On a heavily used POISON X-ALPS glider, manufactured in May 2016, a tear in the stitching of a line on the riser occurred during a flight at a sand dune – see photo.
The stabilo line and the outer B main line are attached to this Dyneema line. The pilot was able to land the glider safely.
An analysis of the very heavily used glider (used for training by various X-ALPS pilots) showed:
The stitching of the line in question on the riser can, with extremely intensive use and corresponding load, become frayed and no longer hold the necessary load.
skywalk therefore is taking the following measure in agreement with the DHV: Pilots flying a POISON X-ALPS with more than 300 flight hours, and/or very heavy ground handling use, should please send their paraglider directly to skywalk for inspection or to their respective country importer. The strength of the stitching will be checked there and if it is too low, it will be repaired free of charge.
In general, in case of very frequent use and/or heavy stress, the pilot should take his glider to an authorized service center regularly for a spot check and, independently of this, should always visually inspect his glider himself.
For any questions please contact:
Skywalk GmbH & Co.KG
Windeckstr. 4
83250 Marquartstein
0049-8641-6948-0
support@skywalk.info