The leading cause of accidents in paragliding is auto-rotation. Our course will concentrate on techniques to avoid this situation, but as there are instances where it's unavoidable, we'll also cover how to safely and accurately exit an auto-rotation within a 90-degree turn.
To initiate auto-rotation, we'll induce a large asymmetric collapse and lean into it using our weight shift. We'll permit the wing to rotate, starting with a regular rotation and then transitioning into a SAT-like configuration. In this state, the collapsed side will face upwards, and the open side will face downwards. This will result in you flying backwards while your wing flies forwards.
Although attempting this maneuver might seem daunting, it's key to remember that the most energy is used during the transition from regular rotation to SAT. The SAT-like configuration involves less energy, but it can be disorienting as you'll be flying in the opposite direction to your wing.
To exit auto-rotation, we need to pull and hold the exit brake. This will compel the wing to exit the rotations. Once we hit the exit window, we release the brake entirely and regain smooth control, returning to directional control as in a standard asymmetric collapse exercise.
The exit brake here is the same brake as in Rapid Exit, the opposite one to the rotation. The input is not the same. In a rapid exit it is short. In an auto-rotation you pull it and hold it, and you keep holding it until the exit window.
Here’s how the auto-rotation work will look.
Here’s a video showing what happens if you over-react on exit.