SAFA Skysailor Magazine

65 SUMMER 2025/2026 | December-January-February SKY SAILOR imately 20m beyond shoreline. The glider was destroyed; PIC was unhurt. Always approach landing with adequate beach to flare onto; never approach over the ocean at low level. It is better to land badly on land than land at all in water. An ocean water landing, no matter how deep or how small the waves are, will invariably destroy the aircraft, increase the risk of drowning and make recovery of aircraft and pilot impossible. #1956 – PG landing in paddock behind LZ, NSW PIC was flying their paraglider at Bald Hill, Stanwell Park (NSW). Wind strength picked up, but PIC missed the cues, including other pilots landing. Unable to penetrate forward or descend, they opted to make a landing in a paddock in the valley behind launch. PIC suffered some minor collapses during the descent, but landed safely without injury or damage. PIC debriefed with an SSO: Don’t lose situational awareness. Land as soon as other PGs land. Don’t be last to land. Keep an eye on the cloud front rolling in. Land earlier rather than later. Monitor speed upwind with no brakes. Fly out over the water more to avoid compression lift from land. Start to fly the lower cliffs and more upwind when you know that the wind is picking up. Don’t do sharp 360s with speed- bar to lose altitude, because that takes you downwind. Instead, do sharp turns with max speed bar in the upwind direction. Use big ears sooner to lose altitude. #2089 – PG reserve thrown first day of Corryong Sports Class PG Championships 2025, Vic A pilot flying an EN-B glider in strongly thermic conditions at Corryong (Vic), expe- rienced a collapse event leading to a triple twist in the risers. As PIC was unable to untwist, they opted to deploy their reserve. PIC landed without injury, but there was major damage to the wing. Modern EN-B gliders are very collapse resistant. This can lead to a false sense of security in strong thermic conditions. Pilots flying such wings should remain mindful that these can collapse suddenly and violently if the turbulence is strong enough. If flying in such conditions, pilots should be vigilant and mentally prepared to react promptly and appropriately in the event of a collapse. Pilots should also be prepared