Niviuk ICEPEAK 8, User Manual

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Before trying to remove a knot, make sure there are no pilots flying 
nearby and never try these manoeuvres near the mountainside. If the 
knot is too tight and you cannot remove it, carefully and safely fly to the 
nearest landing place. 

5. losING HeIGHT

The knowledge of the different descent techniques is an important 
resource to use in certain situations. The most adequate descent method 
will depend on the particular situation.

We recommend that you learn to use these manoeuvres under the tuition 
of a competent school.

5.1 ears
 
Big ears is a moderate descent technique, achieving about –3 or –4 m/s 
and a reduction in ground speed of between 3 and 5 km/h. effective 
piloting then becomes limited. The angle of incidence and the surface 
wing load also increases. push on the accelerator to restore the wing’s 
horizontal speed and the angle of incidence.

To activate big ears take the line on each a’ risers and simultaneously, 
smoothly pull them outward and downward. The wingtips will fold in. let 
go of the lines and the big ears will re-inflate automatically. If they do not 
re-inflate, gently pull on one of the brake lines and then on the opposite 
one. We recommend that you re-inflate asymmetrically, not to alter the 
angle of incidence, more so if you are flying near the ground or flying in 
turbulence. 

Please, read this carefully: risk of full stall!!!

The ICepeaK 8 has a relatively short brake travel and it should be 
noted that by reaching for the 4a3 line to make big ears it is possible 

to apply brake pressure without realising it. The same happens whilst 
pulling down the 4a3 line to make the ears. This can obviously lead to a 
significant speed decrease.

The ICepeaK 8 has a new high arch concept and applying ears induces 
more resistance. With this new arch, the ears don’t stick but they do 
tend to “hang”. Because of this, there will be more resistance, compared 
to ears on a standard glider.

The ICepeaK 8 is designed with little cord, which is good innormal flight 
conditions.However, on the other hand the glider could get into trouble 
when recovering normal speed if it is allowed ears and achieve an 
extreme angle of incidence.

These are 3 particularities, which together with turbulent conditions 
could cause an unintentional stall.

The solution: big ears may still be applied but the pilot must be fully 
aware of the above-mentioned points and act accordingly. To avoid the 
stall simply use the accelerator halfway (this is sufficient) to increase 
the speed, which naturally risers the speed and decreases the angle 
of incidence. In this way you will maintain a safe margin and avoid this 
phenomenon. Take care not to pull the brakes while making the ears!!

5.2 4C3 TeCHNIQUe

on the new generation paragliders the application of big ears can create 
a high degree of trailing turbulence which in turn creates a significant 
loss of airspeed. When big ears are applied to high aspect ratio wings 
the ears tend to “flap” which also adds to the amount of unwanted 
turbulence. 

This new rapid descent technique was first discovered by our Niviuk 
team pilots in 2009 while flying a competition prototype wing, which 
because of its line plan and high aspect ratio would not allow big ears