Safety - usppa

and sudden wea
weather
her changes wh
whilee carry
carrying
ng on
life…consider
fe…cons der that
ha those
hose same even
eventss cou
couldd have
ddire
re consequences iff aairborne.
rborne
Get comfor
Ge
comfortable
ab e ca
calling
ng fflight
gh serv
service
ce on 800WX-BRIEF and telling
e ng them
hem your name
name, that
ha
you’re fflying
y ng an un
untralight
ra gh from (g
(give
ve your
location)
oca on) aat (g
(give
ve them
hem the
he time)
me) and wou
wouldd like
ke
weather
wea
her and NOTAMS ((too make sure there’s
here’s no
new res
restricted
r c ed aairspace
rspace inn your area
area.
Avoidd sstrong
Avo
rong w
winds.
nds If they
hey come up wh
whilee
fflying,
y ng unders
understand
and and respec
respect ro
rotor:
or the
he turbulent
urbu en
aairr that
ha sw
swirls
r s downw
downwind
nd of obs
obstructions.
ruc ons IIt can
completely
comp
e e y undo the
he order
orderlyy shape of a
paraglider.
parag
der
PROPerly
PROPer
y
The safes
safest way too sstart
ar your
motor
mo
or iss w
withh it on your back
back. If
it’s
’s a pu
pull-start,
-s ar try
ry too ge
get
somebody eelse
se pu
pull it for you
you.
If sstarting
ar ng it on the
he ground
ground,
check the
he throttle
hro e pos
position
on aat the
he
carburetor
carbure
or and assume the
he mo
motor
or
will go too fu
w
full power
power. Make sure
you’re ho
holding
d ng it by the
he frame
(not the
(no
he cage)
cage).
SSite
te
Pick
P
ck a w
wide
de open ssitee w
withh no cclose
ose
obstructions.
obs
ruc ons Avo
Avoidd fences and trees
rees inn the
he
departure/arrival
depar
ure arr va pa
pathh and be aware of ro
rotor.
or
Towing
Tow
ng
IIt’s
’s decep
deceptively
ve y ssimple
mp e looking
ook ng and surpr
surprisingly
s ng y
dangerous. Among oother
dangerous
her rrisks
sks iss “Lockou
“Lockout,”” a
phenomena that
ha qu
quickly
ck y renders the
he gglider
der
uncontrollable
uncon
ro ab e aat the
he hands of an inexperienced
nexper enced
ppilot
o or tow
ow opera
operator.
or Even w
withh exper
experience
ence there
here
iss eelevated
eva ed rrisk
sk and it shou
shouldd on
onlyy be done w
withh
the
he grea
greatest
es care
care. A number of ppilots
o s have been
crippled
cr
pp ed or worse wh
whilee ge
getting
ng towed
owed from
someone who iss no
not exper
experienced.
enced Tow on
onlyy w
withh a
certified
cer
f ed tow
ow opera
operator.
or
Water
Wa
e
ety
Safe
he
th
Going
Go
ng into
n o the
he wa
water,
er even sha
shallow
ow wa
water
er can
be ca
catastrophic.
as roph c Mov
Moving
ng wa
water
er w
will pu
pull the
he
ppilot
o under by dragg
dragging
ng the
he w
wing.
ng Escape iss
unlikely
un
ke y once the
he ppilot
o sstarts
ar s ge
getting
ng dragged
out too sea (or downs
ou
downstream)
ream) and the
he lines
nes can
quickly
qu
ck y fou
foul the
he ppilot’s
o ’s sw
swimming
mm ng mo
motion
on too.
oo
ety
Safe
he
th
ety
Safe
he
th
ety
Safe
he
th
ety
Safe
he
th
The p o o
h s w ng
escaped
n u y a e he
nadve an y ew
n o a ch d s k e ne
on he beach L ke
powe nes hese a e
essen a y nv s b e
Avo d ng ow y ng s
a ways he bes
p even on
Be leery
eery of letting
e ng go of the
he brakes when ge
getting
ng
into
n o the
he sea
seat (or any oother
her time),
me) they
hey can ge
get
caught inn the
caugh
he prop on some mach
machines
nes wh
which
ch
couldd wrap the
cou
he w
wing
ng aall the
he way down too the
he
motor.
mo
or
Stall
Sta
Adding
Add
ng power too a parag
paraglider
der increases
ncreases the
he
chances for a sstall
a because of the
he low
ow thrust
hrus line.
ne
Rehearse wha
what too do iff the
he w
wing
ng goes back
back:
”hands up
up, power down
down.””
ety
Safe
he
th
ety
Safe
he
th
ety
Safe
he
th
ety
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he
th
ety
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he
th
ety
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he
th
ety
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he
th
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he
th
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th
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th
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th
USPPA
Here iss a gu
guide
de to
Minimize Risk
ety
Safe
he
th
ety
Safe
he
th
Paid
Pa
d for,
o in
n pa
part, by the
he Pa
ParaStars
aS a PPG C
Club
ub
in
n memo
memoryy o
of Dave Rob
Robicaux,
cau and by
UltraFlight
U
aF gh Maga
Magazine.
ne Fo
For mo
more
e information
n o ma on
on Powe
Powered
ed Pa
Paragliding,
ag d ng p
please
ea e vvisit
www.USPPA.org
www
USPPA o g
It’s poss
possibly
b y the
Safest way to ffly,y,
but it’s
t’s st
still Flying.
ety
Safe
he
th
ety
Safe
he
th
Never reach back wh
whilee inn fflight,
gh
the
he ne
netting
ng iss no
not intended
n ended too
keep hands ou
out of the
he prop
prop...only
on y
lines.
nes And even that
ha isn’t
sn’ a sure thing.
h ng
Another
Ano
her comp
complication
ca on of power iss that
ha mos
most mo
motors
ors
want too turn
wan
urn inn a cer
certain
a n ddirection
rec on due too torque.
orque IIt iss
rrisky
sky too use brakes too coun
counteract
erac this
h s turn.
urn A better
be er
practice
prac
ce iss too pplan
an turns
urns inn the
he same ddirection
rec on as
torque.
orque Turn
Turning
ng hard aga
against
ns the
he ddirection
rec on the
he mo
motor
or
naturally
na
ura y pu
pullss can lead
ead too a sp
spin.
n
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for the
Paramotor P
Pilot
ot
United
Un
ted States
Powered
Paragliding
Parag
d ng
Association
Assoc
at on
Copyright
Copy
gh 2003 © USPPA
USPPA, Inc.
nc
PPG
owered Paragliders (PPG or
paramotors) have the potential to be
the safest way into flight. The primary
reasons are their low speed and inherent
stability.
Safety
Contrary to what many fear (equipment failure,
wing collapse, gust fronts, etc), the vast
majority of the most serious accidents have
been caused by pilots flying perfectly good craft
into something other than their landing zone.
Fortunately these accidents are easily
preventable by following some simple
guidelines which we present here.
First off, get good instruction from a thorough,
certified PPG instructor. This will provide a
basis for understanding paraglider flight, safety,
equipment choices, rules, airspace and how to
practically apply the knowledge.
This list goes in order of severity and
commonness. It represents a wealth of
experience by the paramotor community in
terms of what types of operations have proven
risky.
One principal that must be understood is that of
energy and injury. The more energy (speed) the
worse the injury. And the
difference is dramatic. A 28
mph collision carries four
times the injury potential as
does one at 14 mph. That's
huge! And it's enough to
turn a minor bruiser into a
fatality. Those speeds are
mentioned because most of
our wings fly about 21 mph.
The above example is the difference between
hitting something going upwind or hitting
something going downwind with only a 7 mph
wind.
Low Flying
Almost everything bad happens while flying
low. Obviously every flight begins and ends on
the ground but if a pilot climbs up to at least
200’ after takeoff, most
risk is avoided.
Even at slow speeds the
chances for a wire strike
still exists, but not if
you’re criusing well above
the highest wires. Note that
in most wire strikes it is
the ensuing fall that has
caused the most injury
although electrocution is
certainly possible. At the
voltages found on even
low wires, wing and lines
can be conductive. Pilots have been electrocuted
retrieving their gear...the power MUST be shut off
by the power company to avoid this risk.
In nearly all wire strike accidents the pilot was
flying a familiar area and just didn't see the lines.
They are essentially invisible. Whenever crossing
over power lines, do so over the poles, at an angle,
and at least twice their height.
If you MUST...
Some can't resist the allure of the low. If you must,
here are some tips that help reduce the risk.
Avoid flying downwind while low. Any
miscalculation, unexpected obstruction, or motor
failure will yield far more injury and damage. The
speed difference between flying low downwind or
upwind can easily be the difference between an
inconvenience and serious injury or worse. To make
matters worse, the higher ground speed means
much less time to notice and react to an obstruction.
An insidious risk lurks too..it is a powerful illusion
relating to the increased ground track radius of a
downwind turn. This illusion, sometimes called the
“downwind demon”, occurs because the pilot
perceives the low turning rate on the ground and
pulls more brakes to make it look “normal”.
Unfortunately, before realizing it, they’ve put
themselves in a steep turn and crash out of the
resulting steep bank at high speed. Climb to and fly
at least 200’ while going downwind to avoid this
illusion and it’s attendant risks.
Steep Maneuvering
It’s usually gradual. A new pilot’s early flying is all
mellow as he gains confidence and builds mastery
of the machine. But then banks get more “weighty”
and little turns morph into wingovers. Before long
the steep turns occasionally let the pilot get “light
on his lines” as each crest is reached.
At and beyond this point the risk of a serious
accident goes up dramatically. Doing the
maneuvers close to the ground makes the risk
skyrocket: these accidents are rarely forgiving.
The single highest risk of a fatal accident in a PPG
is while performing steep maneuvering or
aerobatics low to the ground! This is known from
past experience.
Watch This!
An interesting observation is that nearly half of all
fatal accidents have occurred with spectators
present. Resist the temptation to push the limits
when flying in front of
or with others. Flying
while somebody
videotapes has a
similar effect - it tends
to make the pilots
push their limits.
Weather &
Turbulence
Mother Nature
inspires many accidents. There are, however, some
easy steps to minimize her influence:
Avoid flying mid-day when thermal induced
turbulence can easily overcome your ability to
climb or control the craft.
Fly in the morning within three hours of sunrise or
within three hours of sunset.
Don’t fly anywhere near fronts, thunderstorms,
virga, or even big billowy cumulous clouds.
Things can change amazingly quickly in such
conditions.
Check the weather to be sure there is no significant
change expected. You’ve probably felt gust fronts