BASIC FLIGHT TECHNIQUES
EN
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
Your Geo 5 will launch with either the forward or reverse technique. The wingshould belaid outin a
pronouncedarc,withthecentreofthewinghigherthanthetips.
Forward Launch - Nil to Light winds
Whenthewindisfavourable,whilstgentlyholdingtheArisersmoveforwardpositively,yourlinesshould
becometightwithinoneortwostepsandtheGeo5willimmediatelystarttoinate.Youshouldmaintain
aconstantpressureontherisersuntilthewingisoverhead.Donotpulldownorpushtherisersforward
excessively,ortheleadingedgewilldeformandpossiblycollapsemakingtaking-offmoredifcultand
potentiallydangerous.
Movesmoothlythroughouttheentirelaunch,thereisnoneedtorushorsnatchatit.Youshouldhave
plentyoftimetolookupandcheckyourcanopybeforecommittingyourself.Onceyouarehappythatthe
Geo5isinatedcorrectly,acceleratesmoothlyoffthelaunch.
Reverse Launch - Light to Strong Winds
Layoutyourwingasyouwouldfortheforwardlaunch.However,thistimeturntofaceit,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),theGeo5willachieveits‘bestglide’speedforstillair.Youshouldy
atthisspeedwhenglidingdownwindorwhentheairisnotexcessivelysinking.Forbetterpenetrationin
headwindsandimprovedglideperformanceinsinkingair,crosswindsorheadwinds,youshouldyfaster
thantrimspeedbyusingtheacceleratorsystem.Usinguptohalfbardoesnotdegradetheglideangleor
stabilitysignicantlyandwillimproveyouryingperformance.Youwillreachthenextthermalfasterand
higher.AtfullspeedtheGeo5isstable;howeverwerecommendthatyoudonotyatfullspeedcloseto
thegroundorinturbulentair.
By applying the brakes approximately 20cm, the Geo 5 will achieve its minimum-sink rate; this is the
speedforbestclimbandisthespeedtouseforthermallingandridgesoaring.
Turning
TofamiliarizeyourselfwiththeGeo5yourrstturnsshouldbegradualandprogressive.Tomakeefcient
andcoordinatedturnswiththeGeo5rstlookinthedirectionyouwanttogo,thenleanintoit.Yourrst
inputfordirectionalchangeshouldbeweight-shift,followedbythesmoothapplicationofthebrakeuntil
thedesiredbankangleisachieved.Toregulatethespeedandradiusoftheturn,coordinateyourweight
shiftandusetheouterbrake.
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.