GIN Atlas - Manual (Page 19)

19
5. Care, Maintenance and Repairs
The materials used in the Atlas have been carefully selected for maximum durability.
Nevertheless, following the guidelines below will keep your paraglider airworthy and will
ensure a long period of continuous safe operation. Excessive wear is caused by careless ground
handling and packing, unnecessary exposure to UV light, chemicals, heat and moisture.
Ground handling
The following should be avoided:
Violent shocks to the upper surface (e.g. when the canopy crashes to the ground leading
edge first whilst ground handling).
Dragging the glider along the ground.
Stepping on the lines or canopy. The Kevlar line inside the sheath can take lots of pulling
force without stretching, but is sensitive to bending with small radius.
Opening your wing in strong winds without first untangling the lines.
UV damage
Avoid leaving the glider out in the sun unnecessarily. UV rays from the sun degrade paraglider
cloth.
Packing instructions
We advise you to pack the glider “accordion-wise” as shown in the drawing in order to preserve
the rigidity in the profile reinforcements. This packing procedure takes slightly longer and is
easier to do with an assistant. To do this without an assistant, first gather the wing at the
trailing edge from the centre towards the tips. Then gather the wing at the leading edge from
the centre to the tips, taking care to keep the profiles neatly aligned. The leading edge profiles
should then be secured with the supplied leading edge strap and then folded to the inside.
Finally, the each side of the glider can be folded to the correct width and then folded up from
the trailing edge in the normal way.
We recommend the use of the concertina bag or fast-packing bag, see www.gingliders.com for
further details
Since folding the glider gradually weakens the materials, pack the glider as loosely as possible.