Paragliding Instruments

Altimeter:
An altimeter is an instrument used to measure change in barometric pressure with height. The atmospheric pressure decreases with height and height can be determined with the help of readymade scales fed into the altimeter. With the help of altimeter you can determine your height with respect to take off point, landing point or sea level.

Variometer:
A Variometer measures the barometric pressure with the rate of change of pressure. Basically a Variometer has two displays, one show the height at which you are flying and other shows the rate of change of height in meters or feet’s per second. Most of the Variometer provides audio signals which beeps with respect to lift and sink rate. More the lift faster is the audio signal and vice versa. For soaring in thermals and to know the core of thermal where maximum lift is, Variometer can be very useful.

Air Speed Indicator:
An air speed indicator is used by the pilot before takeoff to check the wind speed and while flying to check the ground speed. A propeller in the air speed indicator rotates with the wind and the digital meter shows the reading in m/s, ft/s, knots etc.

Radios:
In the beginning stages you will be guided by your instructor with the help of radios. It is convenient to carry and can be very useful for emergency situations. The radios used all over world are portable VHF (very high frequency) and UHF (ultra high frequency). But in India we can use only registered & allotted VHF frequencies by some government and private operators. It is illegal to use radios in India without license for security reasons. Some radios with smaller range (home frequency) can be used for paragliding but not for commercial use.

GPS (Global Positioning System) Device:
A GPS instrument is connected to satellite and is used for tracking and navigation worldwide. At a time at least 3 satellites should be covering the area to pinpoint exact location with forth one you can determine the altitude also. It was originally designed & used by U.S. Military for defense work but later was made for public service. The accuracy of 100 meters with 95% reliability can be achieved. A GPS is used in paragliding for assessing ground speed, orientation along cross country routes & for finding turning points in competitions. During competitions the turning points exact location are fed in the GPS instrument & then it continuously shows the direction and distance of the point.

Water Ballast Bag:
This water bag is used as ballast with carrying capacity from 5 kg to 10 kg. The water ballast bag is used by a lighter weight pilot flying a glider for heavier pilot. The water can be emptied in air or consumed to reduce the weight.