Big ears, Spiral dive – Windtech kinetik plus User Manual
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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
described 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
PLUS
will return to normal flight.
The
sink
rate
achieved
from
pulling big-ears is
around 3–5 m/s.
This manoeuvre is
r e c o m m e n d e d
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
trimmers (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