A pilot reported that the seam of the webbed strap that connects the brake pulley to the riser tore during ground handling.
Investigations conducted by skywalk and DHV following this communication have resulted in the following:
The seam with which the brake pulley strap is fastened to the riser may not be strong enough if it was sewn with too few stitches. This can reduce the breaking load to approx. 35 kg. This is more than adequate for flying, but may not be enough for ground handling in strong conditions and large deflection angles. It is therefore possible that the seam may tear during ground handling or at least be damaged. This could pose a danger for the next flight.
skywalk has therefore issued the following safety notification in accordance with the DHV:
MESCAL5 paragliders with the serial numbers listed below must have their risers checked or re-sewn before the next flight.
Since you can not tell from the outside exactly whether the seam underneath the cover was 100% correctly sewn, skywalk recommends sending these paragliders to the importer in the respective country, or directly to skywalk in Germany and Austria. They will be checked and repaired free of charge.
Affected customers in Austria & Germany, pleasae send your paragliders to:
Skywalk GmbH & Co. KG, Windeckstraße 4, 83250 Marquartstein.
uSubject: MESCAL5 safety notice
Affected customers in countries other than Austria/Germany,
please send your paragliders to the respective importer in your country.
A list of our importers can be found at: https://skywalk.info/distributor/
Owners of the affected paragliders are asked to contact skywalk directly if anything is not clear!
Tel. 0049 8641 69 48-0 / info@skywalk.org
Marquartstein 22.05.2017
Manfred Kistler, Managing Director skywalk paragliders
Skywalk GmbH Windeckstr. 4 83250 Marquartstein, info@skywalk.org
MESCAL5 paragliders with the following serial numbers are affected by the above-mentioned safety notification:
