Paragliders Stability Characteristics

In this paper it is presented an analysis of the longitudinal and lateral-directional stability characteristics of paragliders. The paragliders stability analysis is part of the thesis named “Paragliders Flight Dynamics”, submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) - Brazil - in partial fulfillment of the requirements to obtain the master's degree in mechanical engineering. The full thesis presents a complete theoretical analysis of paragliders flight dynamics providing useful information for paragliders conceptual design optimization, and representing a first initiative to incentivize the international aeronautical engineering community to dedicate attention to this particular field.