Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 1: January 2014 | Page 21

Alain Zoller after a wet test flight.
OPPOSITE Preparing for the shock test.
LEFT

W

ho is Alain Zoller? Look up
the certification report for
just about any paraglider,
and it will most likely have his
name on it. If not, it will almost
certainly bear the name of his company, Air Turquoise, the world’s
largest paraglider certification
house in the world. Located in the
quiet Swiss village of Villenueve,
on the shore of Lake Geneva, Alain
Zoller has been test-piloting paragliders for 25 years. Air Turquoise
not only certifies paragliders (the
EN rating), but also harnesses and
reserve parachutes.
I first met Alain seven years ago
when I was vacationing with my
wife in her hometown of Montreux,
right next to Villenueve. Since I had
my paraglider with me, I thought it
would be great to take an SIV course
there. As fate would have it, I managed to get a private SIV with one of
Alain’s test pilots, Claud Thurneer—
probably the best test pilot in the
industry. At the time, I had no idea
what kind of company I was keeping. I subsequently was introduced
to Alain. Now, whenever I visit
Villenueve, Alain generously allows
me to tag along with the locals.
This past summer, I returned to
Montreux with a few paragliding
pals. I asked Alain if he would have
some time for an interview. He replied, “What are you doing tomorrow
morning? I’ll pick you up at the train
station at 8 a.m.” OK. We’re there.
Alain picked me up the next
morning and, after a short drive into

the middle of a cabbage field, stopped
the van. He and his wife, Randi,
hopped out to take a quick assessment of weather conditions: “Looks
good; no wind.”
We all piled out of the van, after
which Alain opened the back and
rolled out five brand-new gliders in
their stuff sacks. Randi explained
that they are in the process of doing
shock testing of these gliders and
asked if I would like to help.
Shock testing requires about five
people to hold a glider open on the
ground. The risers are connected
via a weak link, rated to one metric
ton, to a rope that is connected
to Alain’s van. Randi distributed
protective gear as she explained the
procedure and set up a video camera
to document the proceedings. After
“the staging” was set, Randi signaled Alain. Alain began driving
his van very fast down the dirt road
in the middle of the cabbage field.
WHACK! The rope went taut, the
glider surged; then, POP, the weak
link broke and chaos ensued.
Nothing can really prepare one
for what happens during a shock test.
It’s quick and violent, even difficult
to fathom. I was definitely appreciative of the protective helmet. (I might
have opted for a cup as well.) When
the weak link breaks at one ton of

force, the glider and the risers fly all
over the place. A glider passes this
test by not ripping to pieces, prior to
the weak link’s breaking.
After the shock test, the gliders are repacked and inspected for
damage before undergoing further
testing. We tested five gliders that
day. All of them passed. The next
day the gliders were scheduled to
undergo load testing, prior to their
test flights.
After a morning of trying to rip
apart gliders, Alain invited me back
to the shop for a tour and conversation. Alain has all the equipment and
space needed to conduct all sorts of
tests at the Air Turquoise shop. He
showed me his harness tester, which,
besides measuring impact force,
allows him to exert all types of force
on harnesses (again, basically trying
to rip them apart) as part of the testing procedure. Another machine on
the other end of the shop bends lines
back and forth thousands of times,
prior to being tested for breaking
strength. Even the lines have to be
tested for glider certification.
An entire wall in the shop is filled
with identical boxes, each labeled
with the name of a glider. Alain
explained that after testing has been
completed, the glider is packed, along
with a copy of all reports and video
footage of the tests conducted and its
specifications, and then stored for 11
years in a vault somewhere (like some
kind of super Swiss bank account?).
Alain stated that since manufacturers submit all testing information

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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