Active flying greatly reduces collapses in paragliding, but they may still occur out of the blue, especially when flying fast. The use of the speed bar reduces the angle of attack and makes the wing easier to collapse when airflow hits it from above. Higher speed also makes the wing react more aggressively once a collapse happens. The main dangers from big collapses are spiral dives, canopy cravats, line twists, high G-force, vertigo, panic.
When a big collapse happens unexpectedly:
➊ Release the speed bar immediately, tuck your legs beneath your seat, and lift your body upright to reduce the chance of line twist. Look up at the wing to evaluate the side and the size of the collapse. ➋ The natural instinct to curl into embryo pose when something hits you can be upgraded with grabbing the risers below the pulleys, applying light brakes or no brakes at all. Grabbing the risers also provides you support to lift your body upright and to weight shift. Risers-grabbing technique is not good for beginners or pilots who may panic and freeze. You should be able to work with your hands independently at any moment while your body is being trashed around or your head is dizzy from rotations and g-forces. This requires to suppress some body balancing instincts of your arms. A more conservative approach is to use riser-touching which can proceed toward riser-grabbing and riser-pushing if twist is nearby. The riser-touching also works as a reference for brakes position in the moment of stress and chaos. ➌ If it’s a big asymmetric collapse, push and spread the risers apart to reduce the chance of line twist and help the body follow the wing rotation. ➍ The riser grabbing/touching can be asymmetrical, with the outer riser grabbed about 20 cm lower, applying mild outer brake to reduce potential spiral development without decreasing airspeed too much. This is a conservative reaction doing both during a moment of doubt – shall we stop the turning to prevent a spiral or shall we spread the risers to prevent a line twist? ➎ If the collapse is big and asymmetric, then you fall, but the remaining working part of the wing still creates some lift, which throws your body away and towards the collapsed side. This would lead to a stronger spiral development. Avoid flying a big and lose harness, as your body may slips to the inner side and stay there, constantly applying inner weight shift. There are fatal accidents of pilots subconsciously applying weight shift and maintaining a collapse-induced spiral dive. The surprise of the big collapse makes it difficult to evaluate its development – will it throw you into a spiral, will it spin and twist the lines, will it just fall and recover quickly? It is better to prepare for the worst, so after and during the collapse, throw your body to the opposite side as you do when countering roll motions or small collapses. It is not easy as the remaining lift in the outer wing throws you towards the collapsed side but you can use the outer riser grab to pull yourself for opposite weight shift or at least to minimize the into-the-collapse weight shift. ➏ All the previous reactions – releasing the speed bar, raising the body upright, looking up at the canopy, grabbing the risers, and opposite weigh shift – can be combined in one whole body movement performed in less than a second.
