The CIVL Bureau [in charge of Paragliding and Hang gliding issues at the World Air Sports Federation, FAI], has been asked to rule on two paragliders CCC (CIVL Competition Class) certification issues concerning the Flow Spectra and the 777 Gambit. It ruled that both paragliders will be allowed to fly in the coming World Championship.
Flow Spectra: all documentation was done in January 2019 but not sent to CIVL, so it was never published on CIVL website. Formally, it is not certified. In fact, the documentation has been on the manufacturer website for a long time, with all the needed information. The glider has flown in many Cat 2, including the Super Final.
777 Gambit: the documentation was sent and published on June 5. On July 19, a glitch was discovered: the weak link that is used in the load test is not appropriate for size L. Formally, it disqualifies not only the L size but all the range. The glitch is the result of a global failure: the CCC requirements text is not clear; the manufacturer and the test house should have known better, when CIVL published the certification, we did not inform the CCC working group; we have no defined process for controlling certification. (This global failure will be fixed.)
In both cases
- The responsibility of the manufacturer is nil or partial.
- There is no way to fix the problem before the World.
- Pilots are expecting to fly the gliders at the World.
- The gliders fit the aims of CCC scheme, which states:
The definition of Competition Class paragliders was created with the purpose of World and Continental Championships in mind: safe, fair and satisfying contest flying. This leads to the following goals for the class definition:
–Safety: wings complying with this definition are safe enough for adequately trained competition pilots in competition conditions; a wing’s conformity with certification can be verified by simple measurements.
–Fairness: ensure that wings are available for a wide range of pilot weights prevent pilots from gaining undue advantage over others through temporary or permanent modification of their glider
Hence, the CIVL Bureau has ruled that both paragliders will be allowed to fly in the coming World Championship.
Stephane Malbos, CIVL President
