TrikeBuggy Training Syllabus

Flight

Flying
The speed at which a paraglider will tend to fly when no pilot input is given (brakes in the full up position) is called trim speed. This is the speed the glider is 'trimmed' at.

Pulling both of the brakes down together will slow the glider. Pulling one brake will turn the glider in that direction.

In turbulent air it is useful to keep a slight pressure on the brakes. However, whether turning or simply tensioning the brakes, do not pull the brakes down too deep. This could result in the wing stalling and you falling.

A common mistake for students is to pull one brake down, complete the turn and forget to release the brake tension before they begin another turn. If this is continued through several turns, it could result in both brakes being pulled down to a position that could stall the glider. Therefore, consciously release the tension on your turning brake before you begin another turn.

Your first flights will be radio controlled by your instructor. Listen carefully to the instructions. Your flight may be buoyant and you may need to make complete left and right turns to burn off altitude so you can land well within the landing zone.

Touch & Go
Before we actually practice this valuable process, we must learn to use the throttle efficiently. TO do this, we will practice flying at around 20 feet above the ground for extended periods. You will be surprised at how challenging this will be at first! Only when we have mastered the pitch control of our aircraft using the throttle and not the brakes can we proceed into actually touching down again. Practice more of this by lowering the aircraft to 10 feet high fly-bys of the landing field. Master the throttle control - ease the power on and off without surging the trike. When we have done many of these low flying landing approaches, then we can continue to actually landing.