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Little Black

on January 31, 2015

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Photo Credit: Mike Rich

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Setting up a BlueFly Vario with XC Track

Receiving the package My BlueFly vario arrived from Australia in 16 days after ordering. It was packed in a small bubble wrap envelope labeled Variometer parts. This is probably a strategy to avoid customs on finished products. The whole approach that BlueFly uses is clearly meant to keep the costs down. Assembly Assembly took about 15 minutes, following the assembly instructions on the BlueFly website. It feels a little weird to be assembling your own electronic product, but it is so simple that it shouldn't present any difficulty. If you want to attach a lanyard, you do need a small drill to create too small holes in the casing. Contents of the package were two part casing, screws, circuit board and battery Drilling two small holes in the case is necessary if you want to attach a lanyard Carefully insert the circuit board into the case. A folded up piece of paper stops it moving around The last step is to plug in the battery and ...

Creating an Airspace File

Creating airspace files for paragliding is something I avoided for a long time. I've tried to follow several sets of instructions without success, so I finally decided to decode the various links that I had been saving up and get to work and figure it out. What airspace should paragliding pilots be concerned with? This is a review of the different types of airspace in the US: Class A: Anything over 18,000 feet Class B: Around large airports and is usually in the shape of an inverted wedding cake. This airspace normally begins at the surface and becomes larger with successive layers/altitude. Class C: Around airports (smaller ones than in B). Airspace is only in effect during the operating hours of the tower. Upper vertical limit is usually 4000 feet above the airport surface. Core surface area has a radius of 5 nautical miles or 9km and this goes to the ceiling of the Class C. An upper shelf has a radius of 10 nautical miles and extends from as low as 1200feet to the ceilin...

The Future of Paraglider Design -100+ Cells

Three new gliders from different manufacturers have given us a big clue as to what the next big wave of innovation in paraglider design may well turn out to be. Many pilots may agree that the Sharknose, originally patented by Ozone after it appeared on the R10 open class glider in about 2010, was the last major innovation in paraglider design. Ozone in a admirable move, did not licence the sharknose technology to other manufacturers. Instead, they released it freely, leading to rapid variations. The trickle down from open class to the gliders that mere mortals fly was rapid, and now even low end ENB gliders typically use some variation of the sharknose design. The Journey to 100 Cell Paragliders For years, paragliders cell counts have slowly increased. Like many innovations in paraglider design, high cell counts first turned up competition gliders. In order to squeeze as much performance out of the sail, it needs to be as smooth as possible. The air pressure that holds the wing s...

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