How to survive a paragliding career

This glider is classified as a DHV 2 .... So what ???
( Or how to enjoy paragliding and still survive )

We live in a world where death and injury is a matter that should not be spoken of.
It is largely denied that we are mortal creatures, responsible of our own decisions and actions.
Health and happines are the theme of the times, everything that endangers this widespread illusion is quickly supressed.

If something goes wrong, if somebody gets injured, the search for someone to blame or sue the shit out of soon begins ...
Regardless what happened, it is fashionable to find some other reason than the REAL one.

Kids of today are so indoctrined by the matter of avoiding injury, never being allowed to explore the physical laws.
Daycare centers must have EU approved sand under their swings and slides that has a certain, documented absobtion of impact.

Thank god I was born before that era !!

I live in the northern part of Norway, a part of the world where many still know to adapt to nature and take action accordingly. ( Sadly it is also here moving away from that, and I believe they gladly would make a law aginst too much snowfall or banning sub zero temperatures ....) haha (:

Every year tourists from more "urban aeras of the world" loose their lives in our mountains due to absoute stupidity and ignorant actions.
I can only shook my head from some of the the explanations to survivors of accidents;...
the cliffs were not labeled with warnings ....

You can hurt yourself as paraglider pilot, make no mistake about it ... 

Regardless of the tendency towards making this sport a "themepark ride" where what you pay for is what you get, and a DHV 1 glider will always open in 3.52 seconds after any collapse.
.... If it doesen`t, you can then blame the manufacturer, the DHV, Your primary school teacher, your instructor and so on ....

I am the lucky survivor of almost 20 years of flying. 
I have flown many different types of gliders, testing, XC, competition.
Paragliders, hanggliders, ultralights, single and multiengine aircraft, turboprops, you name it...
Yes, I have done some stupid things, I have been "young" too, but I have always walked away, and I love flying as strongly today as I did 20 years ago.

Cruising into the midnight sun - 1988	One of the first PG flights in Northern Norway
ITV Aries - 1989	Hangglider school - Hiway super scorpion. 1986

When I started flying hanggliders, there was no such thing as a tested glider, so it was not an issue of the time.
The gliders we flew would probably never have passed any of todays norms.
Glider design has come a long way since then.

So we did not have any predeterminations on how that glider would behave, we just had to learn how to control it, how it flew and reacted, and not the least it`s limits of safe flight.
We also learned ( the hard way, sometimes ) that the weather was a force we could use to our pleasure and to give us great moments in the air.
But as smooth as the air sometimes was, it could be a living hell if the wind became too strong or came from the wrong direction. 

Look at this picture showing a well known hill at the town of Harstad.
Samaasen is the place where it all started in 1978, and is flyable when the wind blows from the west to northwest.

The Green sector is when we have northwest wind and the red one is when westerly winds prevails.
The south portion of the ridge is divided by a sharp line extending outwards from the launch.
At westerly winds, hanggliders have been flipped upside down in this aera, and it is a living hell to fly there ...
The northern part remains flyable ....
At northwest winds the whole ridge is a pleasure to fly at.
We are talking of only 20 degrees of direction change from heaven to hell ...
Things like this; knowing how the air flows, learning to read the signs and act accordingly is far far more important than relying on a low classified glider.
Everytime we launched, we knew that for the duration of that flight, we were totally responsible for our own safety.
Nobody on this earth could reach us in case of an inflight emergency...

Now, even if our society and way of life has changed in many ways, ask yourself when you are ready to launch :
Isn`t the nature of flight just the same as when we launched our super scorpions 20 years ago ?

You are uttely responsible for your own safety. 
No DHV tag, no pilots licence or insurance can alter that fact ....
For me, the classification of the glider means nothing !I am at the core of my safety as a pilot ...

The question is; Do I treat a DHV 3 glider any different that a DHV 1 glider ?
The answer : NO.

If I fly in smooth conditions, all gliders are easy to handle, they present themselves in their best way, and I relax, play and have a good time.

The DHV 1 glider can be stalled, spinned, Bstalled, and all that, as can the DHV 3.
The difference is the way it happens, you have to pull longer, more abrupt on the DHV 1, reactions are less abrupt and the flightpath is less influenced if not corrected by the pilot.
It will give you little feel of what happens. All reactions are lagged and damped.
Usually little warning before it breaks. ( Of course, it takes more to get the break on this one )

The DHV 3 will more easily and more abruptly waggle around as you yank the brakes.
It will give you great feel for what happens, you get warnings and cues before it breaks away.

But I never get complacent when I fly the DHV 1, it can bite you !

All gliders are tested in smooth conditions !
If I fly in rough conditions, I know that alot can change!
The differences between the classes go away, and there are infinite possibilities for surprises in the air.

If a DHV 3 get a large collapse, it can reopen by itself so quickly that you hardly knew what happened ...
( I had a 70% collapse on my Aeron down in a gorge just above a rim; it came out so quickly that I thought it would tear ....
I did not cange heading by one degree .... All I did was to hold on ... )

The DHV 1 can send you into a horrific spiral before you make it ( hopefully ) with your pulse pounding.
( "nice" gliders can lock into spirals more easily than the higher aspect ratio ones )

The opposite is of course true, and most of the time the DHV 1 will be easier to control for the inexperienced pilot who does not have the reflexes to counter by instinct.But NEVER NEVER NEVER believe that a low classified glider will get you out of trouble just because it happens to be DHV 1 or 1/2 !!!

If conditions are rough, do I feel more relaxed under a DHV 1 glider compared to a DHV 3 ?
NO WAY !!!

So to conclude on this chapter :

• Treat gliders of all classes with the same respect.
• Select a class of glider according to your skill, but do not forget that all giders are capable of becoming uncontrollable.
• Attend safety training.
• Always evaluate your own skill in relation to the current flight conditions.
• Know yourself, your weak and strong spots, improve as required.
• Understand that every time you launch, there is a potential for danger.
• Always have a plan of action, mental visualisation is of great importance, do it before flight !
• Seek understanding, experience and self confidence within youself, but do not be afraid to ask for others advice and opinion.

And finally my own "rules of engagement"

• Never to launch in winds exceeding 26 km/h (14kt - 7 ms)
• Never to continue flight with groundspeeds dropping below 5 km/h (3 kt)
• Respect your "gut feeling" - if something feels wrong; it probably is ...
• Have a great time in the sky !