Получил сегодня интересное письмо из ФАИ.
Dear CIVL Delegates,
having read the Annex 19 A “New paragliding competition class”, I would like to make you aware of concerns Torsten Siegel has raised. He is a long term member of the German national team and an experienced test pilot. Please see attachment.
The short version is:
Current EN-D 2-line gliders have a top speed between 56-58 km/h. This is the maximum speed at which recovery from dynamic collapses is within EN specifications. Dynamic reactions from gliders travelling at more than 60 km/h are too violent to pass certification tests, and correspondingly, all EN-D competition gliders now fly within this speed range. The PMA assumes that pilots should all be able to recover from collapses at 65 km/h but not at 70 km/h. (At best under optimal conditions an error of +/- 3 km/h must be accounted for when measuring at 65 km/h.)
From 2014 onwards, testing this should be left up to pilots themselves, as testing for accelerated collapses should be no longer part of the FAI competition certification program, as it is too dangerous for test pilots! ??
Limit aspect ratio to 7
To limit aspect ratio carries the risk that we will see a change of course in glider development, where low-arc high performance profiles with significantly more challenging reactions to extreme situations prevail, especially as accelerated collapse testing is no longer to be conducted.
Conical goal cylinder
The conical goal cylinder shall encourage pilots to arrive high and not fly at speed close to the ground. Theoretical calculations for the size of a goal cylinder can only take typical climb rates into account, and pilots may still win when flying at speed if they find a strong thermal.
Torsten concludes and DHV agrees with it: “Delegates are well advised not to follow the recommendations made here. EN testing is at its limits for new 2-line gliders and needs to be reformed, but reforms need to be substantial. This means we need to test the assumptions made in practice and under competition conditions before introducing them as regulations.”
Klaus Tänzler
German delegate
