09
08
IMPORTANT
Never take off with
a glider that is not
fully inated or if you
are not in control of
the pitch/roll of your
wing.
Launching
YourUltralite4willlaunchwitheithertheforwardorreversetechnique.Thewingshouldbelaidoutina
pronouncedarc,withthecentreofthewinghigherthanthetips.
Forward Launch - Nil to Light winds
Whenthewindisfavourable,whilstgentlyholdingtheArisersmoveforwardpositively,yourlinesshould
become tight within one or two steps and the Ultralite 4 will immediately start to inate. You should
maintainaconstantpressureontherisersuntilthewingisoverhead.Donotpulldownorpushtherisers
forwardexcessively,ortheleadingedgewilldeformandpossiblycollapsemakingtaking-offmoredifcult
andpotentiallydangerous.
Movesmoothlythroughoutthe entirelaunch,thereisno need torushorsnatchat it.Youshouldhave
plentyoftimetolookupandcheckyourcanopybeforecommittingyourself.Onceyouarehappythatthe
Ultralite4isinatedcorrectly,acceleratesmoothlyoffthelaunch.
Reverse Launch - Light to Strong Winds
Layoutyour wingasyouwouldfortheforwardlaunch.However, thistimeturnto faceit,passingone
entiresetofrisersoveryourheadasyouturn.Nowyoucaninatethegliderwithyourbodyweightand
theA-risers.Oncethewingisoverhead,releasetherisers,brakegentlyifnecessary,turnandlaunch.
Instrongerwinds,bepreparedtotakeafewstepstowardsthegliderasitinates.Thiswilltakesomeof
theenergyoutoftheglideranditwillbelesslikelytooveryyou.Thisreverse-launchtechniquecanbe
usedinsurprisinglylightwindstoo.
Practicegroundhandlingasmuchaspossible!Notonlyisitgreatfun,butitwillgiveyouamuchbetter
feelforyourwing’sightcharacteristics.Itwillalsoimproveyouroverallenjoymentofyingbygivingyou
thefeelingofcontrolandmakingyourlauncheseasierandlessstressful.
Speed to Fly
Flyingattrimspeed(hands-up),theUltralite4willachieveits‘bestglide’speedforstillair.Youshouldy
atthisspeedwhenglidingdownwindorwhentheairisnotexcessivelysinking.Forbetterpenetrationin
headwindsandimprovedglideperformanceinsinkingair,crosswindsorheadwinds,youshouldyfaster
thantrimspeedbyusingtheacceleratorsystem.Usinguptohalfbardoesnotdegradetheglideangleor
stabilitysignicantlyandwillimproveyouryingperformance.Youwillreachthenextthermalfasterand
higher.AtfullspeedtheUltralite4isstable;howeverwerecommendthatyoudonotyatfullspeedclose
tothegroundorinturbulentair.
Byapplyingthebrakesapproximately20cm,theUltralite4willachieveitsminimum-sinkrate;thisisthe
speedforbestclimbandisthespeedtouseforthermallingandridgesoaring.
Turning
Tofamiliarize yourself with theUltralite4 your rst turnsshouldbe gradual and progressive.Tomake
efcientandcoordinatedturnswiththeUltralite4rstlookinthedirectionyouwanttogo,thenleaninto
it.Yourrstinputfordirectionalchangeshouldbeweight-shift,followedbythesmoothapplicationofthe
brakeuntilthedesiredbankangleisachieved.Toregulatethespeedandradiusoftheturn,coordinate
yourweightshiftandusetheouterbrake.
Active Flying
Tominimizethelikelihoodofsufferingcollapsesinturbulentconditions,itisessentialtouseactiveying.
Theseareskillsthatarebestlearntbyplayingwiththegliderontheground.Flyingwithasmallamountof
brakeapplied(approx.20cm)willallowyoutofeelthefeedbackfromthewing.Inturbulentconditionsthe
internalpressureofthewingisconstantlychangingandonlybyusingasmallamountofbrakewillyoufeel
thesechanges.Theaimofactiveyingistomaintainaconstantpressurethroughthebrakes,Ifyoufeela
reductionorlossofpressureapplythebrakesuntilyoufeelnormalpressureagain.Onceyouhavenormal
pressure,raisethehandsquicklybacktotheoriginalposition.Avoidyingwithcontinuousamountsof
deepbrakeinroughairasyoucouldinadvertentlystallthewing.Alwaysconsideryourairspeed.
Thesemovementscanbesymmetricorasymmetric;youmayhavetoapplybothbrakesorjustone.These
subtleadjustmentswillkeeptheglideryingsmoothlyanddirectlyaboveyouanddramaticallyreducethe
chancesofacollapse.Ifthegliderpitchesinfrontofyou,usethebrakestoslowitdown.Equally,ifthe
gliderdropsbehindyou,releasethebrakestoallowittospeedup.Thegoalistoalwayskeepthewing
directlyoverhead.
Nopilotandnogliderareimmunetocollapseshoweveractiveyingwillvirtuallyeliminateanytendencyto
collapse.Whentheconditionsareturbulent,bemoreactiveandanticipatethemovementsofyourwing.
IMPORTANT
Always keep hold of
your brakes. Do not y
in turbulent conditions
IMPORTANT
Never initiate a turn at
minimum speed (i.e.
with full brakes on) as
you could risk entering
a spin.