Classic PARAGLIDING MISTAKE - are you doing THIS? (Paraglider Control Safety Tips)

Here's a paragliding mistake a lot of paraglider pilots make! Are you one of them? In today's video Carlo and Nancy from Flybubble share with you a classic paragliding tip. Almost universal way to hold the wing down in strong wind - using the rear risers and brake lines together. 🔥🪂👍

Are you in the 98% of paraglider pilots making this mistake, or the 2% of paragliders doing It right?!?😏👆🪂

Paragliding pilots what are your best paragliding tip to control wing in strong conditions?🧐🤨 Tell us in comment below👇🤗

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[flybubbleparagliding]

This video is about holding the wing down in strong wind, not launching. It demonstrates a simple yet very effective way to hold the wing down in strong wind, to help prevent you from getting dragged. From testing very many wings over 30 years, this technique is almost universal i.e. it works on almost all wings, with very few exceptions. From trying various different techniques on many different wings, including As and Cs, we find this technique to be the most effective for holding the wing down in strong wind for almost all wings. Using this technique we've kept in control whilst others around us have lost control and gotten dragged. Which is why we shared this video.

[jakubvranacz]

Much better is holding A-risers in one hand and C-risers in the other hand. This way, you have more authority on the wing, e.g. if the leading edge starts flapping, you can inflate it a little bit.

[MartinWolker]

In even stronger winds I leave the glider in the flower with the leading edge open only in the middle. The take-off itself is easier with less drag during strong wind, but you must have a lot of ground handling to be able steer the glider correctly and on time to the take-off position from the flowerpot.

[wenigdabei]

When my indispensable landing beer isn't at hand, I have no choice but to rely on the incredible gravitational force of a colossal phone book or even an iron to keep my wing firmly grounded. Sometimes I even bring two, just in case gravity decides to take a day off 🤣😂🤣

[OffSurfaceAdventures]

Hahaha oh boy! A few days after getting my license I was standing at the launch complaining about my glider jumping all around. The instructor just happened to stand aside and told me to use C's and build a wall - well why wasn't this part of the course? Here they do the courses always close to 0 wind and the first thing you do is going to launch at 20 km/h+ for soaring ...
But yeah, it strongly changed my relationship to my glider 😆

[glidewatch]

Finding the "rear "risers is helped by remembering that the brake pulley mountings are usually on there and grabbing them helps get you started. Yes initial control by having hold of theserisers in the first place before any inflation helps. For real killing it immediate control, then the much out of fashion B riser pull and hold is extremely effective but this has gone out of fashion in these modern times due to concerns about wing damage, yet it is very effective. For mini wings and speedflying rear riser control is paramount IMHO. Very helpful video, thanks.

[hansmaier]

👍🏻 i often use the C risers without the brakes to keep the glider down. Useful during strong wind

[akira-sasaguri]

I also use the same method of rear risers and breaks to hold the wings down.
I have rarely seen anyone doing it, at least around me. Some people get angry at the danger.
I also use the rear risers to take off in strong winds to ensure a safety margin. Mitsos Reverse. It seems to be a common method in Australia. My guess is that this method of controlling the wing with the rear risers is also common in Australia.

[ressikman]

This would have been useful today when I got dragged 50 yards on my back. Lol. I kept just wrapping the breakers around my hands, but the wing just kept unfortunately and dragging me along the ground.

[flybubblecarlo]

​Another classic error to avoid when trying to hold the wing down in a strong wind, to avoid getting dragged, is momentarily pulling too much tension on the lines with your body, by pulling back and fighting with the wing*. This tugs on the As, causing the wing to lift up and catch more wind, tugging you towards it. Then, because you're holding the brakes or/and rear risers, the wing stalls down again. You then momentarily catch up with the wing, so the lines go slack. But then, because you're still fighting with the wing, the slack causes you to pull back on the lines again. If you keep fighting with the wing like this you end up stuck in a kind of kangaroo-jump-start oscillation, as demonstrated at the beginning of the video (and again in other parts).

* Unless you are Thor the God of Thunder, you will always lose a tug of war with the wing in strong wind! This is why a lighter/weaker pilot with good technique always does better than a heavier/stronger pilot with poor technique.

[scwdyym]

Your tips had help me so much thing iam very glad sir Thank you so much love frm pokhara 🇳🇵.

[drewmortenson]

Interesting! Thanks for posting this, I fly paramotors, but high-wind kiting is incredibly fun. I've always struggled to keep it on the ground & well shaped when it gets super windy; but I suspect this will accomplish both of those tasks.

[dariodayhoff]

I learned the “A Ok” method with A’s and C’s this season and love it. 👌 underneath holding the rear risers. This allows you to choke up on line by sliding the 👌 up and down the lines, taking in or letting out as much as needed. The other hand is on the A’s ready for launch and steering as well. Similar to @Mark Leavesly “4wheel steering method” lots of control and always having the ability to kill the wing.

[NelsonsWings]

Just use A's and C's inflation method, also known as the Mitsos technique. Works in all wing conditions. Full three-axis control.

[francoisappere]

Great insights. I personally use the As & Cs approach, trying to move my feet as fast as I can to balance the potential glider pitch..

[paraglidingflyer]

You have such easy looking launches compared to the tiny, rocky, steep launches here in the Northern Rocky Mountains ( Montana USA ), where our launches often demand strong skills to control the wing on inflation to take off. I often use the “C’s” and am wondering how the new 2.5 liner like Novas, Mentor 7 can be controlled with this method. Would be very interested to hear your opinion on this now that you have the the new Mentor in hand.

[paraglidingpassion]

Hi Carlo, like this clip very good for beginners to see. I went to a very good paragling school going back some years now 😀. This was one of the techniques they showed me. 👍👍👍

[kamilkmietowicz]

B-stall on the ground is also helpfull - make a video about it

[jhagen]

I live in the desert SW of the US and most of my flying is from improvised launch sites with cactus, rocks, nearby trees and even the occasional cliff. There's no room for error so I usually launch with A's and C's so I can abort quickly. What I don't like about this method is that you sacrifice some directional control of your wing while you're bringing it up through the power zone into position, which can be very problematic. Would like to try this technique using C's in both hands and body to pressure A's and launch. Problem I find is that on the flat ground where I practice it's hard to get this to work. This could be a characteristic of my wing. Any pointers? Really like the video by the way. As someone who has gotten plucked trying to launch with just brakes I think techniques like this should be standard fare in schools.

[huepix]

Having learned in coastal scenarios where we typically launch in winds 10 knots and more, i hold Cs in left hand, As in right.
As the wing lifts thru the 45° power band i pull the Cs sharply which depowers the wing and allows it to get up into its flying postion with less drama.
It's also good to practise launching backwards, fly the wing without panicking.
It will fly. That's what it's designed to do.
Just control it and then allow yourself to turn and face forward.
If you panic and try to break, the wing will stall, collapse and that is not good close to terrain.