rodbailey

Reverse Launch
by Dixon White ( http://eagleparagliding.com )

The reverse launch gives a pilot far more control over the glider. When a glider is inflated in a reverse position it can be carefully examined for snags, knots, sticks and be adjusted to a symmetrical inflation very easily. When a glider is brought up in a reverse position the pilot has the ability to abort the launch much easier. Standing in the reverse position while waiting to launch is more sensible as well as you can more easily prevent the glider from getting the best of you in windy or gusty conditions.

The reverse launch is harder than a forward launch because you must rotate to a forward position without losing control of your glider, or your footing. It's the first launch technique you should learn, and take the time to learn it successfully before learning forward launches. The reverse launch can be mastered in no wind conditions as well as high wind conditions. Most people gravitate towards what's easiest and what they learned first, thus the reason for learning this technique first. Once the reverse launch is mastered the forward launch is a cinch to learn. Those pilots that have mastered the reverse launch may find themselves never doing a forward launch. Practice is the mother of skill.

Take your time learning each step of the reverse launch. Be sure and review the previous articles about how to hook-in to your glider in the reverse position. Let's start the exercises by leaving the control toggles, a.k.a. the "brakes", clipped in and out of the way. Become competent at raising the glider so that your right hand is controlling what you see as the right side of the glider and vice-versa with the left hand. Don't cross your hands.

Become completely proficient at bringing the glider up slightly and reaching for the "c/d" or "rear" risers. As your hands let go of the front risers you should swing your hands down and around with the palms up as you bring them up to the rear risers, this way you will find them more easily. Do this exercise 50 times and vary the point at which you let go of the front risers to reach for the rears. You need to develop perfect "body memory" of the riser positions. Begin learning to bring the glider up slightly crooked so you can move the glider laterally. Learn how to bring the glider up slightly and allow it to pull you downwind. This practice will be huge help to you in learning how to inflate your glider smoothly for every launch. This practice will also help you learn how to kite up a slope to your launch.

The next article will expand on the skill of learning the reverse launch. In the meantime, add the David Sollom book "Paragliding from Beginner to Cross Country" to your library. Review inversion topics in Pagen's "Understanding the Sky". Renner's book "Northwest Mountain Weather" is an interesting weather book. The videos "Starting Paragliding" and "Weather to Fly" are also excellent resources.

Now that you have practiced inflating the glider in a reverse position, let's get the brakes in hand so that you can bring the glider up and turn around to a forward/flying position. We find that pilots achieve much higher launch success rates if they smoothly inflate the glider to its flying position and rotate to the forward position without hesitating. Pilots who try and stand in a reverse position kiting their gliders with the brakes in hand have a higher aborted launch rate, which isn't good for the glider and can be dangerous.

Add the brakes to your hands by putting your right hand on the carabineer on your right side and follow the rear riser to the brake handle, detach it and now do the same with your left hand - the brakes are now in their proper hands so that when you inflate the glider and rotate forward they will be in the correct flying position. Be sure to now retake the front risers ("A's") so that the front riser attached to your left hip is in your right hand and the one attached to your right hip is in your left hand - which is what you've been practicing since the last article. Practice inflating your glider and making the rotation to a forward facing position in different wind conditions and on varying degrees of slope at least 100 times, and do so in a soft user friendly field. Bring the glider up, turn and go forward while looking primarily at the horizon. While running forward you will develop a feel for the glider position over head, the better you get at feeling the glider the better pilot you will be - so this is a terrific exercise all the way around. You should challenge yourself to practicing this in no wind and in high wind conditions while on flat ground and slopes, as well as in gusty/switchy conditions. In no wind make sure you have the glider in a very well laid out horseshoe shape with all the lines cleared. Be sure the slope behind you is a known quantity - remove things that may trip you. Take 3 or more quick steps backwards while looking for some pressure on the leading edge of your glider. When the leading edge loads lift your arms so that you rotate the glider up and into the flying position and then smoothly make your rotation to your forward/flying position. A slope really helps in making a no wind launch, but practice is the real key, we'll discuss forward launches in the next article.

In high winds you'll want to practice moving towards the glider as it moves up off the ground and then feel the point in which you should then take a couple of steps backwards while releasing the front risers and adding a bit of brakes to keep the glider from shooting overhead. Don't lift the glider too fast in high winds without stepping towards it or it can pull you off your feet and then drop you while it overshoots and then folds in on itself. Be ready to apply the brakes even while you're making your rotation to a forward facing position.

We have noticed that pilots who have trouble ground handling not only have launching difficulty but frequently have trouble flying in turbulent air. If these skills are difficult for you then you should fly in soft conditions. Learning ground handling in gusty/switchy conditions is best, steady ground handling winds can overdevelop a pilot's sense of competence. Finding the right atmospheric conditions for good ground handling will help you model the best conditions for actually flying. If you want to eventually fly in dynamic thermal conditions you need to have a sense of the air and the intuition to react accordingly. Become "one" with your glider and be ever vigilant of the atmosphere you fly within.