Flight Skills Archives - Flybubble Blog

Unknown

I wanted to test myself against the desert. To travel by paraglider over the harshest part of South Africa, solo, self-supported. To feel like a bird. To be free. But the desert is dry, and ancient … and it doesn’t care.

Ask Flybubble: Flying FAR

Join Flybubble Paragliding for a chat about flying big distance on a paraglider. We talk about preparation, elevation, anticipation, aviation and exhiliration! How to avoid the mid-afternoon bomb-out, how to find your flow, XC leagues, who is winning, who cares, and where to go to find your next XC fix.

On the rocks: staying up in early morning

On the Rocks (Staying Up, Early)

Join Greg on a west-facing mountain slope early in the day, as we try and stay aloft together and work the scraps of lift to avoid an embarrasing landing at the base of the pass. In this episode: investigating sloping terrain, keeping turns flat and tight, turning before you leave the lift, matching your proximity with your skill level, looking for recurring patterns to find lift, gliding fast and straight in sink, using figure-of-eights to follow the lift, alternating between lift sources, being patient and working for every metre.

Angle of Attack: Test Your Control

The air is never still; it is always moving. So your paraglider control inputs should always be active. But what is the best way to control the angle of attack, why do you get collapses, and how to you avoid a stall? Join Flybubble Paragliding for a demonstration of active flying and challenge Greg to a game of 'catch that collapse!'

Ask Flybubble: VOLBIV

Join Flybubble Paragliding for a laid-back hour chatting about Greg's favourite topic: Volbiv (French for 'fly camp'). We talk about choosing a route, improvising in the air, safe progression, flying alone, preparation, training, skills, risk and the best volbiv gear.

How to Win at Hike & Fly

Join us for an enlightening discussion with a very special pilot. Christian 'Chrigel' Maurer is #1 in the world: multiple European champion, PWC champion, Acro champion, and 6 x Red Bull X-Alps winner. This guy knows his flying, especially hike and fly! We talk about how to win, taking risks, balancing flying, work and family, the best gear for racing ... and much more.

How to use your speedbar safely

Using the speedbar on a paraglider can improve your safety in windy conditions, but it can also be very risky if used in the wrong way. Join Greg as he explains the ins and outs of the speedbar.

Improve Your Top Landing Approaches

On hills and coastal sites, paraglider pilots usually prefer to top land. Easy when you know how, and have plenty of practice. In this quick guide we examine the six essential steps to making a safe landing on the hill.

Paragliding Skills: Getting High livestream

Ask Flybubble: Get High On Your Paraglider

Join us for an hour long chat about thermaling on a paraglider. Learn more about thermal sources, thermal drift, why you need to go upwind, how to search, how to use your vario, what to do with your averager, how to interpret the wind reading, when to get in close to the terrain, and how to manage the transition into the thermal!

How to get great slope landings

Landing on the sloping side of a hill can be a very useful skill to have, to allow you to land when thermals pause, and relaunch when they return. Or perhaps there's no safe landing in the valley, and you need to put it in on the slope? With this simple, straightforward approach you can achieve a gentle touchdown.