PHI SCALA 2 - Flight Emergencies and Reactions; Spiral Maneuver; Collapse Handling; Asymmetric Collapse

7
Spiral
The deep spiral is the most demanding fast descent and should only be learned at high altitudes, ideally as part of a safety
training course.
The initiation can be divided into two phases:
First, you fly a turn by applying one brake and by shiing your weight to the same side, the glider will bank up and increase its
turning speed. Then the g-forces increase rapidly and the leading edge will lean towards the ground. In a fully developed deep
spiral, the leading edge is almost parallel to the ground. The maximum sink rate with the SCALA 2 can get up to 25m/s and more.
The first attempts to fly a deep spiral should be stopped clearly before reaching a fully developed deep spiral to get used to the
quick rotation and to practice the exit without pendulum swinging. The exit should be performed by simply releasing the inner
brake with a neutral weight-shi. The SCALA 2 will then decrease its bank angle and go back to normal flight. To avoid a
pendulum movement, the inner brake has to be pulled in the moment the wing wants to reduce its bank rapidly.
The actual spiral movement begins with the leading edge nearly parallel to the horizon. At this moment the harness banks and the
pilot is pushed to the outside of the rotation movement. The pilot should allow this movement to avoid a stable spiral situation.
(see below). Now the sink values can be varied by inner and outer brake.
If the pilot weight shis to the outer side, the spiral movement will get slower as soon as the pilot releases the inner brake. The
rest of the exit works as explained above.
If the pilot shis his weight significantly inwards, the SCALA 2 can continue to spiral when releasing both brakes. In this case apply
both sides braking or braking of the outside of the curve and of course shi of the weight to the outside.
The sink values in the spiral can be between 10m/s and 20m/s. The load on the body is over 4g and can lead to unconsciousness
depending on the physical constitution of the pilot.
So it is important that you slowly approach this maneuver in order to master the maneuver actively and confidently, and to know
the reaction of the body in this demanding situation of high g-forces.
Attention!
Actively exiting a stable deep spiral requires an unusually large amount of body force due to the high g-load!
Attention!
Due to the high performance and dynamics of the wing you have to expect that the glider rises up some altitude aer the release
of the deep spiral and hits his own vortex turbulence!
Collapse
Asymmetric collapse
When entering strong turbulence, one side of the paraglider may collapse. Specifically, this happens when on this side of the wing
is losing li by decreased or negative angle of attack. As a result the lines are getting unloaded and the wing is collapsing.
When such a collapse only affects a small part of the span and the SCALA 2 will show no significant reaction. For larger collapses
with more than 50% of the span affected, the glider shows a more dynamic reaction:
Due to the increased drag of the folded wing, the SCALA 2 will start to turn to the side of the collapse. At the same time, the glider
pitches forward as a result of the smaller loaded wing surface and therefore higher wing load and needed airspeed.
The pilot can prevent the glider from pitching and turning, by applying the brake on the non collapsed side of the wing.
If a collapse occurs close to the ground it is essential to react properly. The proper reaction should be taught at high altitude,
ideally under professional guidance (safety training).
If the brake input on the open side is clearly too strong, it can lead to an asymmetric stall (see spin).
Attention!
Especially side collapses at full throttle can show a very dynamic reaction!
When flying accelerated, always pay attention to sufficient safety height and release the speed bar immediately and fully in the
event of a collapse!