PARAGLIDING: DISCOVER ALL TYPES OF PARAGLIDERS AND THEIR USES
Paragliding is an all-round aerial sport with several disciplines. And as with any sport, several disciplines inevitably imply the use of specific equipment. It's not uncommon for paragliding enthusiasts to own two, three or even four wings of different categories, and as many harnesses. In fact, this wide range of equipment enables paragliders to select the equipment best suited to their needs before each outing. In this guide, we'll look at the different types of paragliding and the wings associated with them. The aim is to help you understand more precisely what a paraglider is.
PARAGLIDER WING BY TYPE OF FLIGHT :
One of the most important criteria for choosing and buying a paraglider is the type of paragliding flight you want to do. Here are a few examples :
PARAGLIDER WING BY HOMOLOGATION
Certification is probably one of the most decisive criteria in choosing a paraglider. Indeed, if you're already a paraglider pilot, you probably know that the choice of a paraglider depends essentially on your level and your objectives. Each certification is adapted to each profile. Let's find out together!
What is the purpose of paraglider certification?
Paragliding certification serves two purposes :
Firstly, that the paraglider is strong enough to take a pilot from take-off to landing. To achieve this, the glider undergoes strength and impact tests to ensure that the materials do not tear in flight.
The second part of the certification process determines the glider's behavior, and whether it can be categorized as accessible for beginners, or whether it is more suitable for experienced pilots. To find out how accessible a wing is, manufacturers put their models through a series of tests. These largely consist of simulating flight incidents to observe how the wing reacts. The less pilot action a wing needs to recover from an incident, the more accessible it will be for novice pilots. At the end of the tests, the examiners assign a letter to the wing (A, B, C, D or CCC) corresponding to its level of accessibility.
EN A paraglider wings
EN A-rated paragliders are designed for beginner pilots. Schools are generally equipped with this type of glider, as they guarantee excellent passive safety with respectable performance. They enable you to learn to fly actively, and can accompany new paragliders a long way as they progress and perfect their skills. In general, all paraglider brands such as Niviuk, Skywalk, Supair and Gin offer their EN A models.
EN B paraglider
A paraglider can be categorized as EN B for 2 main reasons:
Because they are designed for progression. They are therefore generally a little more powerful than EN A-rated wings. They have a little more aspect ratio and therefore require a higher level of technique than beginner wings.
This is because these are small wings for which the manufacturers have defined certification weight ranges. Each range implies a different behavior of the wing. For example, depending on its size, the same wing may act as an EN A, an EN B or an EN C. These multi-homologation wings are often mountain wings.
EN C paraglider
EN C-rated paragliders are designed for performance-oriented pilots. These wings are generally used by paragliders with good flying and cross-country experience who are looking for displacement.
EN D and CCC paragliders
D- and CCC-rated wings are the Formula 1 of paragliding. They are very long and thin wings designed for pure performance. As a result, pilots need to be able to react swiftly and dangerously in the event of a flying incident.
DGAC paraglider wings
DGAC certification applies to paragliders for a very specific type of free flight : paramotoring. This certification, which is slightly different from that for paragliders, concerns only the load test section and a few additional indicators such as flight speed, maximum engine power, etc...
Non-approved paragliders
Paraglider wings known as "non-approved" are very often nevertheless approved for loads.
These are often wings for acrobatics, speed riding or speed flying, and some wings designed for very specific paragliding activities don't really need full certification.
DISCOVER OUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO PARAGLIDING WINGS :
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