Paragliding World

The paraglider wing, also known as canopy, is recognized in aeronautical engineering as a ram-air airfoil, or parafoil (a kind of nonrigid airfoil with an aerodynamic cell structure which is inflated by the wind). Such wings comprise two layers of fabric which are connected to internal supporting material in such a way as to form a row of cells. By leaving most of the cells open only at the leading edge, incoming air (ram-air pressure) keeps the wing inflated, thus maintaining its shape. When inflated, the wing's cross-section has the classic teardrop aerofoil shape.

It is a worth mentioning moment that in a modern paraglider (from the 90's) the leading edge of a paragliding wing is in fact generaly closed and so does not rely on 'ram air' during flight, rather it is the flow of air past the outside surface surface of the wing:- See Bernoulli. that due to the difference in static pressure inside/outside of the wing membrane gives rigidity to a paraglider in flight.

As you may have already seen, the pilot is supported underneath the wing by a network of lines. The lines are collected into two sets as left and right risers. The risers collect the lines in rows from front to back in either 3 or 4 rows, distributing load as in a whippletree. The risers are connected to the pilot's harness by two carabiners.

As a rule, paraglider wings have an area of 20-35 m² with a span of 8–12 m, and weigh 3–7 kg. Combined weight of wing, harness, reserve, instruments, helmet, etc. is around 12–18 kg. The glide ratio of paragliders ranges from 8:1 for recreational wings, to about 11:1 for modern competition models. For comparison, a typical skydiving parachute will achieve about 3:1 glide. A hang glider will achieve about 15:1 glide. An idling (gliding) Cessna 152 will achieve 9:1. Some sailplanes can achieve a glide ratio of up to 60:1.

The speed range of paragliders is usually 20–60 km/h (12-34 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. The range for safe flying will be somewhat smaller.

Today's paraglider wings are made of high-performance non-porous fabrics such as Skytex (Porcher Sport) & Gelvenor, with Dyneema/Spectra or Kevlar/Aramid lines. For storage and carrying, the wing is usually folded into a rucksack (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, the harness itself can be used to carry the wing, though this is less comfortable, and thus less favorable for longer hikes. In this case the wing (within the rucksack) is buckled into the harness seat, which is then slung over the shoulders. Recent developments in light-weight harness design include the ability to turn the harness inside out such that it becomes the backpack, thus removing the need for a second storage system.

Tandem paragliders, created to carry the pilot and one passenger, are larger but otherwise analogous. They typically fly faster with higher trim speeds, are more resistant to collapse, and have a slightly higher sink rate compared to solo paragliders.

Paragliding is a spare time and competitive flying sport performed by people from all professions and lifestyles. A paraglider is a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing, whose shape is formed by the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing.
A little bit of history.

In 1954, Walter Neumark in Flight magazine article foresaw a time when a glider pilot would be “able to launch himself by running over the edge of a cliff or down a slope...whether on a rock-climbing holiday in Skye or ski-ing in the Alps”.

Then in 1961, the French engineer Pierre Lemoigne produced improved parachute designs which led to the Para-Commander ("PC"), which had cut-outs at the rear and sides which enabled it to be towed into the air and steered – leading to parasailing/parascending.

At times credited with the greatest development in parachutes since Leonardo da Vinci, the American Domina Jalbert invented in 1964 the Parafoil which had sectioned cells in an aerofoil shape; an open leading edge and a closed trailing edge, inflated by passage through the air – the ram-air design.

For the moment, David Barish was developing the Sail Wing for recovery of NASA space capsules – “slope soaring was a way of testing out… the Sail Wing”. After tests on Hunter Mountain, New York in September 1965, he went on to promote "slope soaring" as a summer activity for ski resorts (seemingly without great success). NASA originated the term "paraglider" in the early 1960’s, and "paragliding" was first used in the early 1970’s to describe foot-launching of gliding parachutes.

Going further through the history, author Walter Neumark wrote Operating Procedures for Ascending Parachutes, and he and a group of enthusiasts with a passion for tow-launching "PCs" and ram-air parachutes eventually broke away from the British Parachute Association to form the British Association of Parascending Clubs (BAPC) in 1973. These threads were pulled together in June 1978 by three friends Jean-Claude Betemps, Andre Bohn and Gerard Bosson from Mieussy Haute-Savoie, France. After inspiration from an article on "slope soaring" in the Parachute Manual magazine by parachutist&publisher Dan Poynter, they calculated that on a suitable slope, a "square" ram-air parachute could be inflated by running down the slope; Betemps launched from Pointe du Pertuiset, Mieussy, and flew 100 m. Bohn followed him and glided down to the football pitch in the valley 1000 metres below. "Parapente" (pente being French for slope) was born.

During the 1980’s and since, it has been a story of continually improving equipment and ever greater numbers of paragliding pilots. The initial World Championship was held in Kossen, Austria in 1989.