What good is a sport if it doesn’t come with a slew of fascinating gadgets? The altimeter, variometer, radio, and GPS are the three most critical paraglider accessories.
An altimeter is a device that measures your altitude. Altimeters are found on all kinds of aircraft. They indicate your distance from the earth or landscape below. It maintains a safe distance from other gliders or airplanes while allowing you to retain essential clearance. Paragliders use altimeters to determine height depending on air pressure. They’re generally digital and may be found in a variometer, GPS, or sports watch.
Paragliders can’t live without variometers (also known as varios). It displays the rate at which you are ascending or falling in relation to the ground. They’re mostly utilized for thermal lifting. You don’t have to look at Various since they feature audio indications. The vario will begin to beep when you reach a specific vertical speed, with the pitch rising as your lift rises (or decreases as you sink). You may also look at a digital readout to see how fast you are in different metrics.
Radios are used by paragliders to communicate with other pilots and persons on the ground. When teaching novice pilots, paragliding instructors always utilize radios. The microphone is usually built into the pilot’s helmet so that he or she may communicate with his or her instructor on the ground at all times.
Pilots of paragliders and other recreational aircraft are increasingly using global positioning systems (GPS). A paraglider pilot may use a GPS to track his or her speed and follow predetermined routes. After they’ve landed, some folks utilize the GPS to study their routes and flying patterns to identify where they might improve. A GPS is essential in competitive paragliding to confirm that a pilot hit all of the required turning points on the race course.