Punchy September air at two different locations gave me massive collapses in the last weeks. Given that I've been flying for 16 years and I can count the number of collapses of this size on the fingers on one hand, this was statistically very unusual.
Usually I fly in pretty good air and go to land when conditions are not comfortable.
As these are pretty unusual experiences for me it's worth a big of analysis.
Collapse One, Owens Valley
The first one was in the Owens Valley. Fairly typical Owens conditions, with 15-20km valley winds picking up as they day went on. We'd launched from Paiute about 11:30 am and flew 10km north then turned upwind towards Bishop. I'd just passed the LZ and was trying to get high again over the wash close to the LZ. I had chosen to fly out over the valley rather than going back into the terrain because the wind was stronger close to the terrain.
At around 12:30 after an hour flying I'd just flown through some lifty but disorganized air (not even what I would describe as a thermal) when 80% of the wing just instantly disappeared in a huge asymmetric collapse. Classic collapse behavior, with 145 degree immediate rotation in a dive to the collapsed side. I could feel the wing thrashing around through the brake lines for a few seconds, then it re-inflated almost instantaneously. Then the next thing I knew the glider surged right over my head and was level with the horizon 90% in front of me. That was the first time in my paragliding career I've had the glider on the horizon in front of me. The entire surge felt like happened within 1-2 seconds although maybe it was longer. I thought "oh no you don't" and gave a huge pull on both brakes to stop the dive and possibly falling into the wing. The wing shot back over my head and I released both brakes simultaneously. And then nothing. The glider was back overhead, solid as a rock, flying straight and level, no pitch, bank, tip cravats or softness. Complete recovery.
It was shocking how completely it recovered from the series of dramatic wing actions: collapse with the wing behind, spiral deep dive, re-inflation, new dive, then 90% pitch correction to normal flight.
Collapse Two, Marshall
Poorer conditions than forecast at Marshall, with top of lift only around 5500ft with a strong inversion. I was climbing in a ratty thermal above Regionals when I had a 100% full frontal with absolutely no warning. The entire wing crumpled back 60 degrees behind me within 1-2 seconds. There must have been some unevenness in the original collapse because I rotated 180 degrees while falling back and below the messed up wing. it was effectively a fully stalled wing. Briefly considered throwing my reserve because of the strong rotation and the completely collapsed glider. Through the light pressure I still had on the brakes I felt the wing thrashing around as it spontaneously reinflated yanking the brake lines this way and that, and then it was flying again fully open and flying quite suddenly. No cravats or oscillation. Just moderate pitch correction required as there was little to no surge. Decided to fly out into the flats after that....
Analysis
In hindsight, in both these major (80% and 100% of wingspan) paraglider collapses, the glider did a textbook recovery for my Delta 2 Sport Class paraglider. Everything was within the parameters for this type of paraglider given the major nature of these collapses. Possibly I should have consciously gone 'hands up' in both situations, but in neither instance did my light brake input cause any additional cascade activity or slow down the reinflation. Rather it enabled me to feel what was going on and make appropriate pitch control as soon as the recovery surge to normal flight occurred. The reinflation was so rapid in both collapses that almost no (conscious) pilot input was feasible due to the timeframe. Barely time to think, weight shift or take any other deliberate action. The surge in the asymmetric collapse was also normal behavior (even if very dramatic) and my reactions eliminated any additional abnormal activity within about five seconds.
In both situations I had about 2000 ft above ground. That means I would have at least ten to twenty seconds to attempt recovery of any further cascading issues or twists, which are likely results of such big collapses before needing to seriously consider about reserve deployment.
Because the recovery was textbook both times and very fast, I felt astoundingly un-rattled by both situations. One of my previous collapses on my last wing (the original Delta) went into a series of wild pitches and rolls as it recovered. The whole situation left me hyperventilating for 10 minutes and feeling motion sick. I had to deliberately talk myself into a calmer state to continue flying rather than just pushing out to a safe landing zone. With these collapses, everything happened so fast and the recovery to normal flight was so powerful and complete that it was almost all over before adrenaline kicked in and started to mess with my physiology and mental state. I've also a new respect for what an incredible glider the Delta 2 is.
Usually I fly in pretty good air and go to land when conditions are not comfortable.
As these are pretty unusual experiences for me it's worth a big of analysis.
Collapse One, Owens Valley
The first one was in the Owens Valley. Fairly typical Owens conditions, with 15-20km valley winds picking up as they day went on. We'd launched from Paiute about 11:30 am and flew 10km north then turned upwind towards Bishop. I'd just passed the LZ and was trying to get high again over the wash close to the LZ. I had chosen to fly out over the valley rather than going back into the terrain because the wind was stronger close to the terrain.
At around 12:30 after an hour flying I'd just flown through some lifty but disorganized air (not even what I would describe as a thermal) when 80% of the wing just instantly disappeared in a huge asymmetric collapse. Classic collapse behavior, with 145 degree immediate rotation in a dive to the collapsed side. I could feel the wing thrashing around through the brake lines for a few seconds, then it re-inflated almost instantaneously. Then the next thing I knew the glider surged right over my head and was level with the horizon 90% in front of me. That was the first time in my paragliding career I've had the glider on the horizon in front of me. The entire surge felt like happened within 1-2 seconds although maybe it was longer. I thought "oh no you don't" and gave a huge pull on both brakes to stop the dive and possibly falling into the wing. The wing shot back over my head and I released both brakes simultaneously. And then nothing. The glider was back overhead, solid as a rock, flying straight and level, no pitch, bank, tip cravats or softness. Complete recovery.
It was shocking how completely it recovered from the series of dramatic wing actions: collapse with the wing behind, spiral deep dive, re-inflation, new dive, then 90% pitch correction to normal flight.
Collapse Two, Marshall
Poorer conditions than forecast at Marshall, with top of lift only around 5500ft with a strong inversion. I was climbing in a ratty thermal above Regionals when I had a 100% full frontal with absolutely no warning. The entire wing crumpled back 60 degrees behind me within 1-2 seconds. There must have been some unevenness in the original collapse because I rotated 180 degrees while falling back and below the messed up wing. it was effectively a fully stalled wing. Briefly considered throwing my reserve because of the strong rotation and the completely collapsed glider. Through the light pressure I still had on the brakes I felt the wing thrashing around as it spontaneously reinflated yanking the brake lines this way and that, and then it was flying again fully open and flying quite suddenly. No cravats or oscillation. Just moderate pitch correction required as there was little to no surge. Decided to fly out into the flats after that....
Analysis
In hindsight, in both these major (80% and 100% of wingspan) paraglider collapses, the glider did a textbook recovery for my Delta 2 Sport Class paraglider. Everything was within the parameters for this type of paraglider given the major nature of these collapses. Possibly I should have consciously gone 'hands up' in both situations, but in neither instance did my light brake input cause any additional cascade activity or slow down the reinflation. Rather it enabled me to feel what was going on and make appropriate pitch control as soon as the recovery surge to normal flight occurred. The reinflation was so rapid in both collapses that almost no (conscious) pilot input was feasible due to the timeframe. Barely time to think, weight shift or take any other deliberate action. The surge in the asymmetric collapse was also normal behavior (even if very dramatic) and my reactions eliminated any additional abnormal activity within about five seconds.
In both situations I had about 2000 ft above ground. That means I would have at least ten to twenty seconds to attempt recovery of any further cascading issues or twists, which are likely results of such big collapses before needing to seriously consider about reserve deployment.
Because the recovery was textbook both times and very fast, I felt astoundingly un-rattled by both situations. One of my previous collapses on my last wing (the original Delta) went into a series of wild pitches and rolls as it recovered. The whole situation left me hyperventilating for 10 minutes and feeling motion sick. I had to deliberately talk myself into a calmer state to continue flying rather than just pushing out to a safe landing zone. With these collapses, everything happened so fast and the recovery to normal flight was so powerful and complete that it was almost all over before adrenaline kicked in and started to mess with my physiology and mental state. I've also a new respect for what an incredible glider the Delta 2 is.