Frequently Asked Questions

The certification in Europe (CEN) exists only for free flying gliders and there is no actual certification for paramotor configuration of the wing – so all industry continues to certify paramotor wings for free flying (accordingly typical S size wing is certified for 65kg to 85kg only) and then just by making additional load test for maximum weight, including paramotor 100 kg – 165 kg confirming it for PPG use.

This is the policy we at APCO follow too.

Our Reserve Systems (Excluding the GMD) are designed to be installed without the use of maillons.
This has many advantages:-

• Reduced Weight
• Reduced Cost
• No Tools Required
• Elimination of risk of injuries from maillons during deployment

Our reserve bridles have enlarged loops on one end that are large enough to pass the folded reserve though, so that one can use “larks-head knots” to both fit the bridle to the harness, and then the reserve to the bridles. The following sequence of photos illustrate how to do this. 
WARNING: Do not use heat shrink on the Light Bridle – the heat may damage the fibres.
Instead use a silicone based stretch tape to hold the knot in place.
Ensure the knots are tidy and perfectly centred on the loops, and then pulled tight and locked with the silicone stretch tape or similar.

More information on our Light Bridle here:

A paraglider is constructed from a top and bottom surface connected by ribs. One top and bottom panel, together with the connecting ribs is called a cell. In some models, secondary ribs are of a diagonal design and sewn between the main ribs. Each cell has an opening on the lower front part. The cells fill with air under pressure forcing the panels to take the shape dictated by the air-foil section of the ribs.

It is APCO’s philosophy to have one person try to complete a unit, including all vital stages from start to finish. Your glider is therefore cut as a set and sewn as a set, and the line set on your glider has been individually cut and sewn as a set.

Due to the behavior of reflex profile, it is very difficult and sometimes even not possible to create a deflation by pulling on the A riser, therefore it is nearly impossible and uncomfortable to perform Big Ears maneuver on reflex wings.

Why does APCO change aspect ratio for different sizes of same wing model?
(Contrary to the mainstream manufacturers who use zooming/scaling, keeping aspect ratio constant)

Indeed it does sound odd.
Why should APCO insist on sizing system which is not popular with other manufacturers?

Let’s see – to every problem there is always more than one solution and probably you can reach the goal either way. The question is what is more efficient and offers better optimization.

For more information please read our article about aspect ratio optimisation.

The line should be adjusted with not less than 10 cm of movement before activation of the brake when the paraglider is inflated above your head. The trailing edge should not pull down when in a state of hands off.

An additional brake line has been installed on a few models to activate the stabilizer for improved handling. The brake line should be adjusted in a way that the stabilizer is activated after 60-100 mm. of free movement of the main brake line. Caution should be taken when the main brake line is adjusted, so that the line activating the stabilizer is readjusted, in order to maintain the same free movement of the brake before the stabilizer is activated.

Super-aramid lines are known to be sensitive to the influence of the elements. They must be carefully inspected periodically. The pilots, in their own interest, must observe the following points to ensure maximum performance and safety from the glider.

• Avoid sharp bending and squeezing of the lines
• Do not step on the lines
• Take care of your lines in crowded take off areas
• Do not pull on the lines if they get caught on rocks or vegetation
• Avoid getting the lines wet. Dry them as soon as possible at room temperature if they do

IT IS STRICTLY RECOMMENDED TO CHANGE THE BOTTOM LINES ON EVERY PARAGLIDER ONCE A YEAR OR EVERY 100 HOURS, WHICH EVER COMES FIRST. THE REST OF THE LINES MUST BE CHECKED YEARLY AND REPLACED IF NECESSARY. THIS RECOMMENDATION IS IN LINE WITH ISRAELI REGULATIONS, BINDING IN ISRAEL. AS AN ALTERNATIVE, WE SUGGEST FOR YOU TO FOLLOW THE REGULATIONS SET BY YOUR NATIONAL AUTHORITIES WITH REGARD TO LINE MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT.

NEVER REPLACE THE LINES WITH DIFFERENT DIAMETER OR TYPE OF LINES AS ALL GLIDERS WERE LOAD TESTED FOR SAFETY IN THEIR ORIGINAL CONFIGURATION. CHANGING LINE DIAMETER/STRENGTHS CAN HAVE FATAL CONSEQUENCES.

The diagonal ribs used in the newer gliders made by APCO are stitched to the center of the panels of the top surface. Unlike other ribs, the position to stitch these ribs has to be marked, which is done by punching small holes in the correct position.The small holes do not influence the gliders performance and are not mistakes, but necessary for the accurate manufacture of the glider.

Each model has a standard color pattern, and a standard range of colors. We prefer to stick to these patterns and colors to improve product identity, but custom colors are available, at an increased cost. It is also possible to put logos on the gliders, specifically for sponsored gliders.

Contact your dealer for more information and quotes.

To place a order for a custom color or a glider with a logo on it, or both, you will have to provide your dealer with the following information:

* If you are intending to place a logo or any insignia on the glider yourself, it is nessesarry to order the glider with a non-siliconized bottom surface, since insignia cloth does not stick to the standard siliconized cloth. It is possible to buy the Insignia cloth from APCO through your dealer.

** If the glider surfaces, as a result of customer request, are produced from cloth different to standard cloth with which glider was certified. The glider no longer meets the formal certification requirements.

Include a exact diagram of what the glider should look like with the logo on it. Also include a high quality copy of the logo. The insignia cloth used for making logos are available in many colors, but not fading from one color to another i.e. in plain colors only. Also keep in mind that a very large amount of insignia added to a glider makes it heavy, and it becomes harder to launch. It may be necessary to construct the logo in part, into the glider using the glider fabric.

The three different terms used to describe pilot weight have led to some misunderstanding. During certification, “all up weight” is quoted, which is the total weight of the pilot and all equipment, including the glider. This is the correct weight to use when calculating wing loading. At APCO we have always used “hook in” weight, to refer to what our gliders are designed to carry. It therefore excludes the weight of the glider. The technical information about all our gliders refers specifically to hook in weight. “Pilot weight” is a potentially confusing term, and is not used by APCO.

Recently however, we have changed our policy in favor of the industry norm of “all up weight”. The ranges quoted for the Bagheera, Allegra and later models are “all up”. This is in order to avoid misunderstanding in the flying community. All the gliders before Bagheera and Allegra have been quoted for “hook in” weight (total weight, excluding the weight of the glider).

All our future gliders, including Bagheera and Allegra, will be quoted for “all up” weight (total weight incl. the weight of the glider).

Our gliders are usually not certified with trimmers, except for the Keara and tandem gliders. However, in certain special situations we are willing to provide trimmers, with the understanding that the glider is then not certified.

The glider is made from high tear resistant Rip stop Nylon cloth, which is P.U. coated to zero porosity and siliconized to make the fabric greatly resistant to the elements.

The cloth for the top and bottom panels, and the ribs is of different types due to their different functions.

The lines are made of Super-aramid covered with a polyester sheath for protection against wear and abrasion. The bottom section of the brake lines is made of Polyester because of its better mechanical properties to resist the bending around the steel ring of the brake line guide.

The Karabiners that attach the lines to the v-lines are made of high corrosion resistant stainless steel.

This has lately become a hot issue especially on some markets, therefore we would like to share our experience and opinion on this matter with you: Due to APCO’s use of superior paragliding cloth and our 3 year/250 hour warranty, some manufacturers felt threatened and believed that APCO has been taking too big a slice of their market share. (I wish that this was the case and all that was required to increase the market share was to improve the quality of the cloth! It takes a lot more than putting some silicon on the cloth. The product has to offer competitive safety, performance, service and price.) The manufacturers searched for a new method of increasing their sales by attacking APCO through some magazines and other publications, publishing recently a number of articles claiming that “porosity is unimportant and that it is actually better to use “porous cloth”. We view this as a naive attempt to convince “uninformed” customers that “Black is White”.

The facts are as follows: We have been using this cloth since 1992, and during these years we have not received a single claim about deteriorating performance as a result of loss of porosity of the cloth. Actually, until today, we weren’t required to pay a single penny to unsatisfied customers within the frame of our warranty. Please check with our competitors how many times they have had to battle with a customer because the glider did not launch or stalled due to porosity problems. We have made a comprehensive study, comparing cloth quality. The results are that the porosity of our new cloth is 2-3 times better and the tearing resistance is 10%-15% better than cloth used by our competitors. After 500 hours of use, the porosity of our cloth will be 10 times better and the tearing resistance will be 7 times stronger.

These results have been proven a number of times and are easy to display. On every APCO paraglider there is a small section of non-siliconized cloth where the logo is applied (the rest is siliconized). Since there are 2 different types of cloth on the same glider, undergoing the same atmospheric conditions and exposure to the elements for the same amount of time, it makes the experiment precise and gives reliable comparative data. We often have used gliders here and have obtained the same results, showing the advantages of silicon coating on paragliding cloth.

Another typical argument we often face is that the porosity is good, but the cloth is bad due to too much elasticity. Again this is untrue and we do not wish to argue as to what is better for the glider – elastic or rigid cloth – we leave that up to you. However, what matters to the customer is whether our product flies as well as or better than our competitors product, even after 200-400 hours of flying. If you find that the performance of our used products deteriorated the same or less than the performance of our competitors product, the inevitable conclusion must be that the claim of elasticity of fabric is bad for our products is untrue and speculative. Much additional ink could be wasted over this particular subject, but I believe that your own experience will coincide with our findings. We often receive phone calls from our dealers thankfully noting that school gliders previously used in their schools had to be thrown out after one year. Now that they are using APCO Prima with silicon cloth, the glider is still as good as new even in its second or third year.

In our opinion, some of the aerodynamical performance data frequently published lacks reliability and is somewhat inflationary. Some aerodynamical parameters like L/D, polar etc. are difficult to measure scientifically with small enough error margins without the use of very expensive and complicated equipment (not usually available): full size wind tunnels in which the paraglider could be tested and/or proper simulation theory. Outdoor testing based on vario and speed meter may have too big an error margin, due to the large number of changing parameters which are not taken into consideration and the optimistic approach of interested parties when they publicize the results of the tests and often demonstrate a selective approach in an effort to prove the superiority of one product compared to the next.

We have never publicized the results of our L/D tests as we wished to refrain from entering into this inflationary race.

Recently there has been a lot of confusion regarding airworthiness of paragliding Karabiners from Austrian Alpin.

We offer Karabiners which resemble the Karabiners from Austrian Alpin in their shape. We would like to reassure all of you that our Karabiners are free of any fault and are perfectly airworthy.

Our Karabiners have very precise tolerance between the gate and the catch, preventing periodical bending cycles under repeated loads. So no loss of strength is recorded after prolonged use. The karabiner is made from aircraft quality 7075 Aluminium Alloy Hot Forged and individually tested. This is a manufacturing technique guaranteeing the best strength results (as the material is free of internal stress). The Karabiners from most other manufacturers are made by bending aluminium rod which introduces internal tension and invisible micro cracks – significantly reducing the strength of the karabiner during its lifespan, accelerated by the periodical bending cycles under repeated load due to the big tolerance between the gate and the body catch.

To reconfirm our data, we asked the Israel Institute of Standards to test the breaking strength of karabiner both before and after repeated bending cycle. Test results received from them, showing karabiner before bending carries 2.5 ton and after prolonged use is still good for at least 1,700-1,800 kg.

A copy of the karabiner test results is available here.

No problem to clean your wing with a damp (not too wet) sponge (water only) – this will remove dust.

In General, it is very hard to achieve reasonable sized big ears safely on wings with Reflex profiles. This due to the fact that reflex profiles are very collapse resistant, and tend to pre-accelerate before collapse when a collapse is induced by pulling the A-Lines. Though not high, the risk of inducing a Full Frontal collapse exists, and this is why we do not recommend Big-Ears on our Reflex wings.

B-Line Stalls can safely be done on reflex profile wings, however, this may be hard to achieve while flying the wing with a motor, due to the added weight that needs to be lifted…

Instead of Big ears or B-Stalls, we recommend using the accelerator or Trimmers, combined with low RPM / Idle on the Engine to achieve a high sink rate for descending safely.

Embedded hook up points (top lines) are Dyneema 100 kg.

They will outlast any other parameter of the wing’s construction and there is no need to check strength of the top lines – only the floors beneath require checking.