Bruce Goldsmith Design DIVA User manual
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Diva-manual-EN-1-0 April 2017Version 1.0 April 2017
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Diva-manual-EN-1-0 April 2017
1. Welcome 3
2. Introduction 4
3. Preparation 5
4.Pre-ightInspection 6
5.FlightCharacteristics 7
6.RecoveryTechniques 13
7.StorageandServicing 16
8.TechnicalData 18
9.Servicebooklet 23
10.ClosingWords 27
Contents
Contents
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Diva-manual-EN-1-0 April 2017
DIVA Owner’s Manual
CCC PARAGLIDER
Welcome to Bruce Goldsmith Design
BGDisaworldleaderinthedesignandproductionofparagliders.FormanyyearsBruceGoldsmithandhisteam
havebeendevelopingproductswithworld-beatingperformanceforpilotswhowantthebest.Weapplyour
competitiveknowledgetodesigntopqualityproductsthatcombinethehighestperformancewiththesafehandling
ourcustomersvalueandrespect.BGDpilotsappreciateourqualityandreliability.BGD´sworld-classstatusisbased
ontheskillsandexpertisewehavedevelopedincombiningaerodynamicdesignwithclothandmaterialstechnology.
AllBGDproductsaredevelopedandmadewiththesameskillandattentiontogooddesignthataresynonymous
withtheultimateperformanceandprecisionrequiredbyparagliders.
Congratulations on your purchase of the BGD DIVA
TheDIVAisahigh-performancecompetitionparaglider,designedforexperiencedpilotsforcompetitionandcross-
countryying.Itisfastandperformant,anddemandsahighlevelofpilotskilltoy.Itisbuilttohighstandardsof
constructionandsafety,butitwillonlyretainitsoptimalcharacteristicsifitisproperlylookedafter.Pleasereadthis
manualcarefullyfromthersttothelastchaptertoensureyougetthebestoutofyourDIVA.
Thismanualhasbeenpreparedtogiveyouinformationandadviceaboutyourparaglider.Ifyoueverneedany
replacementpartsorfurtherinformation,donothesitatetocontactyournearestBGDdealerorcontactBGDdirectly.
1 Introduction
1. Welcome
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Diva-manual-EN-1-0 April 2017
TheDIVAisatwo-linercompetitionparaglidersuitableforveryadvancedpilotsofferingahighlevelofperformance
combinedwithspeed,whichmakethiswingcompetitivebutrequiringahighlevelofpilotskill.
Theuseofthisgliderislimitedtonon-aerobaticmanoeuvres.
Thisparaglidermustnot:
1. Beownoutsidethecertiedweightrange
2. Haveitstrimspeedadjustedbychangingthelengthofrisersorlines
3. Beowninrainorsnow
4. Betowedwithatow-linetensioninexcessof200kg
Itisyourdealer´sresponsibilitytotestytheparagliderbeforeyoureceiveit.Thetestightrecordofthisisinthe
ServiveBooklettowardstheendofthismanual.Pleasebesurethatthishasbeencompletedbyyourdealer.Failure
totestyanewparaglidermayinvalidateanywarranty.
InordertoenjoythefullbenetsoftheBGDwarranty,youmustcompletethewarrantyformonourwebsite.
ForfurtherinformationabouttheBGDwarranty,pleaserefertothecorrespondingpageonourwebsite.
Anymodication,e.g.changeoflinelengthsorchangestothespeedsystem,cancausealossofairworthinessand
certication.WerecommendthatyoucontactyourdealerorBGDdirectlybeforeperforminganykindofchange.
2. Introduction
2. Introduction
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Diva-manual-EN-1-0 April 2017
3. Preparation
1. Selectasuitabletake-offareadeterminedbywindandterrain,clearofanyobstaclesthatmaycatchinthe
linesordamagethecanopy.
2. Ifyourparagliderhasbeencorrectlypacked,youshouldtakeittothetopofthetake-offarea,andallowthe
rolledcanopytounrollitselfdownthehill(ifonaslope).Thisshouldleavetheparagliderwiththebottom
surfacefacingupwards,theopeningsatthedownwindendofthetake-offarea,andtheharnessatthetrailing
edgeattheupwindside.
3. Unrollthecanopytoeachsidesothattheleadingedgeopeningsformasemicircularshape,withthetrailing
edgedrawntogetheratthecentreofthearc.Theharnessshouldbedrawnawayfromthecanopyuntilthe
suspensionlinesarejusttight.
3. Preparation
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4. Pre-ight Inspection
TheDIVAisdesignedtobeassimpleaspossibletoinspectandmaintainbutathoroughpre-ightprocedureis
mandatoryonallaircraft.Thefollowingpre-ightinspectionprocedureshouldbecarriedoutbeforeeachight.
1. Whilstopeningouttheparagliderchecktheoutsideofthecanopyforanytearswhereyourparaglidermay
havebeencaughtonasharpobjectorevenhavebeendamagedwhilstinitsbag.
2. Checkthatthelinesarenottwistedorknotted.Dividethesuspensionlinesintosixgroups,eachgroup
comingfromoneriser.Bystartingfromtheharnessandrunningtowardsthecanopyremoveanytanglesor
twistsinthelines.Partiallyinatingthecanopyinthewindwillhelptosortoutthelines.
3. Itisparticularlyimportantthatthebrakesareclearandfreetomove.Checktheknotwhichattachesthe
brakehandlestothebrakelines.Severalknotsshouldbeusedhereorthelooseendsmaygetentangledin
thebrakepulleys.Bothbrakesshouldbethesamelengthandthiscanbecheckedbyaskinganassistantto
holdtheupperendofthebrakelinestogetherwhilstthepilotholdsthebrakehandles.Thebrakelinesshould
bejustslackwiththewinginatedwhenthebrakesarenotapplied.Aftercheckingthebrakelineslaythem
ontheground.
4. Alwayscheckthebucklesandattachmentsontheharness.Ensurethetwomainattachmentmaillons/
karabinersfromtheharnesstothemainrisers,andthesixshackleswhichattachtheriserstothelines,are
tightlydoneup.
5. Beforestrappingintotheharness,thepilotshouldbewearingagoodcrashhelmet.Putontheharness
ensuringallthebucklesaresecureandproperlyadjustedforcomfort.
Yourparagliderisnowreadyforight.
4.Pre-ightInspection
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Diva-manual-EN-1-0 April 2017
5. Flight Characteristics
ThismanualisnotintendedasaninstructionbookonhowtoytheDIVA.Youshouldbeanexperiencedpilot,but
thefollowingcommentsdescribehowtogetthebestfromyourDIVA.
Weight range
EachsizeoftheDIVAiscertiedforacertainweightrange.Theweightreferstothe‘overalltake-offweight’.This
meanstheweightofthepilot,theglider,theharnessandallotherequipmentcarriedwithyouinight.
WerecommendtheDIVAisowninthemiddleoftheweightrange.
IfyouytheDIVAinthelowerhalfoftheweightrange,theturningagilitydecreasesandthegliderwillbemore
damped.Instrongturbulencethewingtendstodeformandtocollapseslightlymorethanwithahigherwingloading.
IfyoumainlyyinweakconditionsyoushouldconsideryingtheDIVAtowardsthelowerendoftheweightrange.
IfyouytheDIVAintheupperhalfoftheweightrange,theagilityandthestabilityinturbulencewillincrease.Also
thespeedwillincreaseslightly.Theself-dampingwilldecreaseinturns,aswellasaftercollapses,soifyouyin
bumpyconditionsandyouwantadynamicightcharacteristicyoushouldgoforthetopoftheweightrange.
Active Piloting
Activepilotingisatoolthatwillhelpanypilotywithgreatersafetyandenjoyment.Itmeansyinginempathywith
yourparaglider,notonlyguidingthegliderthroughtheairbutalsobeingawareoffeedbackfromthewing,especially
inthermalsandturbulence.Iftheairissmooththefeedbackcanbeminimalbutinturbulencefeedbackiscontinuous
andneedstobeconstantlyassessedbythepilot.Suchreactionsbecomeinstinctiveingoodpilots.
5.FlightCharacteristics
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Diva-manual-EN-1-0 April 2017
Inordertogetthebestperformancefromthewing,thepilotshouldtrytocontrolitthoughsmallbrakeinputsand
weight-shift,ratherthanconstantlybeingpresentonthebrakes.Asmallmovementearlyismoreefcientthana
bigbrakemovementlatertocontrolthewing.Themoreyoulettheglideryattrimspeed,thebetterperformance
youwillgetoutofit.Theobjectiveofactivepilotingistogettheglidertoysmoothlythroughtheairwithastable
positionabovethehead,andcontrolledangleofincidence.Flyingactivelyincreasesyoursafetymargin.
Harness
TheDIVAistestedwitha‘GH’(withoutdiagonalbracing)typeharness.TheGHcategoryincludesweight-shift
harnessesaswellasABSstyle(semistable)harnesses.
Approved harness dimensions
ThisgliderhasbeentestedwithaharnessthatcomplieswiththeENstandardharnessdimensions.
Theseare:
Seatboardwidth:42cm.Thehorizontaldistancebetweentheattachmentpointsoftheparagliderrisers(measured
fromthecentrelineofthekarabiners)mustbe:
• Upto50kg=38cm
• 50-80kg=42cm
• 80kgormore=46cm
Take-off
ThebestinationtechniqueistoholdoneA-riserineachhand.
Forward Launch
TakeanA-riserineachhand.TheA-risersaremarkedwithredclothtomakethemeasytond.Innilorverylight
5.FlightCharacteristics
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wind,standwithalltheAlinestautbehindyou,thentakeoneortwostepsback(donotwalkallthewaybackto
thecanopy)andbeginyourlaunchrunpullinggentlyandsmoothlyontheA-risers.Assoonasthecanopystartsto
riseoffthegroundstoppullingsohardontheA-risersbutpullalltherisersevenlythroughtheharness.Maintaining
gentlepressureontheA-risersalwayshelpsinverycalmconditions.Haveyourhandsreadytoslowupthecanopy
withthebrakesifitstartstoacceleratepastyou.
Reverse Launch
Inwindsover10km/hitisrecommendedtodoareverselaunchandinatethecanopywhilstfacingitusingthe
A-risers,withoutthe‘BabyA-risers,’topreventthegliderfrominatingthewingtipsrst.Releasingpressureonthe
A-riserswhenthecanopyisatabout45°willhelptoavoidovershooting.Thestrongerthewindandthegreaterthe
pressureontheA-risers,themorequicklythecanopywillrise.
Turning
TheDIVAdoesnotrequireastrong-handedapproachtomanoeuvring.Forafastturnsmoothlyapplythebrakeon
thesidetowhichtheturnisintended.Thespeedwithwhichthebrakeisappliedisveryimportant.Ifabrakeisapplied
fairlyquicklythecanopywilldoafasterbankingturn,butcaremustbetakennottobanktooseverely.Toattainamore
efcientturnatminimumsink,applysomebraketotheoutsidewingtoslowtheturnandpreventexcessivebanking.
TheDIVAiesverywelllikethis,butcaremustbetakennottoover-applythebrakesasaspincouldresult,even
thoughtheDIVAhasaverylowspintendency.TheDIVAwillturnfarmoreefcientlyifthepilotweight-shiftsintothe
turnintheharness.Rememberthatviolentbrakeapplicationisdangerousandshouldalwaysbeavoided.
Straight Flight
TheDIVAwillysmoothlyinastraightlinewithoutanyinputfromthepilot.Thetrimspeedshowninthespecstable
insection8isachievedwhenthegliderisownatthemaximumweightwithouttheaccelerator.Thetopspeedis
achievedatmax.weightwithfullspeedbarapplied.
5.FlightCharacteristics
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Diva-manual-EN-1-0 April 2017
Thermalling
ToattainthebestclimbratetheDIVAshouldbethermalledusingamildturn,asdescribedabove,keepingthewing´s
bankingtoaminimum.Instrongthermalsatighterbankingturncanbeusedtostayclosertothethermal´score.
Rememberthatweight-shiftingintheharnesswillmaketheturnmoreefcientandreducetheamountofbrakerequired.
Caremustbetakennottoapplysomuchbrakeastostall.Thisiseasytoavoidasthebrakepressureincreasesgreatlyas
youapproachthestallpoint.Onlyynearthestallpointifyouhaveenoughheighttorecover(atleast100mabovethe
ground).
Big Ears
The‘babyA-riser’allowstheDIVAtobe‘bigeared’simplyandeasily.Thisallowsthepilottodescendquickly
withoutsubstantiallyreducingtheforwardspeedofthecanopy(asisthecasewithB-lining).Toengagebigears
thepilotwillneedtoleanforwardintheharnessandgraspthebigearsrisers(oneineachhand)atthemaillons,
keepingholdofbothbrakehandlesifpossible.Pulltherisersoutanddownatleast30cmsoastocollapsethe
tipsoftheglider.ItisveryimportantthattheotherA-linesarenotaffectedwhenyoudothisasitcouldcausethe
leadingedgetocollapse.Steeringispossiblebyweight-shiftingwithbigearsin.Ifthebigearsdonotcomeout
quicklyontheirown,apumponthebrakeswillspeedthingsup.
Beforeusingthebigearsfacilityinearnestitisessentialtopractisebeforehandwithplentyofgroundclearancein
casealeadingedgecollapseoccurs.Alwayskeepholdofbothbrakesinordertoretaincontrol.Puttingyourhands
throughthebrakehandlessotheyremainonyourwristsisagoodmethodofdoingthis.
Spiral Dive
Anormalturncanbeconvertedintoastrongspiraldivebycontinuingtoapplyonebrake.Thebankangleandspeed
oftheturnwillincreaseasthedownwardspiraliscontinued.Becarefultoenterthespiralgraduallyastooquicka
5.FlightCharacteristics
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