Begin
by connecting the risers to the harness. After completing
a thorough preflight of the wing, line up the risers with
the A lines side by side on top. (Photo
A)
Photo
A
Next,
rotate the risers at the bottom connection loop 180 degrees
to the left. (Photo B)
Photo
B
The
risers can now be connected to the carabiners in this position.
The carabiners lay out horizontally.
Keep the risers oriented the same as they were (with the 180
degree twist) as you connect each respective side. (Photo
C)
Photo
C
Once
you have finished connecting the carabiners, you will connect
the speed system. Align your risers so that they are all in
parallel with the A riser untwisted and facing
the ground. Take the connector from the A
riser to the outside and connect the speed system line to
this. Make sure that the speed system line is on the outside
of all harness webbing as it goes to the connection point.
It should not wrap around anything on the way from the pulley
to the connector. (Photo D)
Photo
D
HHRB
Now
that you are properly connected, you can begin your Harness
Preflight aka connection preflight. The steps are broken down
into the pneumonic Helmet,
Harness, and Risers & Brakes.
I recommend verbally stating each phase of the following
checks as you do them. It gets you in the habit of the
full checks and helps build the system that promotes safety
not only to you, but to those around you as well.
Helmet
The Helmet check is to see if your helmet is on and
secured. To test this, simply pull on your helmet’s chin
strap. I use the chin strap because this ensures that not
only is the helmet on, but the chin strap is secure. If you
just tap the helmet, you could take off with your chin strap
unsecured.
Harness
The
Harness check involves a list of components.
- Leg
Straps – Check that leg straps are connected and
secure
- Waist
Belt – Check that it is secured
- Carabiners
– Verify gates are closed and locked
- Speed
System – Verify that it is connected, routed right
and ready for use
- Reserve
– Reach with hand to verify if reserve handle is secured
to harness and has not become dislodged.
Risers
and Brakes
The
Riser & Brake Check is done to ensure that
the risers have been correctly routed. The risers should
be routed such that they will not be twisted following the
turn from facing the wing to facing forward. You are also
checking the correct routing of the brakes and speed system
as you do the subsequent checks. With the risers crossed as
you face the glider, align the risers so that each A
riser and line set is on top. Make sure that the
risers are grouped with the webbing aligned in parallel. Put
both risers in your right palm and do a 1/2 turn to the left.
(Photo E)
Photo
E
In
this position, look at the speed system lines and check if
they are routed correctly for the turn transition. Check that
the front of the risers will remain the front as you do your
turn transition to the left.
The
next step is to separate the brakes from the risers. Turn
back toward the wing and align the risers making an X
with the A risers and lines on top. Make
sure that the left side (the riser connected to the
carabiner on the pilot’s left) is on top. Since I
teach turning the left shoulder toward the wind, the
left riser set should always be on top.
On
the left riser set, line up the risers from the carabiner
to the top so that all of the webbing (A - D)
is aligned parallel. At the top of the riser set, the A
riser should be on top and the A lines should
be on top as they go up to the wing. At the bottom of the
riser, where the carabiner connects to the harness, the riser
grouping will have some twisting as a result of facing the
wing. (Photo F)
Photo
F
Once
the above steps have been checked, you can now rotate the
entire riser grouping to the left 180 degrees so that
the brake will be on top. This is where you execute the included
“Brake” check.
Look
at the brake line and ensure that the line goes straight from
the pulley to the handle and that the line does not go around
anything on the way. If it does go around anything, correct
this. Once this is good, you can hold the riser set in your
right hand and break free the brake handle into your left
hand. (Photo G)
Photo
G
Once
the brake is disconnected, you can take the entire left side
riser grouping and let if hang on the left side of
the right side riser set. Keep the left side brake in your
hand as you do the following steps to check the right side.
(Photo H)
Photo
H
Now
you can do the same process to the right side riser set. Lift
the A riser to check that it and the A
lines are on top as they go to the wing. Since the
left side lines are draped over the right side lines, lift
the A riser and lines to ensure that there
are no other lines besides the right A’s
supporting the left side set. (Photo I)
If they are not, rotate the right side riser set until the
A riser and lines are on top and are the
only lines supporting the left side lines. Once this is done,
line up the right side risers from the carabiner to the top
so that the webbing is parallel with the A
riser.
At
the bottom of the riser, where the carabiner connects to the
harness, there will be some twisting because you are facing
the wing (it will look more twisted on the right side because
of the turn direction).
Photo
I
Once
the above steps have been checked and the right riser is parallel
with the A on top, you can now rotate the
entire riser grouping to the left 180 degrees so that
the brake will be on top. (Photo J)
Repeat the above Brake check for this riser set
and while holding the right riser group with your left hand,
separate the right brake into your right hand.
Photo
J
Drop
the right riser set and you will have both brakes in your
hands. (photo K)
Photo
K
Now,
you can back up slightly and cross the risers so that they
make an X in front of you. All that is left
is to grab each A riser (If split A’s
grab the center A, not both) . Before you grab each A Riser, ensure
that it is on top. Once you have assured this, you can grab
the riser above and to the right of the X
into your right hand and the riser above and to the left of
the X into your left hand. The brakes should be below both
hands as you grab the risers. (Photo L)
Photo
L
This
completes the connection and harness preflight. You are now
ready for a reverse or turn transition launch.
If
you have not been out for a lesson yet, get as familiar as
possible with this system. Don't worry about memorizing it,
it takes some repetition to get there. For those that
have been out, use this article to refresh the technique sequence
and steps with the goal of better memorization of the checks
and quicker familiarity with the procedure as a whole. Of
all the tasks I teach, this system is one of the hardest for
most people. That alone is a main reason I wrote this
article.
Jeff Greenbaum
1-7-05 (Still being tweaked
slightly - comments welcome)
