SAFA Skysailor Magazine

40 SKY SAILOR January | February 2022 Greetings fellow pilots. This week I returned from a couple of weeks leave, my first since January 2021. Laughed a lot, flew at Bright and Corryong, and ignored email notifications. I also managed to catch up with Rob van der Klooster and Chris Scholfield for lunch in Torquay. Inevitably, conversation turned to coastal flying and the damage that occurs to equipment due to the salty conditions. A couple of anecdotes came up where paraglider lines and wings were literally ripped apart like tissue paper. It is important to remember that sea air and sand are extremely damaging to the materials that our aircraft are constructed from. After speaking with Felipe Rezende of Flow Paragliders: • • Humidity kills. At the end of the day par- ticularly if you have finished in damp air, open up your wing overnight, preferably in a dehumidified environment and repack the next day. • • Lines can be washed in fresh water, but make sure they dry thoroughly. Felipe has found that line length can also be affected by humidity, particularly with unsheathed lines. • • Similarly with wings, they must be washed thoroughly after immersion in sea water. AIRS Safety Wrap-up – December 2022 by Iain Clarke – SAFA Safety Management Officer