Balls. California Solo Flying Expedition 2014: May 11th UPDATE

8+ days of food in his pack, flying alone across the Sierra's in California.

This is something I have wanted to do for a long time.  I have only had 1 accidental XC which is kinda a joke because essentially I got off course down a mountain and had to walk a few miles to the LZ.  To take the step from the training hills and local flying sites to committing to days of flying and hiking to go as far as you possibly can is kinda a big deal.

More than 150 miles of hiking!  A goal of 500+ miles total around 50% flying a Paraglider.  Dave Turner you are an ambitious bad ass!  Cheers to you brother.

His complete article is here
Dave Turner also has a company, Sierra Paragliding, and is probably a great person to learn xc bivak style flying from.

Paraglider Simulator Game in beta

This is pretty exciting!  http://www.parafly-sim.co.uk/  I have been wanting a way to show non-pilots and children some of the concepts of flying a paraglider and this seems a great and safe introduction to the sport.  Hopefully there will be a wii and linux version cuz I'm done with windows.  Thanks Andy for your hard work here.

Safety Comparison of A/B Wings by the DHV

when shopping for a paraglider wing do your homework!

http://www.dhv.de/web/en/safety/safety-tests/safety-test-ltf-a-and-b-part-6/

Gingliders Carrera C3 first descent

With the Gin Carrera is appears that there are some "new" decent techniques available such as the b3 and now in this video the c3.

Olivier Fritz Ground Kiting Annecy

This video brought tears to my eyes literally.  Oliver is a true master at handling his wing on the ground.  Just look at the perfect astro turf!!!  More sites like this please :-)  No more rocks and goat weed on our pretty wings.

Thanks Blake Pelton for this link.  He makes super awesome knee mounts for gopro's btw.

Paraglider Control: Big Ears or B3? (Gin Carrera)

This is a really interesting new idea for increasing your decent thanks to the guys at Flybubble.com

Global visual aid to the earths wind patterns

http://earth.nullschool.net/#2013/12/16/1500Z/wind/isobaric/1000hPa/orthographic=-94.10,43.59,1208

Paraglider Crash: How to Avoid the Rotor (+playlist) Every paraglider must watch this!

REAR-RISER CONTROL AND HOW TO USE IT

This is a great tip from master paraglider pilot Bruce Goldsmith on using rear risers while on speedbar and how to prevent collapses while doing so.  http://www.xcmag.com/2013/11/rear-riser-control-and-how-to-use-it/  his book is a must read for all paragliding pilots.

Paraglider Control: Finding Your Stall Point

Flybubble Paragliding has been producing some fantastic, possibly the best, paragliding reviews and tutorials on the web right now.  I especially like this one to really get to know your wing and it's stall point and flying characteristics.

Proper and Sketchy Paraglider Spin Landing

Location: North Side, Point of the Mountain, Utah.

Date: March 2013

Winds: 10-15mph estimate, light, barely enough to scratch and stay above the ridgeline.

Wing:  Gin Zoom XS over the weight range, this is sort of my mini wing.

Watch this video to see a proper and not so proper spin landing. I sadly performed the not so proper spin landing and quite thankful my wing and the airflow forgave me for such a bad landing setup. Contributing factors to this poor landing was a very tight right shoulder that I could barely lift my right arm. That would stop a sensible person but when it is flyable I am hard to deter. Usually with plenty of height a "J" hook landing works like a dream. When I went over the edge I was traveling fast downwind (should have been crabbing my way to landing) and as soon as I flew over the lip the lift completely stopped and I dropped like a rock. I thought about wipping it around back into the wind but smartly realized I would be into the ground before making a full round out. So I basically pulled heavy break, nearly to the point of stall and willing to stall the wing, at the last second let up on the right brake and let the right side of my wing spin back into the wind. I did land on my feet and this I am very thankful for. I'm sharing you this with you not to be criticized as in reality I have 100's of near perfect landings but to show you a few bad decisions, complacency, good luck, tiredness, body injury, etc can put you in serious danger and to always keep these in mind.

Happy flying friends!


Flying Drifter Sketchy Paraglider Spin Landing from Flying Drifter - Paragliding on Vimeo.

Winter paragliding tips

North Side 1-13-2013 - HD 720p Winter Paragliding, Utah from Flying Drifter on Vimeo.
Winter paragliding can be just as rewarding as flying in the summer!  Your flying season can be year round with the right gear and mindset.  The snow can be quite spectacular visually and give your old flying site a completely new look.

Clothing:

Number 1 - GLOVES!!!
It is very easy to protect most of your body but your hands are very exposed to wind chill as they are out holding your break handles.  Fleece gloves or summer gloves are a no go.  Gloves must have a wind break material like leather or wind stoping nylon surface.  It can be quite painful if your fingers freeze.  You will also need to have solid kiting experience with heavy gloves which are much more difficult to grab lines with.

Number 2 - Boots and wool socks.

Number 3 - thermal underwear and many layers.  I wear 2 shirts, 2 sweaters, scarf that can be pulled over my face, ski goggles, beanie under my helmet, "ski pants" that have a great wind break material, and a heavy "snowboarding" jacket.

Optional - Hand warmers, make sure to activate about 20 mins before flight.  They don't go down the fingers so have marginal help but useful in a pinch.

Weather considerations:

Obvious considerations are of course concerning the WEATHER.  Know the predictions for the day and always keep an eye on any fronts coming your way with a plan to land asap if anything heavy approaches within a few miles.  The winds right after a snow storm can be quite nice and smooth.

Never fly alone!  If you have an issue you will freeze to death if you are immobile.

On launch be aware that the surface you stand on can be slippery and if you are caught off balance you can fall and get pulled across the ground by your wing.  In this case be ready to quickly start pulling in any line you can grab to disable the wing.  This is another reason to wear boots with heavy traction on the bottoms.