airwave Gecko Manuel D'utilisation page 28

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The Gecko has not much tendency to overshoot. The stronger the wind and the greater the pressure on
the A riser the more quickly the canopy will rise.
Turning
The Gecko does not require a strong handed approach to manoeuvering. For a fast turn smoothly apply
the brake on the side to which the turn is intended. The speed with which the brake is applied is very
important. If a brake is applied fairly quickly the canopy will do a faster banking turn, but care must be
taken not to bank too severely. To attain a more efficient turn at minimum sink, apply some brake to the
accelerating wing to slow the turn and prevent the wing from banking. The Gecko flies very well like this,
but care must be taken not to over-apply the brakes as a spin could result even though the Gecko has a
very low spin tendency. The Gecko will turn far more efficiently if the pilot weight-shifts into the turn in the
harness. Remember that violent brake application is dangerous and should always be avoided.
Straight Flight
The Gecko will fly smoothly in a straight line without any input from the pilot. With a pilot weight of 70 kg
on the medium without the accelerator the flying speed will be approximately 36 km/h.
Thermaling
To attain the best climb rate the should be thermalled using a mild turn, as described above, keeping the
wing´s banking to a minimum. In strong thermals a tighter banking turn can be used to stay closer to the
thermal´s core. Remember that weight shifting in the harness will aid the efficiency of the turn and reduce
the amount of brake required.
Care must be taken not to apply so much brake as to stall, this is however very easy to avoid as the brake
pressure increases greatly as you approach the stall point. Only fly near the stall point if you have enough
height to recover (100 m).
Wing Tip Area Reduction (Big Eears)
The spanwise line layout allows the Gecko to be "big eared" without modification. The big ear facility does
not allow you to fly in stronger winds, but is a facility which allows the pilot to descend quickly without
substantially reducing the forward speed of the canopy (as is the case with B lining). To engage big ears
the pilot will need to lean forward in the harness and grasp the Big ears risers (one in each hand) at the
maillon, keeping hold of both brake handles if possible. Pull the riser out and down at least 30 cm so as to
collapse the tips of the glider. It is very important that the other A lines are not affected when you do this
as it could cause the leading edge to collapse. Steering is possible by weight shifting with big ears in. If
the big ears does not come out quickly on its own a pump on the brake will speed things up.
Before using the big ears facility in earnest it is essential to practice beforehand with plenty of ground
clearance in case a leading edge collapse occurs. Always keep hold of both brakes in order to retain
control. Putting your hands through the brake handles so they remain on your wrists is a good method of
doing this.
B-Line Stall
The Gecko is designed with a special box construction at the leading edge where the A and B tabs are closer
than on other paragliders. This design feature makes the glider exceptionally stable and resistant to tucks and
also improves the leading edge stability during launch. This also means that no matter how hard you pull the B
risers the glider will continue to fly. Therefore we recommend that you use another descent method for losing
height such as big ears or spiral dive.
Spiral Dive
A normal turn can be converted into a strong spiral dive by continuing to apply one brake. The bank angle
and speed of the turn will increase as the downward spiral is continued. Be careful to enter the spiral
gradually as too quick a brake application can cause a spin or enter an 'over the nose' spiral.
Airwave gliders are designed and tested to recover from normal spirals with a descent rate inferior to 14
m/sec, automatically without pilot input. If the pilot increases the descent rate of the spiral to over 14
m/sec or initiates what is known as an 'over the nose' spiral, the glider may require pilot input to recover.
In this case all the pilot needs to do is to apply some outside brake and steer the glider out of the turn.
The ''over the nose' spiral is a special type of spiral dive where the glider points almost directly at the
ground. This is entered by making a sudden brake application during the spiral entry so that the glider
Handbuch / Manuel d'utilisation / Owners Manuel - Airwave Gecko Alpine – rev 1.0 – 20.08.08 Page 28 / 28