Paragliding is fantastic, but it can also be very frustrating. Flying cross country tests your skills to the limit, but when you make a wrong decision the learning stops (and the long walk/bus/hitch/donkey ride begins). If only I'd stayed up a bit longer, I'd have learned ... who knows how much more? In the spirit of sharing my experiences to accelerate your learning, here are the main things I picked up during the year.
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The closer you are to the terrain, the less time you have to react. Keep that in mind as we discuss ‘scratching’: it’s entirely your choice, and you can control how much danger you expose yourself to when cross country flying. You’ll see many experienced pilots flying really close to the terrain because it’s sometimes the only way to stay up, so let’s have a look at how to do it safely.
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The brakes offer a direct link to the paraglider. How you hold them affects your power, control and safety. In this article we discuss some options for your brake grab and demonstrate the best technique.
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Flying in light lift takes a lot of skill. It can take a long time to learn because every time you get it wrong you land, and the lesson is over. Here are some tips to help you soar for longer.
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From the moment you arrive in Delhi or Amritsar the smells, sights, sounds and vibrations of India explode onto the senses. Far more than just another trip to a paragliding destination, a visit to the Himalayas takes you into a different world, one which will change you in unexpected ways. India is a vast sub-continent, an incredible fusion of culture, chaos and magic that cannot be described. It has to be experienced.
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Landing in strong winds can be scary, but it doesn’t need to be dangerous. In this article we’ll get you prepared. We’ll share techniques for a safe landing setup and provide the best methods to kill the power and disable the wing.
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Leaving the hill is the foundation of cross country flying, and the hardest part to learn. Join Flybubble Paragliding for a narrated tutorial guiding you through the slow process of leaving the hill. Search. Circle. Fly away.
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Continuing our series on risk analysis at flying sites, we present Mount Caburn: a small hill often flown in strong wind. You might never fly at this particular site, but understanding the airflow will help you to analyse similar sites.
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The safest paragliding sites can be made dangerous: fly a little too close to the top, and over the back you go! Fly too low behind the trees and whoops! How do you analyse the terrain to make sure you have identified the dangers? What do you need to look out for?
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A cravatte is a nasty kind of collapse, where the fabric of the wingtip becomes trapped in the lines. This can cause a significant turn towards the cravatted side, which if left unchecked will become a rather radical spiral dive. Let's look at how they are caused, how to prevent them, and what to do when you've got one.
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