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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Where to go? What to take? How to plan your first solo adventure? It’s all here in our beginner’s guide to Volbiv, aimed at pilots who want to try fly-camping for the first time.
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Ever wondered what a cloud looks like up close? What if you could put it in a bag and take it home with you? Join us on a quest to capture the elusive cumulus cloud.
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All you need is a gentle puff of wind, a wing, and not much else... join Greg Hamerton as takes minimalism to the next level to explore the sensations of flying light.
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Freeflying is deceptively simple. Lobbing off the hill can be achieved with a little run but flying away can take years to get right. There are so many lessons to learn, and getting any one of them wrong seems to put you on the deck before you can say “top to bottom”. In this article Flybubble team pilot Dickon Walker shares some of things “I wish they’d told me.”
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Flying in paragliding traffic can be intimidating. There’s a lot to watch out for. It’s not easy because it’s a skill that you cannot practice until you get to a really crowded paragliding site. So let’s talk through some of the basics and look at some of the techniques to stay out of trouble when flying in traffic.
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Sometimes conditions can be very punchy. This might be because the wind is not really blowing directly onto the hill, causing turbulence, or perhaps it’s early in the day and the thermals are small and narrow. Making the most of these conditions can be tricky, so in this article we examine the techniques you can apply to climb to the top using these small broken thermals.
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I thought it would be interesting to you to go behind the scenes during a Flybubble wing review, and see what I do to define the character of a new paraglider. This way you can learn some tips and tricks to apply to your own flying, and you’ll understand more about the challenges and limitations of wing reviewing.
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Being able to land softly, every time, is a great skill to have. It’s essential for cross country flying, when you don’t know what you’re going to be landing on. I’ve landed on everything from rocky mountain-sides and vineyards to carparks and golf courses. The setup remains the same regardless of the obstacles you encounter: it’s essential that you land pointed into wind, with enough speed to get a swoop out of your flare. By timing your touchdown correctly, it becomes more a matter of stepping onto something rather than swinging into it.
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Dr Matt Wilkes and Dr Lucy Hawkes led a research group investigating the effects of altitude on paraglider pilots, under the banner of the Free Flight Physiology Project. Although the high altitude research has produced many useful results, what I’ve chosen to focus on is the discovery that relates to every freeflight pilot. Something that could make a big impact on your flying safety.
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