Paragliders Association, Singapore
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Choosing your Wing

Introduction

Your safety depends on the equipment you fly. It must be chosen according to your skills and flying experience. The best way to chose your first wing is to ask your instructor, try the wing and buy it if you like it! 

Once you gain enough confidence and after some flying experience, you may want to chose on your own. You can find plenty of advices on the web. We summarize here the main aspects you need to check. The final call is a test flight, especially if you buy a second hand wing or if you change to a different category or different brand. 

Firstly, remember that the manufacturer provides the best description of his wing. He knows the pilots he’s targeting so do feel comfortable with the pilot he describes in the wing presentation. 

Certification

The European Norms EN 926-1 and 926-2 have been developed to assess the safety behavior of the wings. Flight test have been standardized to classify the wings in 4 categories :

An “A” wing is only safe when you know how to pilot it. This table gives an idea of the skills and experience that could be advised for each category. If you have any doubt, choose the safest wing!

Weight range

Each wing has several sizes with a specific weight range. How to check your total-in-flight weight? Easy: dress like you’re going to fly, carry your bag including wing, harness, parachute, helmet, radio and instruments, add a bottle of water and read the weight on the scale.

Good example: you weight 75 kg. Your wing is certified from 75 to 95kg. You will most probably be within the range because a full equipment typically weights from 12 to 20 kg. What does the scale say?

Bad example: you read 90kg on your scale but your wing has a certified weight range of 68-85 kg. You are above the range. You will have a good speed, the same glide ratio, but the manufacturer of the wing does not guarantee that it is still in the same EN category. Are you still confident?

It is usually advised to fly at the top of the weight range given by the manufacturer. The glide ratio is unchanged, but you will fly faster. If you prefer a more gentle wing with soft reactions, target a wing where you are at the bottom of the weight range. 

Manufacturers

There are more than 20 high-end paraglider manufacturers on the market. Here is a non-exhaustive list of brands. If you are a manufacturer or a dealer and you wish to add your brand here, contact us. 

… And many more!

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