Paragliding Economics 101A: Shopping Around (First Paraglider Purchase).

Looking at lessons, trying to sort out the true costs.

No rental option, local used market is dried up (there is an ebb and flow to used wing availability - very dependant on time of year).

Guess a new wing it is.

If you are part of the rare 1% who has reigned in impulse and taken a step back to consider the true costs - you're likely wondering how to best save some coin on equipment purchase. 

The majority of the worlds wings are fabricated in a small number of factories that cater to multiple brands (a secret manufacturers don't make very public) and are made from a very small collection of fabrics. The result -> production costs are relatively similar.

In addition - R&D, administration, and marketing typically scale. Larger manufacturers pour more into marketing (sponsoring competition teams and factory pilots), have in house designers, and employ test pilots. Smaller shops outsource the entire design process and limit marketing to very specific regions/segments. 

What does this all mean?  

Commoditization.

A wing in EN class X should cost Y no matter the brand. A price above this is either result of inefficiency or the padding of margin somewhere between you and the manufacturer. The former will die due to decreasing market share, the latter will perish with an informed customer.

What can you do?

Become informed. Window shop around. This can be a touchy subject as it will eat into a schools margin. A *pre-authorized* purchase outside the school is sometimes offered as an unspoken option for an 'uncorking fee'  - typically around $500. It will not hurt to ask up front before paying for lessons, if I want to buy a different brand than what you carry, what is the additional cost? If nothing else, it could pressure the school dealer to price match if they wish to maintain market share.

How much could you save?

Pricing options for low end EN-B (a common first wing here) plus harness and reserve in the Vancouver market:

Equipment	Dealer A	Dealer B	Dealer C
Wing	$3900	$3500	$4000
Harness (with back protection)	$900	$650	$1100
Medium Reserve	$660	$700*	$1000

* I had to query the reserve price, as none was published.

The right combination of the above can net over $1200 in savings.The catch is the need to negotiate. A smart dealer will realize a customer who feels they are getting a good deal will become a repeat customer.

In the end the right questions cost you nothing and can save you alot.

Weather Synopsis: Bleah

A weekend in Whistler.

Dreams of venturing back to our local paragliding Mecca, Pemberton.

Weather forecast:

Pemberton, not likely.

Well, perhaps Woodside.

Glance at the FlyBC launch webcam:

Crossed arms and a windsock going up.

Woodside, not likely.

As the adage goes, what do you call 2 days of poor weather preceded by 5 days of perfect?

The weekend.

Bleah.

Back in the saddle: Part 2 (with the Skywalk RangeAir)

The wind sock goes from limp to a south, to a southwest, back to limp. The wing 'breathes' with the rise (the nose rising, A's tensioning ) and fall of the cycles (nose rolling over, A's going slack).

A cycle presents itself - going from a south to straight in southwest. Pull up and the high AR (aspect ratio) of the wing makes itself felt. Half the wing orients south, the other half more west.

Herding wingtips.

Having experienced this a few times while kiting the Delta2, I ease off the right side brake and let the lagging side 'snap' back into alignment. Kite for a second to let the wing settle, turn, and kite another second to be sure everything is good to go (an instructor from Germany mentioned letting the wing settle a second after it reaches the apex).

The cycle ebbs as I start the run. Airborne, touchdown, airborne, touchdown, airborne and away.

Long runways and weak days go hand in hand.

Two tries and I'm in the pod of the Skywalk RangeAir. The RangeAir is an extra light airbag XC harness. I have been a huge fan of airbag based back protection after watching a low airtime pilot spin a wing at tree top height, have it surge, pendulum him underneath then drop him hard. Running over, I fully expected to find a corpse. Instead the pilot was standing up and brushing himself off. The airbag harness absorbed the brunt of the fall.

The catch to an airbag system is that it needs to be inflated (by ram air) for it to work. Maybe not particularly well suited to those who are likely to suffer a drop launching such as a student who lacks the kiting skill to manage a wing or a comp pilot who doesn't have the luxury of being picky about the cycle they launch in. But for those in the middle, it is a viable option if weight and pack volume are limited - hike and fly pilots along with the globetrotting crowd come to mind.

As for the effectiveness of airbags - give this spreadsheet a gander. The lower the G force value listed (in column H), the lower the impact force passed onto the pilot. 'Schaumstoff' is foam based back protection (as opposed to airbag).

Back to the RangeAir, comments sent back to the dealer include:

A few observations - the weight and pack volume phenomenal. I can fit the harness + reserve in the Gin concertina bag with the Carrera. The reduction allowed me to drop to a 90L pack (from a 130L) with the possibility of dropping to a 70L. The loss in overall weight has me on the cusp of downsizing to a small wing.

Setup is a bit fiddly. I found the best way to accommodate is leave everything attached and loosen the shoulder straps for step in/out. Extra attention to the speedbag closing lines is needed in this case during donning - they like to pop loose.

The speedbag is very easy to get into post launch - I don't need my foot leash like I do with the Impress 3.

The chest strap appears to be non adjustable. I found out how much wider I normally run the Impress 3 in comparison when I near line twisted myself up leaning in aggressively on entry to a tight core.

I am leaning towards saying the Range Air provides more feedback vs. the Impress 3 but need more airtime to be sure.

Two additional features of note - the reserve is front mounted, which satisfies the growing comp requirement that the reserve be reachable by either hand. The front mount also eliminates the possibility that pilot weight in a hammock harness (as opposed to those with a seat board) will interfere with reserve extraction. There is also the matter of an underseat reserve potentially placing a non compressible perch between the pilot and the ground. The first thing that will hit may well be that  un-deployed reserve, prevent the remainder of the body from absorbing any impact - driving the entire impact force up into the spine. Something to think about - is the underseat reserve under your spine or your upper legs?

The second is the flight deck/front mount reserve container that is held in place by attaching to the chest strap. This helps eliminate the possibility of launching without having the leg straps done up. I had crossed paths with a fellow Impress3 owner who had launched with the flight deck secured but not the leg straps. The small snap shackle held them in long enough to get into the harness, but the shackle design would not have held them long if they could not hook their feet into the speed bag (based on comments from a harness designer back in 2012).

RangeAir

Flight Deck/Front Mount Reserve Container

Reserve Container Flipped. Leg straps tread through.

Two step speed system.

Speed bag closing loops

Opening for hydration bladder.

Velcro and securing tab for Spot or micro vario.

Back to the flight.

The trusty spine.

After a few beats back and forth, there isn't much out here yet. I try my goto trigger, the spine to the north. There is some lift, but not much. Time to push out.

The vario shows a south wind @ 8kph (2 m/s). Climbs are also 2 m/s. Add that to a 1 m/s sink.

Quick mental math time: 2 m/s horizontal vs. 3 m/s vertical. Move upwind, but not much today.

And I find it, 5 seconds of climb along a southerly course. A turn right and I fall out the side. Get it around quick then begin to widen the turn. More chirps from the vario. Tighten it up and we have a core.

Bring it around. Bring it around.

399 m.
400 m.
401 m.
401 m.
400 m.

An inversion establishing or did I just lose the core altogether?

Widening the turn again, looking for a way to keep climbing.

The Carrera starts 'sniffing'/edging right. I align the wing with it and feel myself being sucked in.

Another climb, this one breaks through and gets me to 460m, but has me pretty far north. Zero chance of making Riverside, still a chance of making the Ranch. Time to push out, keeping some margin for error on a day the winds are forecast to climb quite a bit. Not a lot to be found, again bouncing off an invisible ceiling around 400 m.

Not much from the farm buildings today.

Eventually, gravity claims both the wing and I as we set down at the Ranch.


The afternoon is punctuated with a bit of kiting in the growing valley winds. Attempts at A+C'ng the Carrera is met with frustration as the wing repeatedly tries to horseshoe. Hopefully the C+ addresses this, as this is my go to technique for stronger mid afternoon conditions.

No point in fretting about it until I have the new line set installed.

Otherwise a good day to be back in the saddle.

Back in the saddle: Part 1

A year and a half of doctors, specialists, insurance intermediaries, and drug coordinators to finally be able to have this view:

Health was slowly but surely worsening, bringing flying to a halt at the end of last season (the season in itself became more or less a write off after France). A brief respite was offered last Fall with one drug but with side effects it was not destined to become a long term solution.

But then hope. A drug regimen that could bring back a quality of life not known since mid 2013. There are risks (some potentially fatal), but what is the point to quantity of life if there is no quality. So here I am, plugged into an IV and getting pumped full of chemicals with one plan in mind - getting back into the air.

Cut to the following morning. FlyBC is the immediate target, the launch on Mt.Woodside is the ultimate goal. Upon arrival, things are little slow starting - the crew are awaiting students and tandems alike. It doesn't take for Jim and I to cross paths. Jim passes on that the Carrera+ line set kit should be in within a week. Aside from a few quirks - the initial brake travel deflects the centre trailing edge while leaving the tips unaffected (making it difficult to sense collapses without going well into the brakes) along the extremely short amount of play between the B+C risers (making A+C launches in strong conditions tricky) - I'd be singing praises to the moon about this wing with the feedback, handling and performance it has for a B. That said, rumblings from the interwebz hint that the kit might have swung the pendulum too far the other way - taming the tiger to the point of making it a house cat. For a few hundred dollars, I'm willing to take the chance.

Lounging in the barn, eyeing the launch webcam.

Looks like Degas is already up top and launching a pair of self landing students. The early days of being under instruction and having to be up at 5AM. Don't worry chaps - it gets easier (both with respect to flying and not having to be up before sunrise).

Then a 'Here!'

A dark mass hurtles my way.

A t-shirt. A new load of FlyBC branded wear just arrived. 'Shut up and Fly' remarks the back. Be in the moment, not a detached bystander I take it to mean. Very fitting in our social media age where posting about the event tends to trump the experience. Yes, I see the irony.

People filter in, the van fills, and we're off.

At launch, nary a wind this morning.

Oh well.

Tandems first, students second, then moi. I'm not being polite, just pragmatic. Students make good thermal markers - send enough of them out, they are sure to find something.

A few good launches, a few amazing launches (funny how you can spot the gifted ones fairly early) and Jim heads off to start collecting everyone at the LZ.

I hear a truck making its way up the road. This early in the day, odds are another school.

I like to think of schools as coming from one of two trains of thought - the German or the French.

The German school will lay the unattached wing out in the centre of launch and check every individual line from karabiner to attachment. Then they will clip in, perform their 15th preflight check, and wait. And wait. And wait. The elusive perfect cycle is out there.

The French on the other hand will preflight the harness and wing before packing it away. Then pull everything out, still attached, don the kit at the back of launch, preflight it again, and carry their rosetted wing out. The mass is tossed mid launch. The wind is used to work the wing into shape. The wing is then pulled over head, kited, and checked. If everything looks ok, they are gone.

Why do I mention this -> If a French school pilot gets in front of you - its no big deal, they will be in the air in a minute or less. If a German school pilot gets in front, break out a novel because its gonna be a while. The German school pilots are more commonly known in these parts as launch potatoes (I admit I am a reforming launch potato).

I fear this school might be of the German mindset and quickly get kit ready. The trucks pull into the parking lot. A FJ? I recognize it as belonging to Martina. Sigh of relief. No launch potatoes.

An entourage follows Martina up. Friends/family of a neighbour of hers who is going tandem.

No pressure. You only have your mentor and entourage watching.

A lesson in why kiting is an important part of launching soon follows.

Paragliding weather: Many watches

There is an adage,

'A man with one watch is on time, a man with two is confused.'

In the case of weather forecasting for paragliding, it is quite the opposite. The greater variety of sources for weather outlook one has at hand, the greater the chance of avoiding a 'better to be on the ground wishing one was up there rather than being up there and wishing one was on the ground.'

In the case of the Fraser Valley, we are very fortunate to have a number of tech savy pilots who want to help us have as safe a flying environment as possible.

Case in point:

Last Sunday, the wind forecast from Environment Canada looked particularly inviting:

* Note times are in UTC/Zulu.

Nil winds @ 3,000 feet. Looks like an awesome flying day for the Vancouver region.

But if we step beyond Environment Canada and look at the Rapid Refresh (RAP) data from the NOAA, visualized by Phil Ibis's display tool for Woodside, we see something a little different -> winds from the S/W at 15 knots. That certainly isn't nil winds when trim speed for most wings is around 20 knots. Launching would be challenging in the likely gusty conditions.

Yet another source, Canada Rasp from Andrew Berkley and Peter Spear, provides a sense of how the airflow is setting up in the valley.

Launch is at the lower edge of the reddish zone in the centre of the map (30 to 35 kph). The further west one goes, the wider the valley and lighter the wind (as can be seen by the trend to green).

Two sources contradicting our assumption of light winds based on the Environment Canada forecast for YVR.

So how did it turn out?

Note the far windsock. This was a brief lull in amongst the quintessential 'salmon swimming upstream' dance by both windsocks. Launch was rather blown out. The pilot wisely packed up.

The lesson, have many source 'watches' for weather data and pay particular heed when they are not in alignment. Might save an afternoon or more.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Chatting with a flying counterpart a week or so ago, they mentioned they wanted to try flying Austria one day.

"You can't."

"What do you mean?"

"HPAC paraglider ratings are not recognized in Austria, IPPI card or not."

"Huh?"

"It appears our licensing system wasn't judged to be up to par. The Brits, Swedes, Germans all ok. Us, not so much."

A discussion followed suit on how best to bring this to the attention of HPAC and see if there is a way to address. The rating system went through a recent overhaul and surely would match up against the best Europe has to offer (at least thats what we were lead to believe).

Then a few days later, a posting by one of the HPAC SIs (a Senior Instructor - the folk who set the standards for our ratings):

I think the Austrians are onto something.

Purchasing a used paraglider.

By this point, you've gotten a sense that I am very much in favour of finding the most cost effective means possible to get and remain in paragliding (and still retain a high degree of safety).

I've outlined how you can go about evaluating your local schools to find the true 'soup to nuts' cost of getting a license with Paragliding Economics 102: Lessons.

I've also outlined why with your first wing you should favour a used paraglider over new and rental over used with Paragliding Economics 101: First Wing Purchase.

But lets say your local school does not offer wing rental? Now what? Assuming suitability (as discussed with your instructor) and availability, into the 'pre-owned' bazaar we venture.

Two Simple Rules

Rule 1: The seller needs my money more than I need their wing. 

This is my variant of the age old 'there is no such thing as savers remorse'. I remind myself of this before any interaction with someone looking to sell. Putting myself in this frame of mind helps keep me objective and enables me to easily walk away - a deal that fails leaves me with money everyone wants and the seller with a wing few people want.

Rule 2: Trust no data that is not readily measurable. 

Launched off grass, accordion packed, no SIV, closet stored. None of these statements mean anything to me as I can't readily verify them. As a buyer I want to know four things - the 'Four Ps' - price, pilot, pics and porosity.

The Four Ps

Price - Price is self explanatory.

Pilot - I want to know who has been flying this wing. This info allows me look up the flight logs in Leonardo and XContest. I can also look up videos on YouTube and Vimeo. I can even look the pilot up in ParaglidingForum.com. Sounds creepy? I don't think so. This is how I determine if they are being honest with me - compare the description of the wing with their digital paragliding foot print. I have seen cases where a pilot selling a wing claimed it had only X hours but was bragging a month earlier on Paragliding Forum how they had clocked 2 times X on the wing that summer. Likewise with track logs and videos. Only grass launched, how about those tracks in Turkey? No SIV, funny that video of acro over Annecy. If there is any inconsistency, remember Rule #1 and walk away.

Pics - Pictures of the wing are always nice, but what I am after is a pic of the manufacturer label. This will have the Make, Model, EN rating, Serial Number (S/N) and Date of Manufacture (DOM). With the DOM I apply my previously suggested depreciation of 20% per year and check it against the sale price. Also, if there is any doubt in the legitimacy of the sale, I ask that a sticky note be placed in the photo of the manufacturer label with my name and date. I would reserve the use of the sticky to be a condition of final sale after price is finalized and not something to push for right away.

Porosity - I will not touch a used wing that has not had a proper test done by a porosity meter. I would also ask for a photo of the test result.  My minimum is leading and trailing edge centre top cell - it is the part most likely to be smacked nose first into the ground on landing and dragged tail last during take off. I suggest researching the relationship of porosity to wing lifespan, there are a few graphs floating about. One note of caution - a wing can retain porosity well after the fabric has passed its useful life - you will frequently see this with wings from the last decade flown only one season and closet dumped. The porosity will be high, but the fabric will have the strength of tissue paper. Another reason to ask for a pic of the manufacturer label. I personally will not consider a wing more than a few years old because of this.

Summing it up

With a little 'leg work' and an objective mind, there is quite a bit of savings to be had by going into the secondary paraglider market rather than purchasing new outright. If you keep the Two Rules and Four Ps in your kit while evaluating options, you stand a much better chance of walking away with a deal you are happy with as opposed to an unexpected surprise a season or so down the road.