Hi ! I'm getting back into paragliding after a few years break ;) I'm looking for new gears at the moment but I can't make up my mind for the wing weight range.

I'm 63 kg and I estimate I'll be around 75 kg mostly, and up to 79 kg loaded for my takeoff weight, depending on the context. Is my estimation more or less making sense ?

Which one would you choose if you were me:

• Niviuk hook 6P, weight range: 60-80 kg
• Phi Symphonia/Tenor 2L or Ozone Geo 7: weight range 65-85 kg

I am puzzled which weight range should I better choose. I usually prefer a more dynamic wing. But I wonder if I can end up too close to the upper limit on the Hook, or too often in the middle on the others. I will fly in mid-high mountain areas, mostly interested in XC and some H&F.

I'm probably overthinking that but if anyone has some recommendations I would appreciate it! Thanks

I have an opportunity to swap my Pi3 25 for an Iota DLS 27. Next year I’m hoping to change from my hike and fly set up and aim more at XC. My all up flying weight currently with the Pi3 is about 98kg. Looking at the stats for the 27 I would actually be quite low in the weight range for the Iota (97-110). My 98kg weight would increase if I was flying XC or Vol Biv. I guess I could take on ballast. Would this be enough of a show stopper to stop you swapping and why? I know it’s better to be top end in the weight range in sporty conditions

I hope this is the right place for this. My mom has always wanted to hang glide so I'm trying to find a tandem hang gliding experience for her as a gift. But when I started trying to find tandem hang gliding opportunities, I came up surprisingly short. It looks like there are only a couple people who even offer lessons of any kind and the one person who used to do tandem flights is no longer in business. When I tried looking into why there was such a shortage of these, I couldn't really find anything. Does anyone know why this might be? It definitely doesn't look like the industry is flourishing, and I'm curious as to why.

BUT if anyone knows of someone in Colorado (Boulder area) that offers tandem hang gliding, I'd appreciate a recommendation.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some guidance as I navigate my path into speed flying. A bit about me: I’ve skydived in the past and initially aimed to get my A-license, but that didn’t work out. To stay in the air, I thought I’d pick up paragliding with the goal of eventually transitioning into speed flying. My ultimate aim is to build confidence and get comfortable in the air while working my way toward speed flying.

I’ve started taking paragliding course, but recently I discovered a few schools that teach speed flying directly, skipping the need for paragliding training. This has left me questioning my approach—should I stick to paragliding first, or dive straight into speed flying?

Here’s the challenge: my instructor has suggested investing in paragliding gear before diving into speed flying (about $6,000 for a wing and harness), but adding speed flying equipment later would be another $3,000–$4,000. That’s a huge investment, and I’m wondering if it’s worth buying paragliding gear at this point or if I should explore schools that teach speed flying directly.

I live in the Greater New York area and haven’t found many resources or communities focused on speed flying nearby. I’d love to hear from anyone with experience in either paragliding or speed flying—or both! Are there benefits to building a paragliding foundation before speed flying, or is it realistic to jump straight into speed flying training?

Any advice, resources, or recommendations for schools or instructors would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Mostly curious. It also is starting to be asked for it seems at some ski resorts in the US and flying sites in NZ.

I don’t often support USHPA, so not current with my membership and it seems the official guide to ratings is behind a paywall.

Not stoked to have to pay an instructor when I have had great mentorship and 500+ flights but preparing to pay to play if the future requires it.

Hi Pilots.

Anybody knows some actually active paraglider shuttles in Algodonales?

Name and phone would be very much appreciated.

Has anyone flown both wings and can comment on the relative performance/ flight characteristics?

I’m looking to buy one of the two wings and am having trouble deciding between the two. Pack volume, weight, glide and ease of launching are priorities for me.

I’d like to share my experience of unfortunately being sucked into a cloud. Thankfully, it wasn’t a cumulonimbus.

This happened years ago while flying with a group of pilots in the French Alps, not far from Grenoble. At the time, I was in my first couple of years of flying. I was a fast learner and generally cautious, but having completed a 50 km cross-country flight the day before, I was probably feeling overly confident.

At takeoff, the conditions seemed decent. There was a fair amount of cloud cover, but patches of blue sky were clearly visible, and the sun was shining. The convection and thermal potential looked promising. I was the last to launch, and I noticed that the cumulus above takeoff was growing thicker: it had shifted from bright white to a light grey. Within a minute of my launch, the cloud began to expand rapidly, bulging ominously right above the takeoff area.

Because the convection was stronger than usual, I made a critical mistake by relying on the general rule of thumb: if the edge of the cloud is at an angle higher than 45° from your line of sight, you should be able to escape from beneath it by flying straight away. That miscalculation led to me experiencing what it’s like to get sucked into a cloud from cloud base.

The moment I entered the white mist, it was pure chaos. It felt like being trapped in a tumble dryer. The updraft intensified, and I quickly lost all sense of direction and orientation. Don’t think for a second that you can just glance at your GPS or XCSoar and fly IFR; you’ll either overcorrect or under-pilot, which dramatically increases the chances of a collapse, stall, or worse, an inversion that sends you falling into your wing.

To add to the stress, my vario was beeping wildly.

As soon as I entered the cloud, I tried the best altitude-loss technique I knew at the time, although I had never actually practiced it. I immediately pulled big ears but it wasn’t easy. A tip: don’t just pull the risers; use a twisting motion with your wrists while pulling down with your entire arm, chest, and back muscles (imagine closing the scissor-style doors of a Lamborghini). In extreme conditions where the wing is being aggressively pulled upward, it’s nearly impossible to pull the risers without significant force. The usual theory of pulling one riser at a time simply doesn’t apply in such situations.

Next, I pushed the speedbar all the way down. Again, in these conditions, it’s more about desperately peddling repetitively on whatever part of the speed bars your feet can reach and hoping your grip doesn’t slip. Being in an open harness rather than a pod doesn't help since your visibility is essentially inexistant.

The hardest part, though, was maintaining all these inputs while aggressively leaning my weight into the harness to initiate a spiral dive. Then it’s just a matter of waiting (seconds feel like an eternity) until the wing finally responds and enters a spiral.

Once I was in the spiral, I experienced what felt like an endless descent. Thankfully, using this technique meant there was minimal centrifugal force, but I could only hope my vario’s audio feedback about altitude loss was accurate. After what felt like minutes, I finally broke out of the cloud’s base.

Once I was clear, I saw how effective the method was: I was dropping like a rock. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of exiting the spiral too soon, which immediately got me sucked back into the cloud. After reinitiating the spiral and dropping lower this time, I was able to escape the cloud and fly away at full speed bar.

Sorry for the long post. I hope it helped you imagine the experience, in hopes you don't have to live it. Fly safe, fly old.

ps: I'll to find and share the GPS track of this experience.

Hey all, I was hoping for some insight on some of these new h/f xc harnesses. I’ve been looking at the arrow p a lot but would like to hear thoughts on others (artus, WV Race, SW XA3, weightless, etc) Thanks

I'm deciding between the Nova Ion 7 and the Aonic, prioritizing safety. The Aonic seems like the safer choice, but I've heard it's quite reactive and has stronger SIV reactions compared to the Ion 7. Some say the Ion 7 is more forgiving and, therefore, safer overall.

Can you comment on either or maybe even compare the two?

I am looking for a fun to fly, agile, 2 liner (non-light) and am having a hard time deciding which one to acquire.

My TOW is between 91,5kg and 95kg (most often 94kg) so I am looking at the Peak 6 22 and the XC Racer2 S

Other suggestions are welcome!

Thanks in advance :)

Hey everyone, I'm doing a little study about how extreme and adventure sports affects mental health. I am a psychology student and so much interested in adventure sports and activities on a personal level. That's why I choose this topic.

I wanted to know what is Free Gliding to you? How does this extreme activity makes you feel? Do share your personal experience that you felt during your glides. Don't think about it being a psychology survey and just express what you feel about this sport.

Thank you for your time.

Hello,

I'm a low airtime pilot, with 60 take offs and 10 hours of flying time.

I'm looking for recommendations around Switzerland, italy, austria, and possibly Slovenia around april/may? Along with schools with guides that can take me.

I'd be willing to go to the Balkans too if its good this time of year, thank you in advance!

Any recommendations on ultralight and low volume front mount reserve containers? Using it for an Ozone Square Angel Pro 120 reserve on a Skywalk Core and Wani Light 2 harness. Looking at the Skywalk Drop and Advance Zip light. Is there any concern for the front mount flopping around if it doesn’t have a 3rd attachment point on the bottom like the Skywalk Drop? What size should I get for these ?

https://www.advance.swiss/en/products/accessories/harness/100826

https://skywalk.info/project/drop/

Hello everyone! I’m actually planning on getting a low B glider. Ozone Geo or Buzz 7 vs airdesign vivo 2 or livi. What do you recommend?

Just wanted to share a great day we had with friends in the mountains:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0ti3sniozI

Looking to pickup a string harness for travel and flights of max 1-2 hrs - hike and fly, light XC, soaring.

Now, I am looking at many models and wondering about comfort - particularly the shoulders.

On some stringers like the Advance Strapless it's basically just a small cord at the shoulders and the material supporting your back stops at the mid/upper back, below the shoulder blades, whereas the Kortel Kruyer III and Ozone Ozo 2 n has 'support' all the way up the shoulders and a webbing rather than strings.

Does anyone have any feedback as to the comfort of both options? Loaded with aprox. 5kg of gear with a traditional hiking backpack with running vest shoulders?

Thanks!

I found a really good deal on a beginner paraglider from a trusted source, but it has a small tear in the wing. at the price he offered he said itd be cheaper to purchase it and send it off for repair vs buying new. Itd be my first wing and its an option I can finally afford. but I would definitely need to repair it first. any recommendations?

I'm looking for a new glider in the C-class. The requirements are simple: -Light, around 4 kg max. (packability due to a lot of hike to fly) -No 2-liner

I found some interesting wings, Lynx 2, Artik 7 P, Camino, Alpina 4, Flow Fusion Light, Supair Savage, Sky Exos 2, 777 Q-Light 2 etc., only to realize that ALL their max TOW are either to 95 or 105 (108) kg. My TOW is usually 95-98 kg and I like to fly close to the top of the weight range. Any experience flying these gliders overloaded? Do some keep their floatability, others not? Or are some wings even better precisely in the middle of the weight range?

Thanks for your input!