Pro-course CHECK & REPAIR , Montevideo Uruguay, 03-08 December 2022 Manu Bonte (10914)
17 January 2023EDUCATION | paragliding Speed Riding winch Technician powered paragliding paratrike
The first professional training "expert in check and repair paragliding" was scheduled in March 2020... and it was the first of a long list of APPI pro-trainings canceled because of Covid. It took a little more than two years to be able to restart the project, and 6 participants from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Japan and the USA met finally in Montevideo, Uruguay in December 2022.
The workshop, which was specially adapted to accommodate and train 6 people, had classrooms and a repair area with 4 sewing stations in addition to stations dedicated to measuring lines, etc...
The training given by Manu Bonte and Vicky Casabone was programmed on a very intense schedule... but the participants, highly motivated, greatly exceeded the training time.
A first segment of 12 hours exposed the concepts necessary to the good understanding of the issues related to aging and airworthiness criteria. To this end, advanced notions dealing with materials, but also with glider design, flight tests and certification norms were studied. Then the methods to be used to control the flight material and to repair it in an efficient and relevant way were exposed.
The second segment of 38 hours was on the practical application of the concepts introduced previously. In groups of 3 students per instructor, the participants acquired a real know-how on all aspects of inspection and repair. Among other things: general inspection of the equipment - measurement and correction of the trim - measurement of the lines strength - inspection, folding and integration of the reserves - revision of harnesses and connectors...
They have also acquired the necessary skills to manufacture lines by sewing or splicing, and to repair the canopy. On this last point, we covered everything from the repair of a small tear to the partial or total change of a rib or a panel of the outer skins, including the reconstruction of a torn anchor point.
An optional third part of 1 to 3 additional days (24 hours), which was widely acclaimed, allowed participants to improve their skills on technical points of their choice.
This training allowed the participants to acquire real operational skills in all areas of paragliding equipment control and repair. They will be coached by the instructors during the first stages of their activity, and will then receive their final qualification of APPI maintenance expert. This qualification will allow them to display their control and repair center on the interactive map of the platform.
This training is about to be officially recognized by some paraglider manufacturers. The information will be published in the APPI news page.
With these courses, APPI continues to contribute to the safety of pilots and the professionalization of maintenance technicians.
The maintenance of paragliders is a critical point and the current situation is somehow worrying. Many operators advertise themselves as maintenance technicians, but have very basic, partial or even false knowledge on the subject. We regularly check canopies that have just been overhauled and that do not meet airworthiness criteria or are even dangerous.
At a time when the world paragliding community is beginning to understand the risks associated with aging and the need to have their equipment serviced, it is important to provide them with a quality service from competent maintenance technicians.
Video : https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmJsN44jcZ_/
thumbnails
