Our sport is quite particular. We fly in the “hands up” position with the palm tightened by the brake handle strap with a relative wind of more than 35 km/h and at an additional altitude!
Several problems combine:
- The circulation of blood that must rise much higher than the heart to irrigate our fingers.
- The temperature that is about 1 degree lower for every additional 150 m of altitude, which is 0.65 degrees / 100 m.
- With the relative wind, the perceived temperature is 5 to 10 degrees lower than the actual temperature
- The brake handle strap, especially if it is narrow (ultralight paraglider), squeezes the hand and hinders blood circulation
- Age seems to amplify the feeling of cold at extremes…
- Raynaud’s disease, which affects between 5 and 10% of the population. In cold weather, the fingers become both painful and insensitive…
Gloves / mittens
The first idea is of course to take gloves. In fact, mittens are better for fighting the cold, but boring for handling lines and instruments on the ground and in flight.
During more than 35 years of flight, I tested various gloves and mittens. Nothing worked! I must have particularly bad blood circulation…
The best solution and it is simple!
You have to let go of the controls and lower your hands to reactivate the blood circulation.
As often and as energetically as possible. Make “reels”, describe circles with your arms: the centrifugal force helps to bring blood to your numb fingers!
It is, of course, unthinkable to do this in thermal, but it is easy to perform during a transition or during the approach phase of the landing. In the latter case, it is a bit late, but my experience has shown me that it works infinitely better than a ‘scalp dance’ once applied to try to dissipate more quickly the strong pain.
ANNECDOTE
BGD CURE 2 test flight
In the spring, my daughter, a friend and I leave light for the Truche takeoff near Villars-sur-Ollon. I have to make a small flight to test a new paraglider before delivering it to the client. I took my summer gloves…
With ascents at more than 10 m/s, I quickly find myself at an altitude of 3200 m above Aigle, at the same height as the Dents du Midi which peaks at 3257 m.
In such strong thermals, I couldn’t let go of the brakes to bring my hands down again. The fingers are frozen, white and painful. I start the transition at more than 55 km/h towards the Dent de Morcles near Bex (17 km all the same!). I scream, scream, sing… and shake my hands thinking about Mike Horn’s misadventures! The sensation finally returns and the pain fades…
Other solution: the ‘heater’ (heating bag)
It is a relatively cheap bag that is activated by shaking it. It then radiates heat for a few hours.
Some gloves and mittens are equipped with a slot to insert the bag into.
The problems are
- It must be decided at takeoff whether to activate the bag or not
- We cannot adjust the power of the heating
- The heat could well decrease before the end of the flight
And big guru, what about the sleeves?
I think it can be a good complement, but not a solution in itself. The sleeves cut off the wind well, but that’s all.
Heated gloves: comfortable and practical
(For me, the other old pilots and even the young ones!)
The heated gloves benefited from the improved batteries. They are reliable and efficient with good autonomy.
Their advantages are:
- We can activate them in flight
- We can adjust the intensity on 3 levels
Cela fait que, dans la pratique, il n’y a ordinairement pas besoin de les recharger après chaque vol.
Generally, heated gloves are good winter gloves, quite effective without engaging them.
There are also finer heated gloves that are ideally used in conjunction with sleeves. It is then the perfect couple!
My advice:
- Electric heated gloves
- Thin electric heated gloves + sleeves
Fine gloves are also excellent for winter aperitifs on the terrace!
