A Line
Line to the leading edge of the wing.

Aerodynamics
The study of moving air over solid surfaces.

AFNOR
Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR). The AFNOR Group used to operate as the certification body for European airworthiness standards. Superseded by CEN (European Committee for Standardization) and now the EN 926-2 testing standards.

Airspeed
The speed of an aircraft through the air.

Altimeter
An altimeter tells you how high you are above a specific pre-set point.

Angle Of Attack
The angle at which a wing meets the vector representing the relative motion between the itself and the air through which it is moving. The angle between the chord line and airflow.

Aspect Ratio
The ratio of the wing span to it's chord-line (width).

ATZ
Aerodrome Traffic Zone

B Line
Second Line, one back from the A Line. The second set of risers from the leading-edge.

B Line Stall
A manoeuvre to disrupt the smooth flow over a wing by pulling down the "B" lines. This puts a spanwise crease in the wing, thereby separating the airflow from the upper surface of the wing. This dramatically reduces the lift produced by the canopy and thus induces a higher rate of descent.

Brake
Also "Control", used to alter the shape of the wing and thus affect lift, speed and drag which changes the direction of the wing, enabling steering control.

Chord
Straight line distance from the leading edge to the trailing edge at any given point on the span.

Cirrus Cloud
High icy clouds, generally characterized by thin, wispy strands.

Cumulus Cloud
A heaped cloud, important for Paragliders because they are found above, and therefore indicate the location of thermals. Cumulus clouds typically form when warm air rises and reaches a level of cool air, where the moisture in the air condenses. Cumulus means "heap" or "pile" in Latin.

Drag Ailerons
The correct term for the control system of a Paraglider.

Dyneema
A very strong type of line material. A derivative of Kevlar and approximately 5x as strong as steel given equivalent weights.

EN 926-2
EN 926-2 describes methods for classifying the flight safety characteristics of paragliders in terms of the demands on pilot flying skills.

All gliders should carry an EN rating label, which clearly shows the general classification (as below), certification number, weight rating, manufacturer, model and serial number, information about it's range and speed. You an also see individual classifications for each of the required 24 flight tests. More information available here: http://www.para-test.com

Class	Description of flight characteristics	Description of pilot skills required
A	Paragliders with maximum passive safety and extremely forgiving flying characteristics. Gliders with good resistance to departures from normal flight.	Designed for all pilots including pilots under all levels of training.
B	Paragliders with good passive safety and forgiving flying characteristics. Gliders with some resistance to departures from normal flight.	Designed for all pilots including pilots under all levels of training.
C	Paragliders with moderate passive safety and with potentially dynamic reactions to turbulence and pilot errors. Recovery to normal flight may require precise pilot input.	Designed for pilots familiar with recovery techniques, who fly "actively" and regularly, and understand the implications of flying a glider with reduced passive safety.
D	Paragliders with demanding flying characteristics and potentially violent reactions to turbulence and pilot errors. Recovery to normal flight requires precise pilot input.	Designed for pilots well practised in recovery techniques, who fly very actively, have significant experience of flying in turbulent conditions, and who accept the implications of flying such a wing.

Flare
The action of applying full brake hard to slow and stall a wing on landing. Also a triangular piece of cloth that helps to distribute evenly the load from a line.

Glide Ratio
Ratio of distance travelled horizontally to the height lost.

GPS
Global Positioning System, a US military satellite based navigation system used to pin-point the location of receiving devices anywhere on Earth. Useful for tracking flights, and navigation.

Groundspeed
The speed of an aircraft over the ground.

Isobar
Isobars connect points on a Synoptic Chart that share the same atmospheric (air) pressure. The closer isobar lines are, the more rapid the change in pressure is, and the stronger the resulting winds are.

Keeper
A ring or pulley sewn into the rear riser to retain the control line.

Kevlar
A type of line material.

Knot
1.15mph

Lapse Rate
The rate of temperature decrease with height.

Lift
The force acting in an upwards direction either created by the action of airflow moving over an aerofoil, or by air that is rising faster than a wing is sinking. This upwards airflow is typically either warm air rising in a thermal or airflow (wind) directed upwards by an obstacle, commonly a ridge or cliff.

Maillon Rapide
Trade name of the steel links used to connect the lines of the risers and sometimes the risers to a harness.

MATZ
Military Aerodrome Traffic Zone.

Minimum Sink Rate
A wing's slowest rate of descent.

Pitch
Rotation of an aircraft through the lateral axis - nose up or down.

PLF
Parachute Landing Fall

Polyester
Type of man-made canopy fabric.

Ripstop Nylon
A type of canopy fabric that uses a special reinforcing technique that makes them resistant to tearing and ripping.

Riser
Webbing connecting the harness to the lines.

Roll
Rotation of an aircraft through it's longitudinal axis (banking).

Sink
Descending air or aircraft.

Stall
Point at which the airflow over a wing slows as angle of attack increases until there is no longer sufficient lift generated to support the aircraft. As the speed of the aircraft decreases approaching a stall, there is less air moving over the wing, and, therefore, less air will be deflected by the control surfaces resulting in slow and sloppy controls. The wing will then drop sharply, with the possibility of entering a spin. A dangerous stall is one in which the nose rises, pushing the wing deeper into the stalled state and potentially leading to an unrecoverable deep stall.

Synoptic Chart
A synoptic chart is the scientific term for a weather map. They provide provide technical information on the distribution, movement and patterns of air pressure, rainfall, wind and temperature.

Thermal
Column of warm rising air. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example of convection, specifically atmospheric convection.

Variometer
A Variometer (or Vario) measures the rate of climb and descent. Most work by detecting air-pressure. This information is then provided to the pilot by means of a audio signal, normally a beep, one of high pitch for climb and a low one for descent.

Wind Gradient
Reduction in wind speed near the ground due to increased friction. Increase in wind speed at higher altitudes due to decreased friction.