Tribe Owner’s Manual Thank you for taking your time to read this manual.
Thank you… Thank you for choosing the Tribe. We are confident that this paraglider will provide you with countless exciting experiences in your flying. This manual contains all the information you need to fly and maintain your paraglider. A thorough knowledge of your equipment will keep you safe and enable you to maximize your full potential. Please pass on this manual to the new owner if you do resell your glider.
Contents Thank you… ............................................................................................................................................................. 2 Safety Notice ........................................................................................................................................................... 2 Contents .......................................................................................................................................................
1. Gin Gliders Gin Gliders was formed in 1998 by paraglider designer and competition pilot Gin Seok Song and his team of engineers and test pilots. Gin's philosophy is simple: to design gliders that he, and any other pilot, will love to fly. This philosophy applies equally for a cross country intermediate wing such as the Tribe, as for the worldbeating competition glider, the Boomerang. No glider is released to the market without Gin's complete satisfaction.
2. Introducing the Tribe The Tribe is a new concept of cross country intermediate wing. Gin Gliders have drawn on all their years of experience to produce a wing that is uniquely in tune with the needs of today's pilots. The Tribe offers exceptional performance combined with a high security level and precise and dynamic handling. This allows the pilot to accurately feel the sensations of flight, and thus develop an active flying style.
Manufacturing All GIN gliders are produced in the company's own facilities using the most modern techniques. Highly skilled staffs take extreme care during the entire manufacturing process. Stringent quality control is made after each step, and all materials that go into each wing can be traced. These measures guarantee that pilots fly with the assurance that their wing meets the most exacting safety standards.
3. Before you fly Pre-delivery Inspection The Tribe is delivered with speed system, rucksack, inner bag, compression strap, repair tape and this manual. Your instructor or dealer should have made a test inflation followed by a test flight before delivery. Speed System The speed system increases the maximum speed by lowering the angle of attack with a pulleyguided, foot-operated system. Approx. 14 to 16 km/h gain in speed can be realized with the accelerator at full travel.
Brake line adjustment The main brake line lengths of the Tribe are the same as on the sample that has been used for the DHV certification test flights. These line lengths have been fine tuned by GIN test pilots, and it should not be necessary to adjust them. In soaring flight, it is common to fly with half a wrap on the brakes. However, care should be taken to release the wraps in any extreme situation.
Your harness The Tribe is certified for use with all harnesses with variable cross-bracing (GH type). 99% of harnesses produced after 1993 are of the GH type. Older harnesses with fixed cross-bracing (GX type) are not certified and should not be used. Check with the manufacturer of the harness or your paragliding instructor if in doubt. The adjustment of the harness chest strap controls the distance between carabiners and affects the handling and stability of the glider.
4. Flying the Tribe We recommend that you first practice inflating your glider on a small training hill or flat ground. Make your first flights with your new paraglider in gentle conditions on a familiar flying site. Preparation for launch Following a consistent method of preparation and pre-flight checks is vital for safe flying. We recommend the following: On arrival at the flying site, assess the suitability of the conditions: wind speed and direction, airspace, turbulence and thermal cycles.
Take off The key to a successful launch technique is to practice ground handling on flat ground whenever you can. Light or Nil Wind Launch The Tribe inflates steadily in nil-wind conditions. Simply guide the glider with the A-risers, keeping your arms bent and hands at the level of the shoulders. Allow your arms to rise in an arc and wait for the glider to inflate and come above your head do not push the risers. There is no need to pull the risers hard. Run positively as the glider comes above your head.
Apply the speed system by pushing the speed bar progressively with your feet. Be prepared to control roll by using weightshift and pitch by varying the amount of bar. Keep a very light pressure on the brakes in order to feel the canopy. Avoid flying accelerated near the ground, and be careful using the accelerator in turbulence. If you do encounter a collapse while using the accelerator, immediately step off the bar completely before taking any other corrective actions.
When you have a big collapse in accelerated flight you must first release the speed bar immediately. Stay neutral with your weight shift and brake the open side slightly. Let the glider turn, if you have enough space. This is the optimum action to avoid a spin or stall and help your glider to recover as fast as possible. Symmetric deflation A symmetric (frontal) deflation will normally reopen by itself without any pilot input. The glider will regain airspeed with a small surge.
Cascade of events Many reserve deployments are a result of a cascade of over-corrections by the pilot. Please note that over-corrections are often worse than no input at all. Losing altitude Extremely strong and widespread lift is found, for example, in storm conditions. The best place to be in this situation is on the ground. Nevertheless, if you have been caught out by the weather and find yourself needing to descend rapidly, there are several ways to do so. The best way is, of course, to find sink.
Spiral dive The spiral dive should be considered an extreme manoeuvre. Practice spiralling with caution and lesser sink rates to get a feel for the Tribe's behaviour. Weight shift and pull the brake on one side gradually. Let it accelerate for two turns and you will enter the spiral dive. Once in the spiral, you can control your descent rate and bank angle with weight shift and the outer brake.
Steering without brakes If a brake is not operational for some reason, you can steer the Tribe with the D-risers. Add steering input by weight-shifting in your harness. Be careful not to steer too much with the riser to avoid any possibility of a spin. Flying under the rain WARNING! We strongly advise you not to fly in the rain. High performance paragliders are very susceptible to deep stall when wet.
5. Care, Maintenance and Repairs The materials used in the Tribe have been carefully selected for maximum durability. Nevertheless, following the guidelines below will keep your paraglider airworthy and will ensure a long period of continuous safe operation. Excessive wear is caused by careless ground handling and packing, unnecessary exposure to UV light, chemicals, heat and moisture. Ground handling The following should be avoided: Violent shocks to the upper surface (e.g.
allow residual moisture to evaporate, and do not transport or store the glider in the proximity of chemicals such as gasoline, paints or other solvents. Cleaning Use only lukewarm water and a soft cloth to clean your wing. Never use any abrasive materials or detergents. Only clean the wing if it is absolutely necessary e.g. after a landing in salt water.
6. Technical Details Testing and Certification The GIN TRIBE has passed EN C and LTF C. The Tribe has also passed load tests and shock tests with a load exceeding 8G of the maximum weight in flight.
Technical Specifications SIZE XS S M ML L AREA 23 m² 24.5 m² 26 m² 27 m² 29 m² SPAN 11.56m 11.94m 12.30m 12.53m 12.99m A.R 5.82 5.82 5.82 5.82 5.82 AREA 19.73 m² 21.00 m² 22.31 m² 23.16 m² 24.90 m² SPAN 9.12 m 9.42 m 9.7 m 9.89 m 10.25 m A.R 4.22 4.22 4.22 4.22 4.22 CELL NUMBER 62 62 62 62 62 GLIDER WEIGHT 5.4kg 5.7kg 6.0kg 6.2kg 6.
Line Plan 21
Description Top Skytex 40 Bottom Skytex 40 Profile Skytex 40 Diagonal Skytex 40 Reinforcement SR-Scrim X15 Bridle Nylon 12mm Fabric of Canopy Suspension Line Liros DC60, DSL 70, PPSL120, 160, 200, 275/ TGL 180, 220 Riser Cousin Kevlar 12mm Maillons Peguet Stainless steel 3.0Ø Thread HT Polyester Yarn 150D/3, 225D/3 “Designing paragliders is a personal journey of challenge and discovery, an ongoing search for perfection.
