North Wing Horizon ET 160, Owner'S Manual

Page 1: ...Horizon ET 160 180 OWNER S MANUAL 3904 Airport Way E Wenatchee Wa 98802 TEL 509 886 4605 FAX 509 886 3435 ...

Page 2: ...OWN FORM 3 BREAKDOWN FOR SHIPPING 3 5 SET UP AND FOLD DOWN PROCEDURE 4 5 PRE FLIGHT 6 FOLD DOWN 7 6 FLYING 8 9 7 COMPLIANCE VERIFICATION 10 11 8 TUNING AND TROUBLE SHOOTING 12 14 9 MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE 15 17 10 GUARANTEED MAINTENANCE 17 18 MAINTENANCE INSPECTION SHEET 18 11 GLIDER DISASSEMBLY 19 20 12 MAINTENANCE LOG 21 ...

Page 3: ...your warranty but may also compromise the safety of your glider The safety of this or any hang glider ultimately rest with you because hang gliding is an inherently dangerous sport and can induce injury or death even to good pilots flying safe equipment Because the responsibility of flying and maintaining the glider rests entirely with you the risks of damage or injury you may cause to others and ...

Page 4: ...ION S Horizon 160 Horizon 180 SPAN 30 5 32 6 NOSE ANGLE 122 Deg 122 Deg ASPECT RATIO 5 74 5 83 SAIL AREA 166 Sq ft 188 Sq ft NUMBER OF RIBS per side TOP 7 8 BOTTOM 2 2 Other dimensional specifications may be found in section 7 ...

Page 5: ... bodily injury or death Operations such as aerobatic maneuvers or erratic pilot technique may ultimately produce equipment failure and are specifically excluded from the warranty Reference workmanship warranty described in Section 10 of this manual OPER A TIN G LIM I TS Horizon 160 Horizon 180 Wing loading Optimal weight range 160 210 lbs 200 250 lbs Usable weight ranges 140 240 lbs 170 280 lbs Ma...

Page 6: ...ill not need any tools 1 Un pad all tubing ends Note the 3 4 deep slot machined at the front end of each rear leading edge sections The rear leading edge sections should be marked to indicate right and left sides 2 Assemble your glider s control bar as described in section 5 of this manual and flip the glider on its folded back control bar laying flat on the ground Unfold both wings and spread bot...

Page 7: ...ground until ready to launch In this procedure the control bar is set into position last and it reduces possible damage to the glider in the event of a sudden gust of wind 1 FIG 1 Place the glider on the ground with the nose into the wind and with the zipper facing upward Remove the ribs from their bag unzip the cover bag undo the glider ties and assemble the control frame NOTE Check that all the ...

Page 8: ...nto the spring catch Now you will need to hook up the rear top wire triangle ring into spring catch also ENSURE THAT THE SPRING LATCH IS PROPERLY INSTALLED WITH THE PULL BACK SHACKLE SITTING CORRECTLY AROUND ITS CATCH 8 Install the tip wand Open up the Velcro at tip slip fiberglass wand into the tip receptor at end of LE tube Make sure tip wand bottoms out on pin apx 4 in Now hook tip lever socket...

Page 9: ...for inspection Keep in mind the THREE MOST CRITICAL set up factors These are the nose catch the control frame base tube bolt and the cross tube tension cables attaching to the spring catch on the keel As stated in the set up procedure ENSURE THAT ALL SECURING PINS ARE PROPERLY POSITIONED AND CANNOT PULL THROUGH Starting at the nose a suitable pre flight checklist would be 1 Sight along both leadin...

Page 10: ...e during any phase of the Horizon ET set up or fold down procedure be sure to stop and investigate Make sure that both the cross tube tension cables are free to run forward Roll the sail from the outer luffline into the Mylar reinforced leading edge pocket Pull one sail tie just ahead of where the top laterals emerge from the sail a second one half way between the A frame apex and the nose plate h...

Page 11: ...or a little extra flying speed then to enter the turn move to one side and push out slightly The Horizon ET will maintain in a turn of a certain bank angle and radius until the turn is removed Give yourself an extra margin of safety and DON T fly your glider at the slowest possible airspeed when scratching for lift close to the terrain Thermal ling This is also very straightforward The trim speed ...

Page 12: ...g very slowly in which case you may enter a spin see Spins SPINS The Horizon ET will strongly resist spinning However should you stall one wing in a turn move your weight forward and the glider will recover quickly from a spin half a turn without entering extreme attitudes and without extreme loss of altitude This is due to the Horizon ET s positive roll yaw coupling and a neutrally balanced roll ...

Page 13: ...nly the first four features The Horizon will not be pitch positive at the critical low angles of attack with out the reflex bridles attached Proper reflex bridle height on the Horizon is highly important and is directly related to stability and airworthiness In order to verify the proper height of the bridles you must take a measurement at each rib station To do this you must lay the wing flat fla...

Page 14: ...le to 1 crossbar attachment hole 124 500 140 25 2 rearmost sail attachment pt 182 199 25 B Outside Diameter at 1 nose 50mm 50mm 2 crossbar 52mm 52mm 3 rear sail attachment point 50mm 50mm Cross bar tube A Pin to Pin 109 500 124 B Outside diameter 52mm 62mm Keel tube least and greatest distance from leading edge bolts to A Crossbar Hinge pin plates must be resting on keel 42 47 B Hang loop 62 75 63...

Page 15: ... critical and often create trade offs in handling performance or more seriously safety The troubleshooting chart below offers you a first solution first action to be taken and then a second or more solution for any possible problems you may encounter Please investigate each problem as indicated by the chart Never make more than one change at a time This is a basic rule in test flying which allows ...

Page 16: ...straightness and replace if bent J Increase the tension of the right leading edge pocket or loosen the tension of the left leading edge pocket K Increase the tension of the left leading edge pocket or loosen the tension of the right leading edge pocket L Loosen leading edge pocket on both sides M Tighten leading edge pocket on both sides note If you are using this step to remove sail wrinkles be a...

Page 17: ...ing The camber of the corresponding battens on the fast wing should be decreased by approximately 1 2 This seems to be the best possible method of tuning a turn out of a Horizon ET Tightening the batten tension also has the same effect as increasing the camber Having the batten tension slacker improves the handling possibly at the expense of glide angle Pitch trim is accomplished by simply moving ...

Page 18: ...ble components tangs pins nuts bolts cross tube plates and cable itself Inspect all rib tensioning cords Check all tubing for possible wear damage which could occur during set up fold down or transportation Inspect sail mounting grommets and webbing at tips EVERY 100 HOURS A complete inspection of your glider is recommended including all rigging and components replacement of any worn or bent bolts...

Page 19: ...r each flight Keep all the foam padding that arrived with the glider when it was new tie everything off the same way A few extra moments when you de rig the glider will give you many extra hours of noiseless flight CA BLES 1 Naturally any frays or kinks in your cables should be examined with great care and any frayed cables should be replaced immediately 2 Many expert pilots replace their flying w...

Page 20: ... fatigue and degradation compromise the airworthiness of the gliders We do know that there are forces in nature which can severely compromise your safety regardless of the quality of design or condition of the aircraft you are operating Your safety is ultimately your responsibility We strongly recommend that you fly conservatively both in your choice of the conditions in which you fly and the safe...

Page 21: ... normal corrosion wear and fatigue areas inner and over sleeve edges Check all nuts and bolts proper tightness Check all rib cords for wear and proper tensions Check hang straps for normal wear and U V exposure Six Month Inspection Comments ______________________________ _______________________________________________________ Signature ___________________________Date ________________ One Year Insp...

Page 22: ...Remove the screws securing the sail at the nose plate junction slip the sail back a bit and remove the top front cable tang off the top nose plate Slip the cable off its sail slot running along side the nose rib pocket At this point we would recommend that you coil all the free top rigging into 6 rolls in order to keep the procedure organized STEP 4 Now you must detach the lower rear rigging tang ...

Page 23: ...ional sail maker Inspect all other parts for damage and replace any thing that is suspect Pay special attention to the lufflines hang loops and rigging If they show ANY signs of wear then replace them A FEW LA S T W OR DS Your North Wing Horizon ET is a sophisticated high performance hang glider that will give you years of safe and enjoyable soaring provided that you treat it properly and always m...

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