Reserve parachutes compared - Round vs Square vs Steerable

Comparing the three main types of reserve parachutes for paraglider, paramotor and hanglider: round vs square vs steerable. You'll learn about their opening speed, descend rate, stability, weight, volume and cost in this first episode of my new series.
The steerable reserve to my knowledge is not used for HG, but the other two are.
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[@SkidzFPV]

Great video for getting the basics across to newbies. I have the niviuk octagon 2, which I guess is basically a variation of the square, haven’t had to use it but definitely past due for a repack, which I will be doing soon.

[@dellwinelikesrock]

cool, thanks for the info

[@rovpilot1]

Great video Bas, I'm about to start a thermals course in Serra da Estrela. Your advise was what i was looking for. Groet uit Algarve

[@Flightcoach]

Veel succes en plezier!! Goed te horen

[@andreimarius9695]

Great video , many thanks for it !!!

[@Bob_just_Bob]

Hey Bas. I kind of wish I watched this earlier as I already made a reserve chute purchase. I'm a newbie having just received my wing and reserve a week or so ago. I've only done my beginner flights off of the sand dunes by Bo Hai Bay east of Beijing, China prior to this flying a few meters AGL I researched and made purchases on my own. My instructor's only insistence being that I get an EN-A-rated glider and I did, the Advance Alpha 7 instead of the Low B Advance Epsilon 9 that I almost bought. We occasionally have language issues and something might have been lost in translation but he did not specify anything about the reserve so, on my own gut instinct I purchased the Beamer 3 Light due to it having the fastest opening times, being the most stable, and steerable. I spent the extra money in order to mitigate some of the risks because I feel my life is worth it. The last thing I want is to someday have to throw my reserve just to have it sail me towards some pain-inducing undesirable landing (crashing) spot that would have otherwise been avoided by having a steerable reserve instead. So, after several month's break while waiting for my gear I met my instructor the other day to begin working towards my B rating and he was not thrilled to see my reserve. He talked about it being too much for a newbie. So, should I be buying a different type as a replacement to start with as he seems to want me to do? His main point seemed to be that you would need to pull in or cut away the main wing to avoid interference issues however the videos I saw while conducting my research showed that it was not an issue and that pulling in your paraglider wasn't an urgent consideration. Some even showed the steering ability being perfectly fine without needing to cut away or gather up the main wing. You too said in this video that you do not recommend a steerable for newbies but I do not understand the logic. I'm not discounting your opinion, I value it, I would just like to be clear on it in my own mind. Experience in paragliding does not also grant one experience with reserves unless of course, one attends an SIV course, so that first throw will be a new experience to everyone. What kind of experience level do you think one should have for using this kind of reserve? Are you equating experience level in proportion to the ability for one to react carefully under pressure? As a career helicopter pilot, I understand the need for and am accustomed to doing frequent emergency training drills and am accustomed to reacting to emergencies under pressure. An SIV course seems to be something I will want to do as soon as possible and maybe annually or every other year at a minimum. What kind of experience level do you think one should have before doing an SIV course? I'm pretty sure I cannot return the reserve I already purchased. Do you suggest I should go out and get a 2nd reserve to keep on hand for X number of flying hours until I am experienced enough for the Beamer? Sorry for the rather long comment. Thanks so much, a great video as always.

[@Flightcoach]

Hi Bob! i love extensive comments so no worries there, glad you appreciate the content. For having full functional use of the beamer, you will have to unlock the brakes, so it starts flying forward.You should only do that once you have gotten rid of the main glider, by disconnecting or pulling it in. This to prevent "downplaning". I do not know if a beamer that is still on brakes has a bigger chance to tangle vs a non steerable or not. But to get the most out of the steerable part, you have to unlock the brakes and to do that, you must first "disable" your glider. That is why the common belief is that once you fly a beamer, you should always be able to somehow get rid of your main glider asap. This then leads to the point of "brainload", for beginning pilots their mental loading is always higher than more experienced pilots, those just have more bits free in the brain to keep making sensible decisions. Indeed the experienced pilot who has never used a reserve in an operational situation will have the same amount of experience with this situation as a beginner in who has never done that, but this still comes on top of things as estimating things like "how high am i, where am i going to hit the ground, should i remember terrain features i see now, so i can call emergency services for myself when i break both my legs... ;) " just to mention a few. So going full circle to your specific situation, i believe your commercial heli training and experience will provide a very valuable substitute in emergency situations, for the lack of experience as a pg pilot. I just cant say if it substitutes that for 40% or 90% you understand? Being able to keep calm under duress is a hugely important talent that you obviously have. I would recommend getting a good SIV course ASAP, with an instructor that you really fully understand, it is such an intense training that miscommunication there can lead to "unpleasant" situations. And make sure you can do a real deployment of a reserve (doesnt have to be with your beamer) and practice pulling in the main glider or making it unflyable. I have been flying with a beamer as my reserve since i think my second year of flying PG, for reason that i also have this commercial aviation background and know i react levelheaded to stressfull situations. For me the downside of possibly getting a tangle or not being able to pull in the glider was smaller than the upside of being able (when everything goes well) to be able to pick my landing location. I have seen lots of people get into seriously f-ed up situations because they flew a non steerable reserve, so i said to myself "want to avoid any chance of ending up like that". Sorry for the extensive reply ;) did this anwser your question?

[@Flightcoach]

Hey Bob! something very WEIRD is happening. I responded to your comment, and i saw you responded to that again. I could only see that on my phone app though, not here on pc. On my app i can only see the first sentence of another comment in which you say something like you are sure you wrote a comment. But when i click on that, the comment is gone. I have made a support ticket, hope to get this resolved soon.

[@Flightcoach]

And i just spoke to them on chat, they said it seems you (or something on your side) may have deleted the comments? Did something go wrong right after posting? Can you try to leave another comment?

[@andergliding]

Did you buy another reserve or still have the Beamer?

[@Flightcoach]

My beamer just expired and is now serving as a prop in my children's school. I got a Finsterwalder Charly Diamond Cross. Also steerable, but a square instead of a rogallo.

[@glidewatch]

Hi Bas! Like you facial choice, you look very wise! Reference oscillation on rounds. This is tested on certification and not allowed and fails the test. Why? Because they also come down much faster if oscillating so also fail test descent rate, so myth that you get huge oscillation on rounds. Rounds have been around for years and saved hundreds of PG and HG lives. Yes squares are better and taking over. Tracking? Others have had their comments on your other posts. Repack times on Squares may be true for inexperienced pilots but nothing to fear, manuals, videos, packing tabs and manufacturers really trying to help make some far easier than old round designs! Rogs could do with some improvements to pack but that is filtering through to manufacturers. Thanks Bas!

[@Flightcoach]

Your welcome, glad to have you on board on the channel!! Oh no huge oscilations would be bad, i also said its an exageration when i explained it with my hands. Though i have seen nasty oscillations in real life, I feel there is a place for all these three types, hope i did not get across as not disliking any type since that was not the intended message. Any subject you would like a future video about? You spoke about your "lectures" before, are you a professor or teacher?

[@fredericjaquet3729]

Hey, glad to see you again ! Here in Switzerland, it's forbidden to release your glider as it may cause car accidents if it falls on a road.

[@LukeSchneider]

You can release just one riser then?

[@fredericjaquet3729]

@@LukeSchneider I guess, but I think that pulling the wing by the elevators will be easier and avoid the whole to tangle.

[@LukeSchneider]

@@fredericjaquet3729 sure thing.

[@Flightcoach]

Thanks fredric, good to be back! Oh thats good to know, did not know that. Must be quite a difficult call when you come in an fucked up situation and need to release to stay safe. :-S Horses can also go bezerk when a glider falls near them.

[@klyons217]

Info really starts at 4:44.

[@Flightcoach]

Thx for helping others! You can also just use the chapters for this ;-P

[@klyons217]

​@@Flightcoach There's no chapters in this video....

[@Flightcoach]

Whoops damn you're right. Well in that case thanks again for adding a usefull one!

[@andergliding]

Thank you

[@renarkhalor2744]

I fly with a companion square-round reserve. Best choice for me.

[@Flightcoach]

That's an awesome choice. Since making this video I changed mine to a similar type too, the macpara houston

[@renarkhalor2744]

@@Flightcoach how often to you re-pack your reseve? I let it do every 12 month. And i let him out in the "air" / defolded on a clothes line for at least 48 hours on every re-packing

[@5ty717]

Very good Bas

[@corskromhout1965]

Thanks for your info !!

[@Flightcoach]

You are welcome cors! Hope you found something interesting in it.

[@peterphil9686]

Your the best ...!

[@Flightcoach]

Glad you like it! When making this I found there is not much info on the topic gathered in one video so i decided to make one. Or a few. Hehe

[@zorbi1]

Welcome back from your holiday...

[@Flightcoach]

Yeah thanks! Good to be back. Fresh full of ideas :)

[@DaveyZeeTV]

I have an Apex (Round one) for my micro light trike

[@Flightcoach]

Welcome to the channel! Sounds like a safe solution, dont think with all that gear you'd have much use for a steerable one right? ;)

[@DaveyZeeTV]

@@Flightcoach idk Bas, I was thinking a steerable one would be kool, but I’d have to release myself from the trike! Lol! Maybe a trike chute and a steerable one for me?

[@DaveyZeeTV]

@@Flightcoach I’m in Upstate (Western , Buffalo area) New York

[@Flightcoach]

Hurray another American on board that is awesome. I lived in Florida for a while, love the states :) yeah I can imagine ditching your trike is not a great idea. The biggest advantage of a steerable reserve is avoiding landing somewhere dangerous, I can imagine that risk is a lot higher when you are flying pg versus ppg. Unless you usually zip around at a 100ft over suburban areas that is ;)

[@yaopacomeallosse9963]

A parachute that WE CAN take off from the and Land whenever and wherever WE want to.i need your help where Can i get it,and at which price

[@Flightcoach]

You are looking for a paraglider :)

[@brettparker7873]

alot of the crashes i have seen, people were unable to retract their glider

[@Flightcoach]

It can be quite difficult or impossible indeed. Hence the suggestions!

[@Juno_Beach]

oh great, now I'm more terrified & confused

[@Flightcoach]

Oh that's an interesting result! Welcome to the channel anyhow 😀

[@DansEscapades]

What's the smallest reserve on the market? (packing volume)

[@Flightcoach]

Welcome to the channel Dan, I dont know the answer to that question! Are you planning on going ultra small for volbivouac?

[@DansEscapades]

@@Flightcoach hi mate, I'm basically a light kit junky😂. I'm putting a H&F set up together for those early morning flights. I just wanted something small.... I think iv found the answer, the U-Turn Backup X100. It's got a very similar packing volume to the Yeti UL, but doesn't weigh as much.also being the same reserve shape. The best bit .... Its almost half the price!

[@Flightcoach]

I know what that feels like, keep making my gear lighter and lighter. Thanks for letting me know about that light reserve

[@DougBow96]

Great content on reserves 👍 Bummer about the beard 🙂

[@Flightcoach]

Thx doug, which do you have?

[@DougBow96]

@@Flightcoach square reserves

[@DougBow96]

@@Flightcoach Steerable would be nice but as a newer pilot my thought is that I would not have the mental bandwidth to deal with disabling my glider & steer the reserve, especially if it is a low altitude deployment.

[@Flightcoach]

Sounds like a very sensible choice! The only thing that counts is the end result in this case, so coming down safely. For 90% of pilots thats done better on a non steerable than steerable, because of all the downsides indeed. So you are still in the market for buying gear? Still flying with schoolgear then i presume?

[@DougBow96]

@@Flightcoach Thanks! Agreed - safe landing is the goal. No, I'm on my own gear now. About 130 PPG flights and soon to attend PG school. However, I enjoy learning and understanding my current gear needs to match my skills. A good pilot is always learning. :)