Bruce Goldsmith Design ADAM User manual

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Version 2.2, November 2016
Version 2.2, November 2016

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Version 2.2, November 2016

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Version 2.2, November 2016
Welcome 4
  1–Introduction(withspecicationstable)    5
  2–Preparation       7 
  3–Pre-ightInspection      8
  4–FlightCharacteristics      9
  5–RecoveryTechniques      16
  6–StorageandServicing      19
  7–ClosingWords       22
Risers23
  Linelayoutandlengths      24
  Servicebooklet       29 
Contents

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ADAM Owner’s Manual
PARAGLIDER EN / LTF A
Welcome to Bruce Goldsmith Design
BGDisaworldleaderinthedesignandproductionofparagliders.FormanyyearsBruceGoldsmithandhisteam
havebeendevelopingproductswithworld-beatingperformanceforpilotswhowantthebest.Weapplyour
competitiveknowledgetodesigntopqualityproductsthatcombinethehighestperformancewiththesafehandling
ourcustomersvalueandrespect.BGDpilotsappreciateourqualityandreliability.BGD´sworld-classstatusisbased
ontheskillsandexpertisewehavedevelopedincombiningaerodynamicdesignwithclothandmaterialstechnology.
AllBGDproductsaredevelopedandmadewiththesameskillandattentiontogooddesignthataresynonymous
withtheultimateperformanceandprecisionrequiredbyparagliders.
Congratulations on your purchase of the BGD ADAM
TheADAMisaparaglider,designedtoahighstandardofsafetyandstability,butitwillonlyretainthese
characteristicsifitisproperlylookedafter.Pleasereadthismanualcarefullyfromthersttothelastchapterto
ensureyougetthebestoutofyourADAM.
Thismanualhasbeenpreparedtogiveyouinformationandadviceaboutyourparaglider.Ifyoueverneedany
replacementpartsorfurtherinformation,pleasedonothesitatetocontactyournearestBGDdealerorcontactBGD
directly.

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TheADAMisanentry-levelparaglidersuitableforbeginnerpilotsExceptionalstabilityandpassivesafetycombined
withspeedandgoodperformancemakethisawingwhichisrealpleasuretoy.
Theuseofthisgliderislimitedtononaerobaticmanoeuvres.
Thisparaglidermustnot:
• beownwithmorethanthemaximumcertiedtotalload
• haveitstrimspeedadjustedbychangingthelengthofrisersorlines
• exceed60degreesofbankangle
• beowninrainorsnow
• betowedwithatowlinetensioninexcessof100kg.
• Itisyourdealer´sresponsibilitytotestytheparagliderbeforeyoureceiveit.Thetestightrecordofthisis
onthelastpageofthismanual.Pleasebesurethatthishasbeencompletedbyyourdealer,toprovethathe
hasdonethis.Failuretotestyanewparaglidermayinvalidateanywarranty.
Anymodication,e.g.changeoflinelengthsorchangestothespeedsystemcausesalossofairworthiness
andcertication.WerecommendthatyoucontactyourdealerorBGDdirectlybeforeperforminganykindof
change.
Introduction
1 Introduction

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Specications
SM ML L
Linearscalingfactor 0.94 11.05 1.10
Projectedarea 18.56 21.00 23.15 25.41 m2
Flatarea 22.09 25.00 27.56 30.25 m2
Gliderweight 4.3 4.9 5.4 5.9 kg
Totallinelength 243 275 303 333 m
Height 6.30 6.67 7.00 7.80 m
Numberofmainlines 3/4/3 3/4/3 3/4/3 3/4/3 A/B/C
Cells 34 34 34 34
Flataspectratio 4.465 4.465 4.465 4.465
Projectedaspectratio 3.22 3.22 3.22 3.22
Rootchord 2.82 3.00 3.14 3.29 m
Flatspan 9.96 10.59 11.12 11.65 m
Projectedspan 7.73 8.22 8.64 9.05 m
In-ightweightrange 50-75 70-95 90-110 105-130 kg
Trimspeed 38 38 38 38 km/h
Topspeed 50 50 50 50 km/h
Minsink 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 m/s
Bestglide 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0
Certication EN-A EN-A EN-A EN-A
1 Introduction

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2 Preparation
1. Selectasuitabletakeoffareadeterminedbywindandterrain,clearofanyobstaclesthatmaycatchinthe
linesordamagethecanopy.
2. Ifyourparagliderhasbeencorrectlypacked,youshouldtakeittothetopofthetakeoffarea,andallowthe
rolledcanopytounrollitselfdownthehill(ifonaslope).Thisshouldleavetheparagliderwiththebottom
surfacefacingupwards,theopeningsatthedownwindendofthetakeoffarea,andtheharnessatthetrailing
edgeattheupwindside.
3. Unrollthecanopytoeachsidesothattheleadingedgeopeningsformasemicircularshape,withthetrailing
edgedrawntogetherasthecentreofthearch.Theharnessshouldbedrawnawayfromthecanopyuntilthe
suspensionlinesarejusttight.
2Preparation

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3 Pre-ight Inspection
TheADAMisdesignedtobeassimpleaspossibletoinspectandmaintainbutathoroughpre-ightprocedureis
mandatoryonallaircraft.Thefollowingpre-ightinspectionprocedureshouldbecarriedoutbeforeeachight.
1. Whilstopeningouttheparagliderchecktheoutsideofthecanopyforanytearswhereyourparaglidermay
havebeencaughtonasharpobjectorevenhavebeendamagedwhilstinitsbag.
2. Checkthatthelinesarenottwistedorknotted.Dividethesuspensionlinesintosixgroups,eachgroup
comingfromoneriser.Bystartingfromtheharnessandrunningtowardsthecanopyremoveanytanglesor
twistsinthelines.Partiallyinatingthecanopyinthewindwillhelptosortoutthelines.
3. Itisparticularlyimportantthatthebrakesareclearandfreetomove.Checktheknotwhichattachesthe
brakehandlestothebrakelines.Severalknotsshouldbeusedhereortheymaygetentangledinthebrake
pulleys.Bothbrakesshouldbethesamelengthandthiscanbecheckedbyanassistantholdingtheupper
endofthebrakelinestogetherwhilstthepilotholdsthebrakehandles.Thebrakelinesshouldbejustslack
withthewinginatedwhenthebrakesarenotapplied.Aftercheckingthebrakelineslaythemontheground.
4. Alwayscheckthebucklesandattachmentsontheharness.Ensurethetwomainattachmentmaillons/
karabinersfromtheharnesstothemainrisers,andthesixshackleswhichattachtheriserstothelines,are
tightlydoneup
5. Beforethepilotattacheshimselftotheharnessheshouldbewearingagoodcrashhelmet,andbootswhich
provideanklesupport.Putontheharnessensuringallthebucklesaresecureandproperlyadjustedfor
comfort.
Yourparagliderisnowreadyforight.
3Pre-ightInspection

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4 Flight Characteristics
ThismanualisnotintendedasaninstructionbookonhowtoytheADAM.Youshouldbeaqualiedpilotorunder
suitablesupervision,butthefollowingcommentsdescribehowtogetthebestfromyourADAM.
Weight range
EachsizeoftheADAMiscertiedforacertainweightrange.Theweightreferstothe‘overalltakeoffweight’.This
meanstheweightofthepilot,theglider,theharnessandallotherequipmentcarriedwithyouinight.
WerecommendtoytheADAMinthemiddleoftheweightrange.
IfyouytheADAMonthelowerhalfoftheweightrange,theturningagilitydecreasesandthegliderwillbemore
damped.Instrongturbulencethewingtendstodeformandtocollapseslightlymorethanwithahigherwingloading.
IfyoumainlyyinweakconditionsyoushouldconsideryingtheADAMonthelowersideoftheweightrange.
IfyouytheADAMintheupperhalfoftheweightrange,theagilityandthestabilityinturbulencewillincrease.
Alsothespeedwillincreaseslightly.Theselfdampingwilldecreaseinturns,aswellasaftercollapses,soifyouyin
bumpyconditionsandyouwantadynamicightcharacteristicyoushouldgoforthetopoftheweightrange.
Active Piloting
EventhoughtheADAMisdesignedasaneasyglider,‘activepiloting’isatoolthatwillhelpyouywithgreater
safetyandenjoyment.Activepilotingisyinginempathywithyourparaglider.Thismeansnotonlyguidingtheglider
throughtheairbutalsobeingawareoffeedbackfromthewing,especiallyinthermalsandturbulence.Iftheairis
smooththefeedbackcanbeminimalbutinturbulencefeedbackiscontinuousandneedstobeconstantlyassessed
bythepilotthroughthebrakesandtheharness.Suchreactionsareinstinctiveingoodpilots.Maintainingcontact
4FlightCharacteristics

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withthegliderthroughpressureonthebrakesisessentialandallowsthepilottofeelthelossofinternalpressure,
whichoftenprecedesacollapse.TheADAMishighlyresistanttocollapsewithoutanypilotactionatall,butlearning
howtoyactivelywillincreasethissafetymarginevenfurther.
Harness
TheADAMistestedwitha‘GH’(withoutdiagonalbracing)typeharness.TheGHcategoryincludesweightshift
harnessesaswellasABSstyle(semistable)harnesses.
Takeoff
TheADAMiseasytoinateinlightorstrongerwindsandwillquicklyriseoverheadtotheyingposition.Thebest
inationtechniqueistoholdoneAriserineachhand.The‘bigear’riserscouldbealsoheldforthebestination..
Nil Wind
InationisbestdonebytakingbothoftheArisersineachhand.TheArisersaremarkedwithredclothtomake
themeasiertond.Innilorverylightwind,standwithalltheAlinestautbehindyou,thentakeoneortwostepsback
(donotwalkallthewaybacktothecanopy)andbeginyourlaunchrunpullinggentlyandsmoothlyontheArisers.
AssoonasthecanopystartstoriseoffthegroundstoppullingsohardontheArisersbutpullalltherisersevenly
throughtheharness.MaintaininggentlepressureontheArisersalwayshelpsinverycalmconditions.Haveyour
handsreadytoslowupthecanopywiththebrakesifitstartstoacceleratepastyou.
Reverse Launch
Inwindsover10km/hitisprobablybettertodoareverselaunchandinatethecanopywhilstfacingitusingtheA
risers,withoutthe‘BabyArisers’topreventthegliderfrominatingthewingtipsrst.
TheADAMhaslittletendencytoovershootbutreleasingpressureontheAriserswhenthecanopyisatabout45°willhelpto
avoidovershooting.ThestrongerthewindandthegreaterthepressureontheArisers,themorequicklythecanopywillrise.
4FlightCharacteristics