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Before flight
Visual inspection
Before you rush to the first take-off we recommend that you take
your time to unpack and test your equipment on a training slope.
In this way you will have time and will not be distracted or rushed
to prepare your equipment, and you will be able to do your first
pre-flight check properly.
The place should be flat, free of obstacles, and with light wind.
This will enable you to nicely inflate the wing and also familiarize
yourself with it while ground handling. Your new glider will have
been checked already by your Triple Seven dealer, however, as a
pilot you want to do a proper pre-flight check yourself.
Prepare and spread out the glider like you normally would. While
you are spreading out and walking along the glider, observe the
fabric material for any abnormalities. When you are done with the
inspection of the canopy, grab the risers and spread the lines,
check if the risers and line maillons (carabiners) are properly
closed. Identify and disentangle the A1, A2, B, C risers and the
lines, including the brake lines. Connect the risers’ main attachment
points correctly to the harness, watch for any twists and make sure
that the main carabiners are properly closed.
Harness
The Queen 3 has passed EN-C certification testing using a GH
- ABS type harness. This certification allows the Queen 3 to be
flown with most harnesses on the market, but keep in mind that
changing the harness greatly influences the feeling of the glider,
depending on the effectiveness of the harness weight shift. Check
with the harness manufacturer or with your instructor whether your
harness is of the proper type.
The length of the harness chest strap affects the distance between
the main carabiners and the wing’s handling as well as your stability
in the harness. Tightening the chest strap increases your stability,
but greatly increases the risk of twisting after a collapse. A tight
setting also increases the tendency to maintain a deep spiral. As a
rule of thumb, a more opened chest strap gives you more feedback
from the glider, which is good for your climbing efficiency and
increases safety in a flying incident. But we strongly recommend
adjusting the length of the harness chest strap according to the
lengths used during certification. This setting varies from 42cm to
50cm depending on the harness size.
Check the settings used during testing under the certification
specimen section. We recommend making your first flight with
the Queen 3 using a familiar harness. As a rule of thumb, if you
want to experience the feeling of new equipment, change only one
component at a time.
Accelerator settings
The Queen 3 speed system increases the speed of the glider
by 20km/h with the accelerator at full travel. Before attaching the
accelerator system to the Queen 3 risers, check that the speed
system inside your harness is correctly routed and that all pulleys
are set correctly. Make sure there are no knots or other obstacles
that might make the accelerator get stuck during usage.
The length of the speed bar lines should be adjusted on the ground
so that your legs are fully extended at the point of full accelerator
travel. While setting the speed line lengths make sure they are
long enough, so that the speed system does not accelerate the
glider by itself. If in doubt how to properly set the accelerator
system, please consult your instructor or Triple Seven dealer.
Brake line adjustments
The length of the brake lines has already been adjusted by the
manufacturer and is the same as used during the certification test
flights. The length is set and fine-tuned during the development of
the glider, therefore generally there should be no need for
adjustment. We recommend flying this setting for a while, and you
can still change it afterwards if you wish to do so. If you change the
length of the brake lines, do it in a step by step process of 2 cm
at a time. Bear in mind that if you make the brake lines too short,
they might be applied unintentionally whenthe speed system is
engaged. The brake travel is greater than, up to 80 kg - 55 cm,
from 80 kg to 100kg - 60 cm and over 100 kg - 65 cm.