finsterwalder-charly.de - Finsterwalder & Charly - Hanggliding and Paragliding Equipment since 1974
Finsterwalder Karabiner
Update about the PARALOCK
Lightweight, safe, just as convenient to use as a conventional paragliding carabiner – and yet more durable and separable under load. This is the current status of the Paralock pre-series.
In terms of safety, stregth and function, the current Paralock pre-series is faultless.
We have ensured this through extensive testing. The first flights with prototypes by Tom Grabner and other test pilots were still made without a security cap.
However, after it became apparent that an unintentional opening due an accidental push of the release mechanism is unlikely but still possible, we added the security cap as an additional safety step. The paraglider can still be disconnected in seconds, even under load.
However, there is still room for improvement, and the currently available pre-series is also not yet flawless in terms of visual appearance.
The current manufacturer has to date not been able to deliver the quality we require for mass production. As a result, each Paralock is being completely disassembled in our Munich workshop and some parts have to be extensively reworked. The costs of production still far exceed the achievable revenues. Not even taking into account our investments in forging molds and machining equipment.
Nevertheless, also based on the knowledge gained with the pre-series, we are in the process of completely revising the design of the Paralock and restarting production with a different manufacturer. Just like our Quick-Out, the Paralock has to be forged in a complex two-stage process that only few companies can master. Based on our experience, we do not expect the new Paralock generation to enter the market for another one to three years, due to the overall very high complexity of the product.
But when it will be available, we want to offer an upgrade to the new generation at a 50% discount to all pilots who have purchased a pre-series Paralock and thus helped to finance this challenging project.
More information about the Paralock and other Finsterwalder & Charly carabiners ...
Risk of material fatigue in air sports carabiners with conventional snap gate
White Paper
Dipl. Ing. Thomas Finsterwalder, Juni 2020
Conventional carabiners have a snap gate, for whose frictionless movement a certain amount of gate play is required. Depending on the size of the play, form fit on the side with the closure only occurs at a load of 30 to 150 kg. The side facing away from the closure is thereby exposed to relatively high tensions. Due to the oscillating load, which permanently affects air sports carabiners during flight, there is a risk of material fatigue in this area. In the following, we explain the background of the problem and describe how the strength of some currently used conventional paragliding carabiners is tested by a uniform method. It turns out, that fatigue strength for a time span of 5 years is not always given, and that there are very different ways to achieve it with regard to carabiner design.
The white paper for download can be found here: |
Almost all connecting links between pilot and wing, that are currently used in air sports, are carabiners with a snap gate as known from mountain sports. These carabiners are popular, because they are easy to handle and the automatic locking of the snap gate largely excludes any maloperation. Also their low weight at high breaking loads and the small dimensions make them attractive for hang glider and paraglider pilots. In addition, the production of such carabiners is relatively inexpensive. We, too, manufacture conventional carabiners, although we have been developing alternative air sports carabiners in parallel since 1993.
It should, however, be noted that carabiners are not only exposed to static, but also to dynamic loads during flight, which in the long run can lead to material fatigue. Material fatigue would necessarily only occur, if the critical stresses are excessively exceeded. But since the snap gate becomes form-fit before, this is prevented. But still, a certain probability of occurrence remains. It tends only slowly towards zero, depending on the size of the gate play and the number of load changes. This also explains why to date only a few cases have become known in which carabiners broke during use due to material fatigue, although hundreds of thousands of conventional carabiners have been used in air sports since the 1970s.
However, the danger is that a fatigue fracture usually occurs suddenly and without warning.
Infinite fatigue strength is actually standard in engineering, especially in aviation. Due to the problem of gate play, however, there is to date no compact conventional carabiner with infinite fatigue strength. One of the reasons is, that it is difficult to guarantee a low form fit point. Only limited fatigue strengths of 5 years have been achieved so far. But limited fatigue strength involves the general problem that it is not possible to tell how many load changes a carabiner has already endured, and many pilots do not seem to be aware of the potential danger of using it too long. Just recently, at the beginning of 2020, the case of a fatigue fracture in Slovakia became known, in which the maximum allowed operating time of the carabiner was exceeded (see the expert testimony by the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic of March 26, 2020).
Since standardized tests are still lacking, manufacturers currently apply own test methods and consider different safety factors when determining fatigue strengths. The strength tests described in the following on some currently common paragliding carabiners show, that this practice leads to very different results. We have carried out these tests during the development of our own air sports carabiners for comparison purposes.The tests have been carried out with unused carabiners according to the method described below. It turns out that fatigue strength for a time span of 5 years is not always given, but that there are very different ways to achieve it with regard to carabiner design.
CIC aluminium carabiner
Aluminum carabiner of the Taiwanese manufacturer CIC, as it is currently used in various harnesses.
Weight: 60 g
Static breaking load: 2 000 DaN
This carabiner withstood 2 000 load cycles with an upper load of 252 DaN and then broke after 68 000 load cycles with an upper load of 115.4 DaN. A limited fatigue strength of 5 years for mono paragliding use is not given. The aluminum carabiner has a rather wide belt support, which in combination with too much gate play led to exceeding the permissible tensions.
Camp aluminium carabiner
Aluminum carabiner of the Italian company Camp, as it is currently used in harnesses from Woody Valley.
Weight: 46 g
Static breaking load: 2 000 DaN
This carabiner withstood 2 000 load cycles with an upper load of 252 DaN and then 5 mio. load cycles with an upper load of 115.4 DaN. The very light aluminum carabiner has a rather wide belt support. Since it is relatively flexible, the gate becomes form fit already at low loads. A limited fatigue strength of 5 years for mono paragliding use is given.
Edelrid aluminium carabiner
Aluminum carabiner "Forsas" of the German company Edelrid, as it is currently installed in harnesses from the company Advance.
Weight: 51 g
Static breaking load: 2 300 DaN
The carabiner endured 2 000 load cycles with an upper load of 252 DaN and then 5 mio. load cycles with an upper load of 115.4 DaN. With this relatively stiff carabiner, form fit occurs rather late. Due to the extremely narrow belt support, however, this carabiner still has a limited fatigue strength of 5 years for mono paragliding use.
Supair steel carabiner
Carabiner made of stainless steel from Supair, as it is still available today.
Weight: 132 g
Static breaking load: 2 400 DaN
The tests in 2005 had been carried out with a lower oscillating loads. This carabiner endured 1 mio. load cycles with an upper load of only 40 DaN and then broke at approximately 740 000 load cycles with only 50 DaN. The measured form fit point was reached at 81 DaN. To achieve limited fatigue strength, form fit would have to be reached at less than 50 DaN.Since steel has a three times higher stiffness than aluminum, it is particularly difficult for conventional steel carabiners to achieve a low form fit point.Even in two further tests carried out in 2005 with closed gate, the required limited fatigue strength of 5 years for mono paragliding use according to the method described here was not given.
Finsterwalder-Charly Titanal carabiner
The "Snaplock" made of Titanal is produced by us since 2009 for various harness manufacturers.
Weight: 76 g
Static breaking load: 3 000 DaN
The Snaplock withstood 2 000 load cycles with an upper load of 252 DaN and then 5 mio. load cycles with an upper load of 115.4 DaN with open gate. Since the test was carried out with the gate open, it is not relevant that form fit occurs late with this carabiner. Due to the high strength of the carabiner body, the limited fatigue strength of 5 years for mono use is given in any case.
Additional information
What is the reason for material fatigue in conventional carabiners?
For a frictionless movement of the snap gate, there must be a play between the nose of the carabiner and the gate. Due to the manufacturing process, this play has a variation range which cannot be exactly defined. Within the play, the carabiner is being stressed as if with the gate open. The load bearing system corresponds to that of an open ring. Depending on the size of the gate play, the material used and the dimensions of the carabiner, form fit of the gate is given only at a more or less strong load. Then, the load-bearing system is that of a closed ring.
Therefore, when dimensioning the carabiner, two different load cases must be considered: within the gate play ("open ring") and form-fit ("closed ring"). Depending on its width, the lever arm of the carabiner's belt support increases the tension by a factor of 20 to 35 in the load case "open ring" compared to the load case "closed ring". Due to the high tensions in this load case, to date no manufacturer has succeeded in designing a conventional carabiner with small dimensions that has infinite fatigue strength.
How can a carabiner´s fatigue strength for a time span of 5 years be tested?
It is necessary to determine the resistance by means of fatigue tests. A special test method has been developed for this purpose. It uses the findings of the SincoTec test specification 05781 of February 22, 2006, which is based on fatigue tests of various air sports carabiners in 2005 (see the SincoTec test report 05601 of June 13, 2005) (both documents are only available in German):
- As infinite fatigue strength (without considering safety factors) for the load case "open ring" (open gate), values between 21 and 90 DaN were determined for conventional paragliding carabiners. The examined steel paragliding carabiners had no higher fatigue strength than the aluminum paragliding carabiners. Infinite fatigue strength is given if the upper limit of an oscillating load is endured 2 mio. times for steel carabiners and 5 mio. times for aluminum carabiners.
- For the conventional carabiners examined, form fit was provided only at loads of 15.5 to 214 DaN.
- It has been determined, that the upper loads during normal thermal paragliding flight at a total flight weight of 100 kg are 60 DaN. During extreme manoeuvres, values of 210 DaN have been measured. The carabiners should be designed for a total flight weight of 120 kg in mono use and 250 kg in tandem use.
- According to the DHV, the frequency of load changes during normal flight is about 37 times per minute. A maximum of 2 000 extreme manoeuvres within 5 years is assumed.
Based on these findings and assumptions, and assuming a safety factor of 1.145 for scratches plus a general safety factor of 1.5, the following procedure results for a carabiner fatigue test with closed gate and a limited fatigue strength of up to 5 years in mono use:
2 000 load cycles with an upper load of 252 DaN, subsequently 5 mio. load cycles with an upper load of 115.4 DaN for aluminum carabiners. For steel carabiners, 2 mio. subsequent load cycles are sufficient.
For a limited fatigue strength of 5 years in tandem use, 2 000 load cycles with an upper load of 525 DaN and subsequently 5 mio. load cycles with an upper load of 240.5 DaN must be endured by aluminum carabiners.
For steel carabiners, 2 mio. subsequent load cycles with an upper load of 240.5 DaN are sufficient.For the proof of infinite fatigue strength according to the general rules of aviation with a failure probability of 1%, the carabiner would have to endure the required 2 or 5 mio. load cycles with an upper load of 432.8 DaN in mono use and 901.7 DaN in tandem use.
Downloads on the subject of fatigue strength:
- White Paper „Risk of material fatigue in air sports carabiners with conventional snap gate“ [PDF, 506 KB]
- SincoTec test specification 05781 of February 22, 2006 (only available in German) [PDF, 859 KB]
- SincoTec test report 05601 of June 13, 2005 (only available in German) [PDF, 504 KB]
- The Finsterwalder-Charly Pin Lock in the endurance test (extract from the SincoTec test report 05601) (only available in German) [PDF, 114 KB]
- Documentation of some recent fatigue fractures
- Recommendations for paraglider harness connectors of the Fédération Française de Vol Libre (FFVL)
Finsterwalder carabiners
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Since 1993, we have been developing carabiners specially made for air sports and helicopter air rescue. |
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PARALOCK 3 universal paragliding carabiner The Paralock 3 is a universal paragliding carabiner with important safety features that can save your life in a variety of dangerous situations. The next generation paragliding carabiner is not only useful for emergency water landings and high wind conditions on the ground, its quick-release function also makes it possible to prevent dangerous interactions between the reserve and the paraglider and to make use of the possibility to steer the reserve. |
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QUICK-OUT separation carabiner Special carabiner for helicopter air rescue, which allows quick separation under load Due to its intuitive operation and high level of safety, the Quick-Out has proven itself for many years in air sports as well as in mountain and offshore air rescue, where it is used by the military, police, fire department and SEK. |
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UNILOCK carabiner Ultralight, universal paragliding carabiner
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SNAPLOCK carabiner Hang gliding and paragliding carabiner with conventional twist lock
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PINLOCK carabiner Paragliding carabiner with form-fit closure
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* 1 daN (decanewton) = 10 N (newton) ≈ 1 kg
>> You can find more carabiners for hang gliding and paragliding in our webshop <<
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Snaplock
Hang gliding and paragliding carabiner with conventional twist lock
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Features:
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More information on the fatigue endurance of air sports carabiners...
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Pin Lock
Paragliding carabiner with force-fit and form-fit lock
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Features:
* 1 daN (decanewton) = 10 N (newton) ≈ 1 kg |
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» Instruction manual Pin Lock karabiner
More information on the fatigue endurance of air sports carabiners... Steel is good ?
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Quickout paragliding carabiner
Special carabiner that enables quick release under load
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Features:
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The Quickout is used everywhere where a reliable connection and if needed a quick release even under load is necessary. It is designed for secure load attachment - in particular for the carrying of persons - and is suitable for outdoor use. There is no specific CE standard for separation carabiners. However, the Quick-Out is a central component of different certified special harnesses, which are used and proven nationally and internationally in many applications, e.g. in helicopter missions by the police, military, mountain rescue and fire departments.
In paragliding sports, it allows the release of the glider when used with a steerable rescue system. The simultaneous push of both lock buttons disconnects the pilot from the glider effortlessly. Safety trainings showed the release of the glider to be advantageous in the case of a rescue system deployment. Aside from its advantages in the case of water- or tree landings and in strong wind conditions, the Quickout also offers superior handling compared to conventional paragliding carabiners.
* 1 DAN (dekanewton) = 10 N (newton) ≈ 1 kg
Die Befestigung der Gleitschirmtragegurte ist ähnlich wie beim konventionellen Karabiner. Der Quickpin-Verschluss verfügt über eine automatische Verriegelung. Er ist so gestaltet, dass zum Öffnen zwei unterschiedliche manuelle Handlungen erforderlich sind: Das Drücken des Entriegelungsknopfs und ein Ziehen des Bolzens in entgegengesetzter Richtung.
Das Lösen der Tragegurte nach der Landung ist beim Pin Lock einfacher als beim Schnappverschluss Karabiner.
Damit bei extremen Starkwindverhältnissen ein ordnungsgemäßes Befestigen der Tragegurte am Karabiner sichergestellt ist, muss der Gleitschirm vor dem Anlegen des Gurtzeugs am Karabiner befestigt werden. Das gilt für konventionelle Karabiner wie für Pin Lock.
Bei Beachtung der Betriebsanleitung können selbst im extremen Winterbetrieb Vereisungsprobleme zuverlässig vermieden werden.
A foot accelerator separation system is required to allow the main canopy to be completely separated after an emergency parachute opening. The foot accelerator separation systems work automatically after the karabiner is opened. Charly offers 3 foot accelerator separation systems. |
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Accessories fors special belts
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| BORNACK rapid separation unit QR |
KRAH Hoist Adapter |
KRAH connection belt Charly |
Documents:
» Instruction manual Quickout carabiner
» Notice d'utilisation Mousqueton Quickout
» Safety note: On Quick-Out models before 2016, it was possible to swap the locking buttons during installation!
» Safety notice Ouickout carabiner 4.2019
» White Paper: Risk of material fatigue in air sports carabiners with conventional snap gate
PARALOCK Separation carabiner
With a conventional paragliding carabiner, separation under load is hardly possible. However, in certain situations this can not only be useful but even life-saving - e.g. when landing in moving water or in strong winds.
Also after an emergency parachute deployment, it may be necessary and in any case recommended to disconnect the paraglider. The Paralock eliminates the need to carry a line cutter or to pull in the paraglider which costs valuable time.
The Paralock's separation function is also useful in other sports, for air and water rescue, and in parachute harnesses.
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Features:
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Lightweight and durable The Paralock weighs only 73 g and is equally suitable for Hike & Fly as well as for tandem paragliding. >> More about the risk of material fatigue in conventional paragliding carabiners with snap gate
Convenient handling Easy operation even with gloves: After inserting the paraglider risers, the Paralock locks and secures itself automatically. The carabiner is opened by a 120° turn of the release lever against spring force, whereby the lever can only be unlocked after a button is pushed. A security cap over the release button reliably prevents the Paralock from being opened unintentionally. >> Demo video of handling
5 reasons why the paraglider should be disconnected after an emergency parachute deployment
Easy attachment to almost all paraglider harnesses
Accessories Die Befestigung der Gleitschirmtragegurte ist ähnlich wie beim konventionellen Karabiner. Der Quickpin-Verschluss verfügt über eine automatische Verriegelung. Er ist so gestaltet, dass zum Öffnen zwei unterschiedliche manuelle Handlungen erforderlich sind: Das Drücken des Entriegelungsknopfs und ein Ziehen des Bolzens in entgegengesetzter Richtung.
Das Lösen der Tragegurte nach der Landung ist beim Pin Lock einfacher als beim Schnappverschluss Karabiner.
Damit bei extremen Starkwindverhältnissen ein ordnungsgemäßes Befestigen der Tragegurte am Karabiner sichergestellt ist, muss der Gleitschirm vor dem Anlegen des Gurtzeugs am Karabiner befestigt werden. Das gilt für konventionelle Karabiner wie für Pin Lock.
Bei Beachtung der Betriebsanleitung können selbst im extremen Winterbetrieb Vereisungsprobleme zuverlässig vermieden werden.
A foot accelerator separation system is required to allow the main canopy to be completely separated after an emergency parachute opening. The foot accelerator separation systems work automatically after the karabiner is opened. Charly offers 3 foot accelerator separation systems. |
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Downloads
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| Manual Paralock Karabiner |
Manual Separat. system Brummelhook |
Manual Separat. system Easy Release |
Information about the carabiner problem
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| White Paper Risk of material fatigue |
Sincotec test specification only available in german |
Sincotec test report only available in german |
Pinlock endurance test only available in german |
CHARLY Speed pedal separation links
A speed pedal separation link is required to enable a complete separation of the main glider after an emergency parachute deployment. The speed pedal separation links are released automatically after opening the carabiner.
Charly offers 3 different speed pedal separation links.
Easy Release separation link NEW!
The system convinces by low construction height, easy handling and durable, safe operation.
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The Easy Release separation link can be easily attached to the paraglider risers if the Easy Release ring clip can be looped in instead of the Brummel hook. If this is not possible, the original speed system line must be replaced with the speed system line with ring clip of the Easy Release system |
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| Detaching the Brummel hook |
Attaching the ring clip |
Weight: 22 g / pair |
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Scope of delivery:
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Separation link with Brummel hooks We recommend this inexpensive separation link if the speed system of the paraglider is equipped with Brummel hooks. Weight: 25 g / pair |
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| Art.no. | Article | Br.load (DaN *) | Weight (g) | Price (€/pc.) |
| HKar141 | Separation link with Brummel hooks | 300 | 25 | 19,50 |
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Separation link with Brummel hooks With the patent shackle separation system a ring is looped into the speed system of the paraglider instead of the Brummel hook. The speed pedal is attached to this ring by means of the patent shackle. Weight: 74 g / pair |
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| Detaching the Brummel hook | Attaching the ring |
| Art.no. | Article | Br.load (DaN *) | Weight (g) | Price (€/pc.) |
| HKar14 | Separation link with Brummel hooks | 300 | 74 | 33,50 |
* 1 DaN (Dekanewton) = 10 N (Newton) ≈ 1 kg
Downloads
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| Manual Separat. system Easy Release |
Manual Separat. system Brummelhook |
Manual Separat. syst. Patent shackle |
UNILOCK
Ultraleichter, universeller Gleitschirmkarabiner
Mit einem Gewicht von nur 45 g und mehr als 25 kN Bruchlast ist der UNILOCK der derzeit leichteste und gleichzeitig einer der am höchsten belastbaren Gleitschirmkarabiner auf dem Markt. Beim Dauerschwingtest ertrug er 2.000 Lastwechsel mit Oberlast 252 DaN sowie anschließend 5 Mio. Lastwechsel mit Oberlast 115,4 DaN. Somit erreicht der UNILOCK eine Zeitfestigkeit von 5 Jahren im Monobetrieb.
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Die wichtigsten Features des Finsterwalder UNILOCK im Überblick
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Downloads
Infos zur Karabinerproblematik
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| White Paper Gefahr der Materialermüdung |
Sincotec Prüfvorschrift Auslegung von Karabinerhaken |
Sincotec Prüfbericht Dauerschwingfestigkeitsvers. |
Sincotec Prüfbericht Dauerschwingtest Pin Lock |
UNILOCK
Ultralight, universal paragliding carabiner
With a weight of only 45 g and a breaking load of more than 25 kN, the UNILOCK is currently the lightest and at the same time most loadable paragliding carabiners on the market. In the fatigue test, it endured 2.000 load cycles with an upper load of 252 DaN and subsequently 5 mio. load cycles with an upper load of 115,4 DaN. The UNILOCK thus achieves a fatigue strength of 5 years in mono use.
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Overview of the Finsterwalder UNILOCK´s most important features
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Downloads
Infos zur Karabinerproblematik
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| White Paper Gefahr der Materialermüdung |
Sincotec Prüfvorschrift Auslegung von Karabinerhaken |
Sincotec Prüfbericht Dauerschwingfestigkeitsvers. |
Sincotec Prüfbericht Dauerschwingtest Pin Lock |
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