Windtech kinetik - Manual (Page 15)

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happen if things go wrong! With enough altitude it is possible to safely master these
manoeuvres ready for the day you may need them for real!
More radical’s manoeuvres such as full stall, asymmetrical stall and flat spin are not des-
cribed in our manual. In order to perform these manoeuvres you should do a special
safety course with the correct instructor
& over the water with a rescue boat standing
by, and all safety precations taken.
-- big ears
Big Ears is the simplest descent technique & can be very useful for top landing.
Sit upright in your harness & with the brakes in your hands reach up to the split “A” outer
riser, and be careful to watch the glider while you pull down one side, then the other.
Once you are sure that you have the correct riser, watch as you pull out & down, and the
tips of your glider should fold under symmetrically.
You should be applying NO brake, as you could stall the wing in this way.
Steering is done by weigh-shift.
To recover, release the outer 'A' lines & the KINETIK will return to normal flight.
The sink rate achieved from pulling big-ears is around 3–5 m/s. This manoeuvre is recom-
mended close to the ground, as it allows the pilot to keep the big-ears in even until on
the ground (although
of course the pilot
needs be aware of
the higher descent
rate, and possible
hard landing that
may result). If one
combines the big-
ears with the trim-
mers (and possibly
the accelerator as
well), one gets a very
good descent rate
whilst keeping an
acceptable speed.
-- spiral dive
The Spiral Dive is obtained by maintaining the glider in a steep turn. Little by little (the
speed at which the spiral is entered depends greatly on how much brake is induced and
also wing loading) the glider will accelerate into the spiral, especially if one aids this with
weight-shift. Once the turn has converted into a spiral dive the pilot can control the