Paragliding acrobatics
As a paraglider acrobatic flying is acrobatic maneuvers with a paraglider called (aerobatics). While certain maneuvers (wingover, spiral dive, full stall, SAT) are carried out as part of a safety training, most maneuvers are reserved for experienced pilots, as they require a lot of training and good body and aircraft control . Many maneuvers require exact timing and therefore a good mental condition on the part of the pilot. Training and demonstration of these maneuvers mostly take place for safety reasons over a lake with a life jacket and a boat, carrying two (or more) rescue parachutes is standard for advanced maneuvers.
The figures can be divided into two categories: positive maneuvers, which primarily use the momentum of the screen, and negative maneuvers that a unilateral or complete stall include. In addition, there are a large number of connections in which one figure seamlessly merges into another.
Attempts to imitate the figures described below without prior knowledge and exchange of experience with experienced pilots are absolutely inadvisable due to these increased demands on the pilot and aircraft.
Devices / equipment
The first attempts at aerobatics were made with normal paragliders. In order to achieve a more dynamic behavior of the paragliders, they were mostly flown (far) above the recommended weight limit. There is now a market for freestyle and acrobatics umbrellas. The latter are much smaller (<20 m² projected area) and have a deliberately greatly reduced pendulum stability, which is what makes maneuvers such as infinity tumbling possible in the first place.
Budding acro pilots are called freestyle pilots. However, no freestyle paraglider is necessary for them, as all figures for beginners and advanced riders can also be performed with normal paragliders. To learn, switching to an acrobatics screen too early is counterproductive, as this requires more precise control and thus hinders learning success. In addition, the dangers increase due to the high dynamics of the smaller umbrellas.
The harnesses used usually have a second reserve parachute container. The chest strap can usually be opened wider than with normal harnesses, which enables extreme weight shifting. The posture is compact and upright in order to minimize the risk of unwanted twist, i.e. twisting in the risers.
Competitions
In 2006 the World Air Sports Association hosted the first official world championship in this still young sport . Before that, the Red Bull Vertigo in Villeneuve on Lake Geneva ( Switzerland ) had the status of an unofficial world championship. The World Cup competitions and other regular acro events take place in Villeneuve, Zell am See / Obertraun ( Austria ), Omegna , Lake Garda , Lake Orta (all three Italy ), Voss ( Norway ), Ölüdeniz ( Turkey ), Chambéry , Annecy (both France ) and in Salta ( Argentina ).
The competitions, which are very spectacular for the public, are presented by the pilots individually or in teams of two in synchronized flight. Due to the difficulty of performing the maneuvers synchronously with a partner, flying in a team is viewed by many pilots as the supreme discipline of paragliding acrobatics. In addition, larger groups appear as a show presentation .
Another form of paragliding acrobatics is freestyle flying close to the ground, also known as Wagga Style . Various maneuvers in which the pilot or canopy have contact with the ground are carried out in laminar wind. These include v-groove landing, a death spiral and creative ground handling. Since 2003 there has been an annual competition in this discipline on the Dune du Pyla ( France ).
characters
Wingover
It is an extreme change of curve during flight with the pilot swinging sideways. Depending on the design, the figure can range from a slight pendulum of the pilot under the umbrella to a massive step over the canopy. With high wingovers, the pilot is subjected to strong acceleration forces for brief moments .
In a moderate form, it is a useful maneuver to get to know and train your own control coordination better. The approaches that lead to wingover, the 'rolling', is mostly practiced in the basic training.
Uniform, in-line and high wingovers require sensitivity, good timing and precision as well as a lot of practice from the pilot . Incorrect execution of the flight maneuver can lead to the paraglider collapsing. With a sufficiently dynamic wing, the wingover can be increased to looping.
High wingovers are prohibited in Germany. If they are not carried out correctly, they lead to rattling of the upper half of the wing with sometimes massive hangovers, to turning away and to crashing. Above a height that depends on the screen, the outside of the curve must be braked to prevent this.
Spiral dive
The classic spiral dive is a technically relatively simple, but physically demanding flight figure. The pilot turns in a spiral motion around the paraglider, which flies a narrow circular path. The leading edge of the paraglider slopes towards the ground in a full spiral.
The spiral is also used by pilots outside of paragliding acrobatics as a rapid descent maneuver in order to efficiently reduce altitude in the event of impending danger. The rate of descent is between 10 and approx. 25 m / s,
As the rate of descent increases, the centrifugal forces increase. With a sink rate of 15-18 m / s, loads of approx. 3.8 g can occur, with a larger sink rate up to 5 g and more are possible. When the rate of descent is increased, these forces can lead to a stable flight condition (stable spiral), which the pilot can only actively divert.
Asymmetrical spiral
A further development of the spiral dive and the wingover is the asymmetrical spiral . The axis of the spiral is turned more and more towards the horizontal . If executed perfectly, it can be flown in such a way that the pilot rises well above the glider height. The name Asymmetrical Spiral is misleading as it is basically a wingover movement, but it is performed over and over in the same direction.
Full stall
The full stall is a complete stall over the entire screen width. This is achieved by symmetrically braking the paraglider below the minimum flight speed. Is released after tipping in the stall again slightly brake the screen usually goes it into reverse flight (partly Tailslide , flyback or Backfly called). In this state, the flow flows in the opposite direction from the actual rear edge of the screen to the front. While this condition is demanding for ordinary paraglider pilots, the flyback is mastered with absolute certainty by experienced acro pilots and maneuvers are often performed using it. In the case of wings with a high aspect ratio, the flow first breaks off at the wing tips; the resulting shape of a horseshoe or a rosette makes the full stall with these models more demanding.
With precise control pulses, it is possible to screen for the full stall in the stall to keep. In deep stall, unlike in normal flight and in tailslide, the glider flies neither forwards nor backwards. In contrast to the tail slide, the deep stall is an unstable maneuver that requires constant corrections.
The most important point in this figure is the clean exit when the glider starts moving forward again due to the releasing brake line. If the canopy-pilot pendulum system is in an unfavorable constellation at this point, the canopy can "shoot forward" quickly and the pilot can fall into the canopy and become entangled there. An asymmetrical exit can also lead to an uncontrolled flight condition.
If the full stall is not carried out from normal flight, but from full speed, from an asymmetrical spiral or a wingover, we speak of a dynamic full stall , since the pilot is swinging significantly further forward at the time of the stall . With extreme execution, the pilot can even swing up to the same height as the canopy.
Vrille / helicopter
A vrille is a one-sided stall . This is achieved by braking one half of the wing to below the minimum flight speed. In the figure, the paraglider rotates flat around its own vertical axis. One end of the wing moves in the usual direction of flight (forward), the other end against its normal direction of flight (backward). A vrille flown over several revolutions, with the sail completely open and the pilot neatly centered on the axis of rotation, is called a helicopter .
A helicopter is usually launched from deep stall and requires a lot of sensitivity from the pilot. Another introduction is a double stop-impulse, which has to be precisely matched to the screen pendulum frequency.
The sink rate during this figure is approx. 4-5 m / s. A transition from a helicopter to a helicopter turning in the opposite direction is also referred to as a twister .
The diversion runs either directly by approaching the stalled side, or via a full stall .
Reverse rotation / looping
For this maneuver, momentum is usually obtained via the asymmetrical spiral. By shifting weight to the opposite side in good time and using the brakes appropriately, the pilot is thrown over the glider by the momentum built up.
If this figure is flown in such a way that the pilot flies vertically over his glider, one speaks of a looping .
The looping and its preparation is one of the most spectacular, but also one of the most dangerous acro figures. The difficulty lies in the aircraft's slow trim speed. The necessary momentum can only be built up through special flight maneuvers. If this is not enough, the pilot falls into the canopy.
SAT
The SAT became the magic word of the acro scene overnight. The name comes from the inventor Team of the figure ( S afety A cro T eam), which discovered this figure by accident. The figure became the basis for a whole generation of new acro flight figures, such as B. the tumbling.
A kind of spiral dive is flown, but the pivot point of the flight path is between the pilot and the paraglider. The glider continues to fly forward while the pilot circles backwards. During the initiation, the radius of the rotation is suddenly reduced and there is a brief high load (due to the not yet adjusted speed). Extreme values of 3.5 g centrifugal acceleration can arise; the rate of descent in this maneuver can be reduced to around 4 m / s.
This flight maneuver was further developed into the asymmetric SAT . Due to the appropriate timing of the pilot, this flight figure does not have a vertical axis of rotation, but is moved in the horizontal direction. The pilot achieves this by initiating the maneuver, for example, from the asymmetrical spiral. Since the axis of rotation lies somewhere between the vertical and the horizontal, this flying figure is a good exercise to get to grips with the tumbling .
Another variation of the SAT is the rhythmic SAT . Starting from a normal SAT, the screen is rocked more and more until it has reached the asymmetrical SAT . The movement of the paraglider during this maneuver can be imagined as an ever increasing sinusoidal oscillation. This is achieved by rhythmically braking the braked side a little stronger and then releasing it a little more during the SAT. Professionals can continue the maneuver up to infinity tumbling .
Tumbling
With tumbling, the pilot does not fly over the glider as with classic looping, but rather the glider is, so to speak, “thrown through” under the pilot. As with the SAT, the axis of rotation lies between the pilot and the glider. The energy required for this is usually built up via a counter-rotation, high wingover or via the asymmetrical spiral. This swing is usually enough for two to three turns.
This thoroughbred acro maneuver does not forgive mistakes in people and material. Measurements during this figure have shown loads of up to 7.5 g .
Infinity tumbling is a further development . By appropriate technical pilot outdated, respectively of the screen, new momentum with each revolution, bringing the figure seemingly endless ( Engl. Infinite ) can be repeated. The discoverer of this maneuver is Raul Rodriguez , who made a total of 82 revolutions during the Free Flight 2006 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen ( Germany ).
The current world record holder is Veso Ovcharov with 613 revolutions. Before that, Horacio Llorens, the cousin of the inventor of the maneuver, achieved 568 rollover in December 2012 after a helicopter jump from 5,800 m.
In the SuperStall to Infinit maneuver, invented by Théo de Blic in 2019 , the infinity tumbling is initiated by the unstoppable advance after an extremely dynamic full stall.
Mac twist
The Mac Twist (sometimes also called Ass Chopper ) was invented by Mathias Roten and, to put it casually, is a V-groove in which the axis of rotation of the flight path is turned to the horizontal .
The glider is brought to the same height as the pilot via a normal or an asymmetrical spiral. Then the glider is forced into the groove by a strong braking impulse. Good pilots can do up to four revolutions.
The greatest danger in this maneuver is that the pilot does not follow the rotation of the paraglider canopy quickly enough due to the inertia , which leads to the suspension lines being twisted in, known as "twisting". After just one full turn, the friction of the lines is so high that the brake lines can no longer be operated effectively. After two revolutions, the aircraft can no longer be controlled, all that remains is the throw of the reserve parachute .
Misty flip
The Misty Flip is a further development of the Mac Twist. In contrast to the Mac Twist, however, the paraglider is completely open on a properly flown Misty Flip, while the Mac Twist usually has the outer wing tips folded in. The paraglider is not kept rotating, but skilfully stopped and deflected after a 360 ° turn. The canopy is located far behind the pilot and shoots forward with great dynamism. The pilot must brake the glider at the right moment in order to return to normal flight. Since (as with most acro figures) good timing is necessary, there is a high risk of being thrown into the canopy if it is not executed properly.
Combinations and variations
Many of these figures can also be combined. Here are some of them:
| SAT to Helico: | A SAT is flown and the braked side is pulled until the current stops and the paraglider enters a v-groove. |
| Helico to SAT: | A helicopter is flown (in this case to the right). In the next moment you slow down the rotation a little until the glider is a little offset to the left behind the pilot. The brakes are released and the canopy is allowed to shoot down slightly asymmetrically to the right. During this process, the right brake is immediately applied again, and you fly a SAT to the right. |
| Twister (Helico to Helico): | The rotation of the helicopter is stopped and steered in the opposite direction. |
| Misty to Infinity: | The moment the misty flip is released, when the canopy tries to shoot forward, it is not braked. If this has enough momentum, the next moment you are in a tumble. This maneuver is only possible with acro-wings with extreme dynamics. |
| Misty to Helico: | The Misty Flip is torn off on one side when exiting, and you are in a helicopter. |
| SAT to SAT: | When the SAT is diverted, an SAT is pulled out of the spiral in the opposite direction. |
Numerous maneuvers can also be performed twisted. The pilot deliberately turns 180 ° so that he is aligned with the rear edge of the canopy.
Legal situation
In Germany , aerobatics with the paraglider, which is subsumed under the term air sports equipment in German law , is forbidden according to Section 8 (1) LuftVO . Aerobatics are flight conditions with an inclination of more than 135 degrees around the transverse or longitudinal axis. In January 2009, the DHV formed a working group on the subject of hang gliding and paragliding aerobatics, which should clarify whether hang gliding and paragliding should be exempted from the general aerobatics ban for air sports equipment.
In Austria , aerobatics for hang gliders and paragliders are not specifically regulated. The general rules for aerobatics prohibit this under 500 meters above ground, over crowds or over densely populated areas, unless a special permit is available. Since, since the amendment ZLLV 2010 Part 7, only an airworthiness requirement (LTF) is required for devices approved in Austria, which is issued by the manufacturer and not a licensed company, acrobatics can be operated legally and even insured, provided that the inspection intervals are adhered to.
In Switzerland , aerobatics are also not regulated for hang gliders and paragliders. There is only a labeling requirement for the devices, but no authorization requirement. Thus, paragliding acrobatics is permitted.
literature
- F. Bitz: Adventure and Risk. On the psychology of staged danger. Lueneburg 2005.
- M. Csikszentmihalyi , S. Jacksons: Flow in Sport. The key to optimal experience and performance. Munich 1999.
- M. Küng, A. Meschuh, M. Nesler, G. Öchsl: Acrobatics: the first textbook on paragliding acrobatics. Professional Flying Team publishing house, 2008, ISBN 978-3-940988-00-3 .
- M. Scholz: Adventure-Risk-Adventure. Orientations of meaning in sport. Schorndorf 2005, ISBN 3-7780-0151-5 .
swell
- ↑ a b c Pál Takáts : Master Acro . On-Demand Video Series, 2018.
- ↑ Spiral cleanly - paraglider , www.gleitschirm-magazin.com, GLEITSCHIRMMAGAZIN 05 2004, (PDF, 202 KB)
- ↑ New World Record Infinity Tumbling: 613 turns by Veso Ovcharov! from justAcro.com
- ↑ 568 Rolls - Official press release
- ↑ https://justacro.com/news/181025/theo-de-blic-presents-superstall-infinit
- ↑ Flugbetriebsordnung (FBO) for hang gliders and paragliders according to § 21a paragraph 4 LuftVO. (PDF; 22 kB) Point 6.
- ↑ Aerobatics working group.
- ↑ Consolidated federal law: Entire legal provision for 10011391, version of January 22, 2012