Wills Wing Alpha 180 Owner's Service Manual page 17

16. Conduct a complete preflight of the glider, according to the following procedure, checking all
assemblies which have not already been checked. Every bolt, nut, pin, safety ring, and fastener
of any kind should be checked during every pre-flight. A full pre-flight inspection should precede
every flight you make, not just the first flight of the day.
Along the left leading edge
Check that the mylar insert is lying flat in the mylar pocket, and that it is not severely creased
or buckled. A sharp crease in the mylar insert could cause a premature stall, or stall hysteresis
(delayed stall recovery) that can adversely affect both handling and performance.
Check the nut which secures the leading edge crossbar bracket to the leading edge, and check
the nut and the white nylon threaded nut cap which secure the crossbar to the bracket. On
the Alpha 210, the top side wires are secured to the crossbar by a separate bolt, inboard of
the crossbar / leading edge junction – check this assembly as well. Check that the sail is not
caught on the crossbar end, nor on any of the hardware.
Check that there are no cocked thimbles on either end of either bottom side wire, or on the
crossbar end of the top side wire.
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