chair in the sitting or reclining
position.Many
harnesses
even
have
an
adjustable
“lumbar
support”.A reserve parachute is
also typically connected to a
paragliding harness.
Harnesses also vary according to
the need of the pilot, and thereby
come in a range of designs, mostly:
Training harness for beginners, Pax
harness for tandem passengers
that often also doubles as a training
18
harness, XC Harness for long
distance cross country flights,
All round harness for basic to
intermediate pilots, Pod harness,
which is for intermediate to pro
pilots that focus on XC. Acro
harnesses are special designs
for acrobatic pilots, Kids tandem
harnesses are also now available
with special child-proof locks.
Instruments
Most pilots use variometers, radios,
and, increasingly, GPS units when
flying.
Variometer
The main purpose of a variometer
is in helping a pilot find and stay in
the “core” of a thermal to maximise
height gain and, conversely, to
indicate when a pilot is in sinking
air and needs to find rising air.
Humans can sense the acceleration
when they first hit a thermal, but
cannot detect the difference
between constant rising air and
constant sinking air. Modern
variometers
are
capable
of
detecting rates of climb or sink
of 1 cm per second. A variometer
indicates climb rate (or sink-rate)
with short audio signals (beeps,
which increase in pitch and tempo
during ascent, and a droning
sound, which gets deeper as the
rate of descent increases) and/
or a visual display. It also shows
Vol 4 | Issue 1 |Jan - Feb 2019