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.
Strong wind and paragliders don't play well together (generally best avoided) but at some point you'll be flying in 'stronger' conditions, and knowing how to handle this can improve your safety. We've put together some paragliding techniques which we've found help us stay safe on our paraglider when the wind picks up.
For beginner pilots, venturing beyond the safety of the ‘known’ landing field can be scary. How do you know if you can reach another landing? What if there’s a power line? And without a windsock, how will you know which way the wind is blowing? Let’s take a look at a simple generic landing approach which you can adapt to various situations.
Do you have the right of way when you land? Will it save you from a collision? There are a few pilots who consider that because the rules of the air give them priority it is always other people who have the responsibility to get out of their way. But this is not true, either in flight, on approach, or in the landing area. All pilots share the ultimate responsibility to avoid collisions; the Rules of the Air help determine priority, but if the other party isn’t aware of your presence, or is unable to manoeuvre, no rule is going to help you. Angus Pinkerton (Chairman, BHPA's Flying & Safety Committee) takes a look at landing area conflicts and ways to manage them sensibly.
Free-flyers are exposed to many risks. By identifying the greatest danger, you can make an effort to increase your safety margins in other areas. By examining each element of risk in turn—Weather, Wing, Gear, Sites, Ability, Knowledge—in a series of articles, we hope to provide some insight into reducing your risk.
