Paragliding Control: Strong Wind Preparation & Take Off (Basic Tips)

Рет қаралды 101,646

Күн бұрын

Launching your paraglider in strong wind can be risky. If you get it wrong you're quickly overpowered. Being able to control your wing gives you a big safety advantage.
In this video Carlo explains how to prepare and control your paraglider in strong wind on take off.
Related Flybubble videos:
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🎦 Control the Wind: • Control The Wind: Mana...
🎦 Strong wind depower: • Strong Wind Depower: R...
🎦 Killswitch: • KILLSWITCH: Kill your ...
Flybubble blog about wing control on take off in strong wind: flybubble.com/blog/paraglider...
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Пікірлер: 75

@loums52 2 жыл бұрын

Windy days do get the heart racing a bit! The reward is a great day of flying. Always look forward to your videos so thanks!

@jeffsinason4336 2 жыл бұрын

Great tips. Thank you. I especially like the tip of clearing lines from c’s to a’s.

@NelsonsWings 2 жыл бұрын

Some suggestions. If your wing needs to be connected to the harness (I fly like that because I have multiple wings) get in the harness 1st. Less chance of bring dragged while donning the harness. The idea is to minimize the amount of time with the lines extended and the wing not mushroomed. After you do the libes check, mushroom the glider, keep the risers oriented, shorten the lines and lay the risers right next to the trailing edge. That way when you hook in, you are right over the wing, and if it starts to get away, you can lay down on it.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your input Nelson's Wings! 🙏 Actually, when I do need to connect the wing to the harness - which is most times, since I change kit very often, for testing - I do often put the harness on first and then connect to the wing, in much the same way as you describe. I plan to cover this in detail - with tips, pros and cons - in another video. However the reason I do this is more to save time clipping in overall, not so much because I think it reduces the chances of getting dragged. I think the key point is to ensure that the wing is bunched such that it cannot inflate whilst you are in the vulnerable time of either clipping in to the harness or connecting to the wing, or turning to face the wing (if you didn't clip in facing the wing in the first place). I also like your last point about being right next to the wing when you hook in so you can lay on it if it starts to inflate. 👍

@jojo22kwe 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video! It's very helpful during spring season when wind gusts have been crazy~

@MikeMDs 2 жыл бұрын

Appreciate the tips especially the one using the bump in the terrain to shelter the wing. I'll remember that one.

@carlosgarcazon9711 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the Vid. Very educational. Keep Up the Good Work.

@FlyWithRhys 2 жыл бұрын

Ace video. Keep em coming! Us men of culture want to see more of Nancy though! 😆 Seriously though, congrats for revamping the channel. Keep it up!

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you like it, thanks! 👍 We do plan to feature Nancy in more videos... she's even more camera-shy that I am though. We're gradually getting more used to it with time. 😊

@woodmansared1 2 жыл бұрын

Nice Carlo!! Cheers! Great tips for here in Jersey!😣

@miguelsolorio5544 2 жыл бұрын

Nice video thanks for the tips

@wagnersantosoliveira4892 2 жыл бұрын

perfecty !!!!! congratulations !!!!

@danielusss 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah !! Class

@micinvit 2 жыл бұрын

Always good tips. Great channel. 😄 I'd just add one thing: In case you do get "lift off" too early, don't rush your turning "face to the wind", control the wing in the air, make sure everything is ok and then turn. Short video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sNKdiauixM6afGQ.html

@wahrheitwirklichkeit285 2 жыл бұрын

I‘d go behind the hill…. In really windy conditions you can start searching for your kite and harness : )))

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

😀 That can work (we do that in Quixada in Brazil, where it can be really windy 🌬🌬🌬 but somehow still flyable 🙃) but it's further to walk, so takes more time ⏲, so I'd only do this when necessary ☑. Finding a dip in the terrain is usually enough, if there is one, and saves time. ⏳😁

@catherineandrews31 Жыл бұрын

I have weak legs due to a neuropathy, so I use an A’s in left hand, D’s in right hand to pin my glider and bring it up a bit slower in strong conditions on launch.

@peterkemp4372 2 жыл бұрын

I dont fly at all. What about a Cobra launch in strong wind? I think preperation is a huge key. Great vid. Best from the Bahamas

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

See our video Paragliding Skills: How To Cobra Launch: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qJZ0f7N2mdnQiGQ.html

@GrantonTheFly 2 жыл бұрын

Great vid. Big ears launch can also be great if there is less room to move.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you like the video, just sharing some basic tips from a breezy day. 🌬🪂ℹ😎

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

I agree that launching with big ears in strong winds can and generally does work well however one downside I've found and seen is that it's easier to miss if you have a problematic knot or object in your lines when launching this way, which can really spoil your day. As it happens I've never found it necessary to launch with big ears, however I know some others have said they do. I think various factors are at play here including pilot launch technique, the gear, the launch site and the wind conditions. From experimentation I've found that launching with big ears in strong winds is most advantageous with tandems, due to the larger and more powerful wing, however with tandems the unseen knot/object bothers me even more due to having a passenger to take care of.

@GrantonTheFly 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah 100%... and if executed incorrectly the wing can come up scew and cause additional problems. Moving the body to depower the wing, as you so gracefully did here, is definitely the best all round technique 👍👍

@maxwe789 2 жыл бұрын

On windy launches when building a wall I find the ears are always trying to rise before the centre. Here your ears were very tucked down, is this just a property of the specific glider? Mine is Buzz Z6. I can step left and right pulling each brake to try and tuck the tips down and it does work temporarily but given enough wind and time they rise up again.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

Different wings do behave differently e.g. some have more of a tendency for the tips to come up, however I'm using techniques specifically to keep the ears down in these windy conditions. I plan to cover these, and hopefully much more, in future Flybubble videos. For now if you watch my launches in windy conditions in other videos you'll start to notice the same behaviours - adapted to each situation and gear, of course.

@maxwe789 2 жыл бұрын

@@flybubblecarlo can you share what those techniques were in this instance?

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

ps. I used to fly a lot in strong winds, often launching or/and landing going backwards, but now prefer to avoid them since it seems clear to me that the chances of getting injured are much higher. Also I actually find strong wind flying mostly a bit boring since you're often pinned and have less choice on where you can go. Over the years I've learned to make better use of less windy conditions, which I also find far more enjoyable, so no longer feel the need to fly when it's windy... except for when I'm testing gear or making videos, as here! 😉

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

@@maxwe789 Hard to cover this with only text, I find. I plan to cover this and more in future Flybubble videos. In brief, using just the right amount of force/tension on the rear risers, brakes and and wing/lines in combination to keep the wing in place, and pulling on the rear risers and brakes in such a way (slightly inwards) so as to pull the tips down relative to the centre. You also have to take care not to accidentally pull on the wing/lines, and continuously adjust to the wind/gusts. Hope this makes some kind of sense (I guess those who know how will understand what I'm trying to write!) however I'm sure I can explain and demonstrate this much better in a future video! Cheers.

@Skyfreak300 2 жыл бұрын

What size did you fly with how much take-off weight

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

In this video I was flying the Skywalk CHILI5 size S (85-105kg) at around 102-103kg all-up.

@hudsonparker1555 2 жыл бұрын

How fast would you say the wind was on this day?

@darrynrogers204 2 жыл бұрын

My guess would be about 14 or 15kts in the compression close to the hill as he didn’t have any forward ground speed. Be a bit less once you got away from the hill a bit.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

@@darrynrogers204 Good guess! The average wind was around 30 kph / 18 mph / 16 knots, gusting to around 33 kph.

@hudsonparker1555 2 жыл бұрын

@@flybubblecarlo Thanks for the answers, guys! I'm a newer pilot and still getting used to judging windspeeds by look and feel

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

@@hudsonparker1555 Welcome to the wonderful world of free flight! 😃 To help guide newer pilots on the right path in free flying we've provided some free general advice on our website: flybubble.com/blog/fly/ plus we have many articles on Flight Skills flybubble.com/blog/flight-skills/ and Gear Guides flybubble.com/blog/gear-guides/ sharing some of our knowledge and experience since the early 90s. Much more still to come! 🙂

@para.glider5128 2 жыл бұрын

Nice video but not for the beginners on that kind of windy day. It is very useful for xc pilots.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for commenting and adding to the discussion! 🙏 I fully agree with you that windy days are not a good idea for beginners, due to the high risk of injury in the launch is not near-perfect. Thanks for making this good an important point. 👍 This is why in the video description we wrote: "Launching your paraglider in strong wind can be risky. If you get it wrong you're quickly overpowered." Many paragliding injuries happen when attempting to launch in high winds. We never mean to encourage anyone to launch on windy days. It's up to the pilot to assess the conditions and make a smart decision based on their skills, and other factors. However the reality is that some inexperienced pilots will want to try to launch on windy days. Actually I often seen less inexperienced and skilled pilots attempting to launch on days where more experienced and skilled pilots are standing down. As the wise old pilot saying goes: “A superior pilot uses his superior judgment to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skill.”

@pentachronic Жыл бұрын

@@flybubblecarlo I think one thing I’m learning as a beginner is when NOT to try and kite/inflate the wing. Today I was doing practice kiting and the winds got up to 10+mph gusting up to 15+mph. At that point I pulled the rear risers in and depowered the wing on the ground and called it a day as I don’t want to get dragged. My skills and knowledge aren’t ready for this stuff and I fully accept that. I’m happier to be humbled than be beaten up !!

@pentachronic Жыл бұрын

BTW that was ground speed winds measured on my anemometer. Probably faster higher up on the wing due to the wind gradient!!

@petrkoz 2 жыл бұрын

Nice video, but I always miss in these videos how to recognize, and what to do if something goes wrong during take off. Typically I see on a windy hillside: rolled glider over lines, rotated glider to leading edge, pilots turned to other side, tucked wingtip, knot in lines, dragged pilots. Just packing the wing if there is a problem in such wind is impossible for many, many pilots I see. Some more comprehensive video might help them. Also, I miss the warning that landing is tricky (because of cancelation of glider). We recommend flybubble videos during basic courses as they are focused on security, and I feel here it is somewhat lower standard :-(

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

Petr Kožíšek thanks for the feedback, taken on board. I see your point(s), and plan to make more videos covering more aspects of take off, and much more, as time goes on. ✅ Clearly you realise that there are very many aspects to take offs and so to make a comprehensive video covering everything would be a very long video - which would take a very, very long time to plan, film and edit! 🎞🎞🎞🎞🎞 We've a micro paragliding business to run and and no one is paying us to make these videos. Free to watch, not free to make! For the moment it's more practical for us to make shorter, simpler videos, like this one, sharing a few tips per video. As time goes on we hope to get better at doing it and create better videos. Meanwhile free free to watch! 😀

@petrkoz 2 жыл бұрын

@@flybubblecarlo Fully respecting you make free videos in your spare time and it was not meant to be offensive at any aspect! Watching newbies in our beginner hills is funny and sad in the same time. With memories to my start, I am humble as I was not better. But good video always helped me with to solve the specific problem, and most of them was from flybubble. So big thanks to you! Some videos I did not found (with problems mentioned) and had to learn it "the dragged" way, sometimes other pilots help, but really skilled pilots are not preffering newbie's hills in general, or they are high in the sky that time.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

@@petrkoz 👍 I really appreciate your constructive feedback, thank you. 🙏 The main reason I created this channel back in 2010 was to share tips and knowledge, so help pilots progress better and safer - and have fewer accidents. This is why I hired various contributors to create videos for us over the years. I've learned a lot from this experience e.g. don't put all your eggs in one basket. 🥚 All of the things you've mentioned are already on our to-do list (your feedback has moved them up the priority list) and much more besides. The main thing preventing us making more Flybubble videos is free time. And of course we need to get better at it. Thanks again for your constructive feedback. Cheers! 🙂

@Bhaalint 2 жыл бұрын

I just don't unclip the glider from my harness anymore.. I don't see any benefit of detaching all the time (you could say wear on the risers... but honestly.. I don't see any outstanding wear on mine).. It saves me from extra hassle, wasting time, possibility to incorrectly clip in.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

If there is the option to leave the wing attached to the harness, this is my preferred option also. However this isn't always possible, and you need to attach the wing at least once, so we thought it good to include this in the video. Those with the wing already attached can simply skip or ignore this part.

@edmundmaurer7321 Жыл бұрын

I always put on helmet first, second the harness to avoid falling over, third to connect the glider with the karabiner.

@MartinWolker 2 жыл бұрын

Pro tip: just keep the harness attached to the glider all the time (include packing, traveling) and you save a lot of time with preparation (only final preflight check is required).

@josephfreeman5289 2 жыл бұрын

no..we use different size gliders for different strength winds...

@MartinWolker 2 жыл бұрын

@@josephfreeman5289 This is no issue for the most of pilots, what I know. If somebody have an extra wing (e.g. groundhandling) they have also extra harness.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

@Martin Wolker I too prefer to leave the wing attached, however everyone has to connect their wing to their harness at least once so we thought we'd include this. Those who have the wing already connected can skip this part - however even some of these pilots might gain something from this section. If we'd not included this others would've complained that I 'missed' it - as others have complained because I 'missed' other parts of windy launch prep and take off.

@josephfreeman5289 2 жыл бұрын

@@MartinWolker good to know the technique not connected, sometimes switch wings in a soaring session

@MartinWolker 2 жыл бұрын

@@josephfreeman5289 OK, so you are the exception that proves the rule (inlcuding test pilots, of course) :)

@paradeltahike 2 жыл бұрын

at least I would hook in the harness in a reverse way and then step in....

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

That, and much more, may be covered in future Flybubble videos! 😀

@mmmmkkk 2 жыл бұрын

hm, that's more of strong wind preparation, or general preparation, the take off part was pretty much ignored, given the scope of this topis and multitude of tools and approaches possible, but I'm quite sure it was covered already partially on this channel, wasn't it?

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

@MM KK indeed, the scope of take offs is wide and could take up many videos. As you wrote, we've already partially covered the topic of take offs on this channel over the past 12 years ( kzfaq.infoplaylists?view=50&sort=dd&shelf_id=3 ) and if we're able we'll continue to try and cover more aspects in time.

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

Since newer pilots stand to benefit more from tips, we will prioritise more basic techniques over more advanced ones. Then again, the truth is a lot of what ends up being published comes down to what came together from our filming sessions.

@mmmmkkk 2 жыл бұрын

@@flybubblecarlo you definitely have a good spot to present all that :D I live in the alps, but occasionally I'm jealous about this green hill...

@phfly5670 2 жыл бұрын

Vasco da Gama.💢

@jnairac Жыл бұрын

Pretty edgy..wow

@Skytandem. 2 жыл бұрын

best - stert with ears

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

I agree that launching with big ears in strong winds can work well but one downside is it's easier to miss if you have a problem knot/object in your lines. Personally I've never had to launch with big ears but I know others say they do. I think individual technique, gear, launch site and wind conditions affect which is best. I've found that launching with big ears in strong winds is most advantageous for tandems, however the unseen knot/object problem bothers me even more due to having a passenger to take care of.

@Skytandem. 2 жыл бұрын

@@flybubblecarlo prepare the paraglider before the flight and there will be no unseen knots

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

@@Skytandem. Of course the pilot should always prepare the wing as best they can before flight, being especially careful when flying tandem. However I don't believe it's possible to be 100% sure in every situation that a knot/object in the lines doesn't occur whilst preparing for launch. I believe it's harder to spot a knot/object in the lines when launching with big ears in because the wing isn't fully open and it's not possible to check all the lines before inflating the wing. I think each method has it's pros and cons, and the pilot needs to weigh up the pros and cons as objectively as possible (since we're fundamentally emotional beings I believe we are unlikely to ever be 100% objective) to decide which launch method they prefer and best suits them and the overall situation. There are situations where I might choose to launch with big ears in, however I would personally avoid doing so unless it really was the best option for the situation.

@koerz86 2 жыл бұрын

the best way is to let the glider connected to the harness

@flybubblecarlo 2 жыл бұрын

This is only one part of what this video is about. On this topic, if there's the option to keep the wing attached to the harness then this is also my preference. However this isn't always the case. You need to attach the wing at least once. Plus many pilots have multiple wings nowadays, sometimes changing wings on the hill, and not everyone wants to buy a harness for every wing. So we thought it best to include this in the video. Those with the wing already attached can simply skip this part. ⏩⏩

@paraworth 2 жыл бұрын

Why not stay connected?

@flybubblecarlo Ай бұрын

Fine to keep the wing and harness connected to each other, if that's what you prefer. However sometimes you may need to connect them e.g. after a service or changing wing or harness. So the connection part of the video is to help pilots in that case. 🤓 If your wing and harness are already connected, skip to the launch part! 😀

@Fpv65 Ай бұрын

Не навижу ткие дни , лучше ветер 3 м/сек и хорошая термичка😊.

@flybubblecarlo Ай бұрын

Я также предпочитаю дни с легким ветром и хорошими термальными потоками. К сожалению, не каждый день идеален! (I also prefer days with light winds and good thermals. Unfortunately, not every day is perfect!)

@Fpv65 Ай бұрын

@@flybubblecarlo 👌👍😁