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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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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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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Flybubble crew member Boris Tyszko was attacked by a vicious dust devil this summer. He made a miraculous recovery and flew away. To understand what happened and how to avoid it, let’s investigate dust devils and this incident in more detail.
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When your paraglider collapses and you can't fix it, will you do the right thing? Get your thoughts in order with our quick guide to reserve parachute deployment: when to throw, an action plan, and case studies.
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With less predictable snowfall and increasing numbers of free riders year on year, it’s easy to see why the discipline of speed riding is gaining in popularity. It enables access to remote and “untracked” parts of the mountain that skiers and boarders can’t get to and it’s really easy to learn the basics if you’re a good skier or paraglider pilot.
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Do you have the right of way when you land? Will it save you from a collision?
Angus Pinkerton (Chairman, BHPA's Flying & Safety Committee) takes a look at landing area conflicts and ways to manage them sensibly.
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An insightful piece by Skywings editor JOE SCHOFIELD on the need for consideration when flying in shared airspace.
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Team pilot Ruth Churchill Dower recounts a high altitude incident in the Himalaya.
A sudden updraught led to a stall and cascade. Despite having two reserve parachutes, Ruth lost 1000ft trying to fix the wing and landed in a tailslide on a precipitous ridgetop perch, luckily mostly unscathed.
It makes a cracking story, and there's a good deal to learn about managing mayhem and your personal reserve deployment throwing height.
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Speed flying is flying FAST downhill. The concept has evolved from speed riding, the fast mountain descent under a speed glider launched on skis. Speed gliders are not simply scaled-down, mini-paragliders.
Speedflying Safety Information from Gin Gliders: Speedflying is opening new horizons of piloting for expert and careful pilots with a lot of flying experience.
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