Care, inspection and packing

What ages a wing, how to inspect it every flying day, when it needs a professional check, and how to pack it cell on cell without bending the leading-edge rods.

In this lesson you will

A school wing weighs only about 4.5–5 kg10–11 lb¹. It flies as well as its cloth holds air and its lines hold their length, and both age. The good news is that most of the ageing is in your hands. Most wear comes from what happens on the ground, not in the air².

On a training day you lay the wing out, kite it, carry it back up the hill and pack it, again and again. How you do that decides how long it stays a forgiving wing.

What ages a wing

Enemy	What it does	What you do
Sunlight (UV)	The main enemy: breaks down the coating that keeps air from leaking through the cloth, weakens the cloth and attacks the lines³	Unpack just before flying; pack soon after landing
Heat	Speeds up ageing, worst together with damp; a rucksack in a sun-heated car can reach about 60 °C140 °F⁴	Keep it out of hot cars and away from radiators
Damp	Ages the cloth, fastest together with heat; a damp canopy must never freeze⁴⁵	Never store it damp; dry it in the shade with airflow and no direct heat
Sand and debris	Sand wears the cloth; debris gathered at the trailing edge can brake or even stall the wing; insects chew holes⁶	Empty the cells through the wingtip openings
Salt water	Must be rinsed out at once⁷	Rinse with fresh water, then dry fully out of the sun
Rough handling	Dragging and careless packing wear the leading edge through over the rods; crash-downs strain seams and cloth²	Carry it, never step on lines, let it come down gently

Store the wing clean, completely dry, cool and dark, loosely packed and off the ground⁵. Washing is covered in the questions below.

Common mistake The lunch-break sunbath

Symptom: The wing lies spread out on launch for an hour while everyone eats.
Cause: It looks harmless, but UV is ageing the cloth and lines the whole time³.
Fix: Bundle the wing up, or pack it, whenever you are not about to fly. Lay it out again just before launch.

The daily inspection

The BHPA describes three levels of checks: a daily inspection on each flying day and after any heavy landing, the pre-flight check before every flight, and periodic inspections at the interval the manufacturer sets⁸. The pre-flight check belongs to the setup lesson.

The daily look covers the top and bottom surfaces and the leading edge (especially the cloth over the rods), the inside of the cells, every line, the maillons, carabiners, risers and seams, and whether the wing is dry. Do not fly with any defect, however small⁹. Show it to your instructor.

Lines and risers

Most school-wing lines have a load-bearing core inside a woven sheath that protects it from UV and abrasion¹⁰. Some cores (aramid) lose strength with repeated bending and often show no sign of it: in a laboratory test, a bare aramid line kept only about 63% of its strength after 5,000 bends and looked undamaged¹¹. That is why lines are strength-tested at services, not judged by eye.

Other cores (Dyneema) keep their strength much better¹¹ but shrink, especially the brake lines, and more so with damp, dirt and heat. Checks by the German federation (DHV) found brake lines up to 11 cm4.3 in shorter, enough to leave a wing slightly braked with the hands fully up¹².

On the risers, look for worn or torn webbing and stitching, twists, and maillons that are not closed and secured⁹.

Never knot, join or shorten a damaged line, because knots weaken lines badly; damaged lines are replaced with original ones. On your own wing, follow its manual for repairs: makers allow tape on small tears, away from seams, of about 4 cm1.6 in to 10 cm3.9 in, and everything else goes to an authorised centre¹³. On a school wing, show any damage to your instructor.

Trim checks and periodic inspections

Lines change length most early in a wing’s life. On one maker’s wings the A and B lines stretch and the C lines shrink, so the wing flies slower and handles less nimbly¹⁴. Several makers recommend an early trim check, at times that range from about 15 h to 50 h of flying¹⁴; check your wing’s manual.

After that, every wing needs a periodic professional inspection at the interval its manufacturer sets: a number of months or of flying hours, whichever comes first, printed on the wing’s label¹⁵. Intervals differ from wing to wing, from 12 months or 100 h to a first check at 36 months or 200 h, and one maker counts ground-handling time at least double¹⁵. School wings, and wings flown in sand or salty air, need checks more often¹⁶.

The inspection measures porosity (how easily air passes through the cloth), cloth tear strength, line strength and every line length, corrects the trim and often ends with a check flight¹⁷. Porosity is measured as the time a set amount of air takes to pass through the cloth, so fewer seconds means more porous. The pass mark depends on the maker and the instrument, from about 10 s to 18 s; the service centre applies your wing maker’s limit. Porous cloth cannot be felt in normal flight¹⁸. Out-of-trim lines and porous cloth both make a parachutal stall more likely¹⁹.

Use an authorised service centre: flying past the due date invalidates the certification or airworthiness of some wings²⁰. No maker gives a fixed lifespan in years; a wing flies while it passes its checks, and a well-treated wing can last about twice as many hours as a badly treated one²¹. The harness needs its own inspection²², and the reserve parachute its own repacks: see the reserve lesson²³.

After a tree, water or heavy landing

Tree landing: free the wing patiently, without yanking lines or cloth, and clear out leaves and twigs. Before it flies again, inspect it and check line lengths and symmetry; if you suspect damage or overstress, have a service centre check it²⁴.
Water landing: after salt water, rinse the whole wing and its lines with fresh water straight away. After any water landing it must be completely dry before it flies: a wet wing is outside its operating limits⁷. Because wet lines can shrink, a brake and trim check after a soaking is a sensible precaution: ask your instructor or service centre¹². A wet reserve comes out of the harness to dry, after a fresh-water rinse if it was salt water, and is then repacked²⁵²³.
Heavy landing or crash: do the daily inspection again⁸, and have the harness inspected²².

Packing cell on cell

The leading edge is stiffened with flexible rods that hold the nose in shape, keep the internal pressure steady and make inflation easier. Packed, they must lie flat on top of each other, never bent or kinked²⁶. Every manufacturer agrees on that and on not over-compressing the packed wing; they differ on the method²⁷.

Figure: Cell-on-cell (concertina) packing in five steps, with the check that matters most: the rods end up stacked flat in one bundle, and no fold ever crosses them.

Cell-on-cell (concertina) packing in five steps, with the check that matters most: the rods end up stacked flat in one bundle, and no fold ever crosses them.

Packing cell on cell

Clear the cells first. Lift the wing by a tip and let sand, stones and leaves run out through the wingtip openings.
Cue Nothing slides or rattles inside the canopy.
Why Sand wears the cloth, and debris left inside can collect at the trailing edge⁶.
Starting at the centre (or at one tip, as your school teaches), lay each cell’s leading edge on top of the one before.
Cue The rods lie flat and parallel in a neat stack, none bent or crossed.
Why Bent or kinked rods change the nose shape that holds the wing’s pressure²⁶.
Strap the stacked leading edge, or close the concertina bag if your wing uses one.
Cue The stack stays flat when you lift it.
Why The rods stay aligned while you fold the rest²⁷.
Fold the length loosely from the trailing edge towards the leading edge in a few wide folds.
Cue No fold crosses the rods, and the bundle stays soft.
Why Kinks and crushing damage rods and cloth²⁷.
Slide the wing into the rucksack without forcing it. If it is damp, unpack it as soon as you get home, the same day, and dry it in the shade.
Cue The rucksack closes without you kneeling on it.
Why A wing should be stored loosely packed and completely dry⁵.

Common mistake Stuffing it in

Symptom: At the next layout the leading edge has creases, a rod is bent and the wing inflates unevenly.
Cause: The wing was crammed into the bag in a hurry, rods folded across.
Fix: Take two more minutes and stack the cells. Show any bent rod to your instructor.

Instructor's note Your wing’s manual wins

Gin, Ozone and Niviuk prescribe concertina packing; Skywalk says the short rods of one of its school wings need no concertina bag; Nova uses a conventional fold²⁷. Learn your school’s method on the school wings, and when you buy your own wing, read its manual before the first pack.

School wings live hard lives, so schools check them more often than private wings¹⁶. If a school wing looks tired or a line looks worn, say so. Nobody will mind.

Questions students ask

My wing is dirty. Can I wash it?

Usually not. Most makers say fresh water and a soft cloth at most, with no soap or brush, though one maker allows a little soap²⁸. Shake out sand and debris, and check your manual before doing anything more.

Can I leave my wing in the car between flying days?

Not in summer. A rucksack in a sun-heated car can reach about 60 °C140 °F, and heat speeds up ageing⁴. Store it somewhere cool, dark and dry.

How many years does a wing last?

There is no fixed number. A wing flies while it passes its periodic checks, and care makes a big difference²¹.

Key points

UV, heat, damp, sand, salt and rough ground handling age a wing; most wear comes from the ground, not from flying.
Inspect the canopy, lines, risers and links on every flying day and after a heavy landing; never fly a defect, however small.
Lines shrink and stretch, and cloth gets porous without showing it. Trim checks and periodic inspections measure what you cannot see.
Inspection intervals differ between wings: follow your wing’s label and manual, and use an authorised service centre.
After a tree, water or heavy landing, inspect before the next flight; a wet wing must be fully dry before it flies.
Pack cell on cell with the rods lying flat, never fold across them, and store the wing dry and loosely packed.

Ground to Solo is a study aid. Paragliding is learned in person with a qualified instructor at a recognised school; nothing here certifies you to fly.