Paragliding Greece

The certification of reserve parachutes is given by examining certain factors of working order:

• the time it takes to open
• the resistance to the shock of opening
• the sink rate that is average around 6,5 m / second
• the oscillations (movement of the reserve after deployment – rocking)

There are certain known situations in flight where you should deploy your rererve rescue parachute without a doubt immediately..

the situation where your glider is ruptured in the air

the situation of a collision with another pilot in the air

the situation of a collapse of your glider in very close proximity to the ground or mountain side

a situation that is clearly irreversible

There is no optimal altitude in flight for the deployment of the reserve parachute. If you are in an irreversible situation then deploy your reserve anyway.

Some suggestions are:

If you are at a 1.000 mtrs altitude it is advised best to try and manage the situation first.

This is to avoid the re-inflation of your glider after the use of the reserve that can be dangerous.

If you are at 200 – 300 mtrs it is considered fairly high – keep in mind you may be missjudging the altitude.

The occurence of an incident at 50 meters, the altitude is quite low..

if it is a parachute type fall try and manage your glider since when you release the commands to reach for the handle the glider may return into flight.

Any other rotation type falls with ot without an angle (sat type) best reaction will be to deploy your reserve anyhow.

There are further specified short plans of action to deploy your reserve rescue parachute that should be kept in mind in order to save time and manage to act upon a stressful situation.

Primary set of action is to Look – Reach – Pull where you visually see the handle of the reserve reach for it and pull to firstly release the reserve from the harness or container.

Depending on the actual condition you are found in, the action to follow is..

In a parachute type fall – you bring back and place force to throw the rescue away, not letting it drop.

In a strong rotation fall – you throw the rescue away without bringing it back.

In a sat-like rotation fall – you throw the reserve towards the direction following the trailing edge of your glider.

If your reserve is installed in your harness practise reaching the handle so you may be sure that in a state of alarm you will be able to go for it instantly.

The deployment method should not require any special technique as due to stress your reactions will be swift and must be kept simple.

Choosing a small or larger rescue..

The bigger the rescue the more time it will take to open that is due to simple materials friction but the difference is insignificant.

Always go for the rescue of a weight range mostly compatible to your real weight in complete gear including the glider.

Finally it is most important, more than anything else, to check your reserve rescue parachute often and maintain it in a good condition!