MASTERING PARAGLIDING: A Systematic Approach to Learning to Fly, by Alpine Guide by Kelly. Farina

Author:Kelly. Farina [Farina, Kelly.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paragliding
ISBN: 9780993346729
Google: 8nrdzQEACAAJ
Publisher: Cross Country Internation
Published: 2016-11-15T00:07:11.382523+00:00

Staying up!

GRAVITY IS the great leveller – although some pilots avoid it longer than others, flying long distances or just staying up when things get tricky. We understand that technique here is everything, but let me briefly cover the basic concept of why pilots go down. Putting a positive spin on it, I’ve called it ‘Staying up!’

Unless the sky completely shuts down, pilots rarely go down by making just one mistake. It’s all too often a series of errors. The main difference between recreational and very experienced pilots is the lack of mistakes that they make.

These include: not launching at the right moment (observation); failing to carve efficiently; failing to map thermals and choosing sinky lines over the terrain (route planning/adaptation).

When they’re flying XC, the experienced pilots often realise that they’ve made an error and recover quickly before it’s too late, changing lines or even the whole route. Their alarm bells will ring sooner and they’ll have a plan B in mind: this is pure route adaptation.

An inexperienced pilot will usually make a series of mistakes. These are rarely addressed until he reaches a height that would require supernatural powers to recover from.

Beginners go down because they don’t possess the techniques that will dig them out of a series of mistakes, leading to that stressful low save. Advanced pilots own those high-level carving and mapping techniques, but rarely need them because they realise earlier the error of their ways – a very cruel paradox indeed.

Going against the flow of the day can put pilots down prematurely. Only strong climbs, high bases and a heavy foot can fix this flagrant break in the concept of free flight. Light climbs and gliding at trim into headwinds will see little to no progress before gravity claims another victim.

When you arrive at an important part of the flight and things aren’t easy, it’s tempting just to push on. But a question mark should be flashing above your head. Rarely does it pay to attack a crux in a route low. Investing time here is often crucial, as perhaps even a couple of hundred metres can make the difference between avoiding the sink in a lee side and cruising over it.

The flipside is also true about not squandering time, but this is more to do with increasing average speeds around a chosen route. It’s nothing to do with staying off the deck.

Of course, the sky may really shut down and go beyond technical level 10, or pilots may just miss the less than abundant climbs, but quite often the problem is that they can’t use the lift that’s available.

Launching at the wrong time comes from not watching the sky. Observing and understanding what’s happening over your shoulder is everything.

Then there’s making a move out of frustration. We must earn a move before we can make a move. A move made with insufficient height, especially if a crux, can make the day even harder, because the pilot will find himself even lower. Strong moves and some discipline are needed.

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