Ballast

Foreword

At the time this was written (about 1993 or 1994) paragliders seemed to be more critical about loading than they are now and as little as 2Kg could have a significant effect. Not so much from the point of view of safety but more from performance. Some competition pilots were flying with ridiculous amounts of ballast in order to fly the more efficient larger gliders. Eventually rules were imposed to limit the weight of equipment pilots could fly with.

BALLAST - Nigel Page

Given that high performance canopies are relatively weight critical it would seem like a good idea to use ballast to trim the canopy loading. Many pilots have resorted to using ballast and much has been learnt.

Ballast:

is heavy.
acquires kinetic energy which must be dissipated in the event of a crash thereby increasing potential injury to the pilot.
is an extra load for the emergency parachute.
may unbalance the harness making it difficult for the pilot to sit in the desired posture.
lowers the centre of gravity which may affect canopy handling.

Water ballast;

can easily be adjusted and even jettisoned in flight.
can be dumped before hitching back from an out landing.
is of neutral buoyancy in the event of a water landing.
is bulky.
places the underseat pocket of the harness under strain.
Plastic water carriers tend to leak or burst.

Lead ballast;

cannot be jettisoned and is less convenient to adjust at take off.

has to be carried back from out landings.

is potentially very dangerous in the event of a water landing.

is poisonous and should be wrapped in adhesive tape or similar.

is compact and easier to carry than water.

can easily and securely be fitted on top of the seat board of most types of harness.

My own feeling is that it is best to avoid having to use ballast at all if possible, particularly if safety aspects are considered. In the event of a water landing I would expect (from experience!) to float easily in my basic equipment but am sure that the four to six kilos of lead I used to fly with would sink me very quickly. Fortunately manufacturers are beginning to make better ranges of canopies in smaller increments of size and pilots should take advantage to avoid needing ballast. Ballast used to optimise for different flying conditions is probably best limited to about 5kg of water in a flexible water carrier made of woven fabric. Care must be taken to ensure that the harness pocket is strong enough to take the ballast with allowance for shock loads imposed by turbulence.