Imagine you put a plane wing inside a hiking backpack, walk up a mountain, take it out, run a few steps downhill and suddenly the ground is off under your feet. That's the paraglider. Now imagine that instead of a backpack you load a triangle of aluminium tubes and fabric, and you take off hanging face down like Superman. That's the delta wing. Two air cousins who share sleep but speak slightly different aerodynamic languages.

Why do these things fly?

The air is a fluid, and the fluids push. When the air breaks through a wing, it has to get back together from behind. The wing is designed with a curved shape up (called extrados) and flat down (intrados). The air that passes through the top is accelerating and losing pressure; the air below is slower and keeps more pressure. Result: The wing is literally pushed up by the difference of pressures. This is what the books call "the beginning of Bernoulli.".

But there is something more important: the wing also deflects air down. Like in a pool when you push the water with your hand and feel your hand up. The wing pushes air down and the air, by reaction, pushes the wing up. Newton and Bernoulli are two sides of the same coin.

Paragliding vs. delta wing: two philosophies

The paragliding is an inflatable wing. It inflates with the air that enters the front when you run, and maintains its shape thanks to the inner pressure. It is soft, light (4-7 kg), fit in a backpack and mount it in two minutes.

The delta wing has a skeleton: aluminium tubes and a clenched candle on them. It weighs 25-35 kg, takes 20-30 minutes to ride and travels on the roof of the car. In return, it is rigid, fast and very efficient.

Anatomy of a paragliding

  • Extrados y intradós: the skin above and the skin below. Between them there's pressure air.
  • Celdas: the wing is divided into longitudinal "compartments." Modern paragliders have between 40 and 70 cells.
  • Inflation Bocas: holes on the edge of attack where the air enters.
  • Suspends: the very fins of Dyneema or Kevlar that connect the wing with the pilot.
  • Bandas A, B, C, D: the suspects are grouped by area. The A's are in front, the D's are in back.
  • Brakes: two controls hanging from the escape edge. Right pull and wing turn right.
  • Trimmer: changes the angle of the wing to fly faster.
  • Accelerator (speedbar): a bar that is pushed with the feet, increases speed by 10-15 km / h.

Anatomy of a delta wing

  • Quilla: the central tube that goes from the nose to the tail.
  • attack bordes: the two tubes that form the front "V."
  • Transversal: the tube that crosses perpendicular to the keel.
  • Batons: fiber rods inserted into pockets inside the candle. They create the curved aerodynamic profile.
  • Trapeze: the tube triangle that hangs below. It's a physical support point for the pilot.

How you fly

In paragliding you turn by pulling the brake from the side you want to go to, and you load the body weight to that side.

In the delta wing all the piloting is by weight: you tombs the body to one side and the wing is tilted. You push the bar to raise your nose, you pull to speed. The pilot's body is the command.

Performance - numbers to make you think

A paragliding EN-A school has a fine (planning ratio) of 8: 1. A modern EN-B, 9-10: 1. A competition delta topless wing exceeds 15: 1 and the rigid ones reach 20: 1.

Typical intermediate paragliding speeds:
- Stall (loss): ~ 22 km / h
- Minimum fall: 28-32 km / h
- Trim (cruise): 36-38 km / h
- Maximum (bar): 45-55 km / h

hang glider topless: 30-145 km / h, cruise 45-60 km / h. That's why it's much better off against the wind.

How it feels to fly

In paragliding, the harness is a chair on the air. You sit with your legs hanging. It notes every vibration, every thermal bubble, every drop of air. It's extremely sensory: you almost heard the heat crunching.

In the delta wing, you're lying face down inside an aerodynamic sac. The feeling is a small plane: the wing passes through the air with authority, responds accurately and makes noise. It's more physical.

EN classification

  • EN-A: to school. I'm sorry about everything.
      • EN-B *: progression. Five to 200 hours.
  • EN-C: performance. It demands "actively" flying.
  • EN-D: high competition. Hundreds of hours.
  • CCPs: pure competition. Professional level.

Turbulence and defenses

Fig. Paraglider anatomy: elliptical 62-cell wing, A/B/C/D risers, brakes, pod harness and airfoil profile.
Fig. Airfoil profile with airflow: upper surface accelerates flow and generates lift (Bernoulli + Newton).

The paraglider may have folded (asymmetric or front). The wing is almost always reopened alone in 2-3 seconds.

The delta wing, being rigid, does not fold. Their problems are strong turbulence, tumble, lost entrances. But on normal day, it goes through the air with strength.

Why start?

Paragliding: low cost, portability, fast learning, access to thousands of places.

hang glider: speed, long planning, "plane" feeling.

Many experienced pilots fly both.