Damn it and taped it up

March 1, 2021

Spanish tandem pilots report safety problems with older Supair Walibi Lite pilot harnesses. The outer container can literally "bake" with the rescue. The gray-checked fabric of the outer container of an older Supair Walibi Lite "sticks" to the inner container of the rescue. // Source: Facebook, Mario Arqué Note in advance: There has been no official statement or even a safety notice from Supair on the problems described below. Mario Arqué, editor of the Spanish paragliding magazine Parapente, posted an unofficial safety notice on his Facebook page about tandem pilot harnesses of the type Supair Walibi Lite (these are explicitly older models, not the current version of this model series). Accordingly, various tandem pilots in Turkey and Tenerife have found with their Walibi Lite that the coated inside of the outer container's fabric becomes sticky over the years - possibly reinforced by the sun and heat. This goes so far that the material can literally "bake" with the inner container underneath, which in some circumstances would make it much more difficult, if not completely prevented, to release a rescue in an emergency. Tandem pilots who own an older type of Walibi Lite and fly with it should therefore immediately check for their own safety whether such a sticky aging process is also occurring in their harness. If so, it would be advisable to look for a safety-appropriate solution (which should actually mean not going into the air with the harness any more). Such problems are not yet known from the current version of the Walibi Lite. According to Mario Arqué, Supair uses a different type of fabric for the outer container there.

This article has been translated for your convenience and was originally written in 독일어.