Wing / Canopy

Paraglider is an aerofoil arc of cloth wing made up of nylon polyester. A wing has two sheets of cloth sewn together with a gap in between. Edges and rear (Trailing edge) portions are closed and only the front edge (Leading edge) is open. The size of the openings on the leading edge depends on design and performance required. Beginner wings have wider openings to fly with lower speeds and competition wings have thinner openings to fly with higher speeds. Wider openings have more drag, as smaller the opening less the drag.

A reinforcement of thicker material is attached between the two sheets of cloth called ribs, which maintain the shape of wing. Ribs are attached perpendicular or crosswise to the surface of the wing. Ribs are made of thicker material often made of low stretch Dacron (polyester), which keeps the openings at the leading edge open and keeps the aerofoil shape (during flying). The gaps produced by the ribs are called as Cells. Beginner wings have larger and fewer numbers of cells (approximately 20). Whereas advance competition wings have smaller and larger number of cells (approximately 50+). Ribs have certain holes known as crossports or inter connecting vents, to let the air pressure equalize in the wing for stability and keep it inflated.

The material used for paraglider is made up of ripstop nylon with a special weaving and resin coating. The weight of the material used for canopy manufacturing is 45 gm per square meter for lower and upper surface.

Some of the terms used in Paragliding:

• CHORD: it is the measurement between leading edge and trailing edge.
• SPAN: it is the distance between the tips of the wing (i.e. Width of the wing).
• Actual wing area: SPAN X Average Chord
• Projected Area: Projected Span X Average Chord
• Aspect Ratio = Span X Span/ Actual wing area
• Projected Aspect ratio = Projected span X Projected Area/
• Actual wing area is calculated by multiplying Span and Average Chord.
• In flight wing is curved, which is called as projected area and is smaller than the actual area. The performance of a wing depends on the projected area as one of the factor.

The material selected for canopy by a manufacturer depends on various factors such as cost per square meter, weight, wear & tear resistance to the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun etc. Proper care of canopy should be taken to increase/ maintain the life. Exposure to sun’s ultra violet rays, dust, excessive humidity, contact with salt water and normal water and insect blood (trapped during packing) are certainly going to decrease the life of a Paraglider. An expected life of a paraglider is 300 hrs of direct sunlight exposure. To keep the canopy in good condition for long time, proper care should be taken. Should be kept in shadow when not in use, protect from heat & humidity. Some colors have high resistance to U.V. light. Before buying the canopy, the table below will help you in deciding the right colors.

High resistance to U.V. light:
White, light Grey, Pale Green, light Blue.

Medium resistance to U.V. light:
Dark Green, Deep Blue, Yellow, Violet, Orange.

Low resistance to U.V. light:
Fluorocent Green, Fluorocent Pink, Fluorocent Yellow, Purple, Fluorocent Orange, Black.

Canopy is controlled with the help of two control lines attached to the trailing edge. Right/ Left control line is attached to right/ left trailing edge. By pulling down the control line, the trailing edge come down and creates drag where as the other side flies with its regular speed. The half wing with drag will slow down and turns on the side. Both the control lines are pulled to slow down the canopy and vice versa.