Table of contents for October 2020 in Cross Country

We all know paragliding has a flip side to all the fun. The penalty it can impose on us when we are not paying attention or become complacent. The ground hurts, and it is entirely unforgiving. But how dangerous is paragliding really? No one really knows. It’s why, in February, we helped Dr Matt Wilkes carry out the biggest survey of its kind ever done into safety in paragliding. Matt, a mad keen pilot himself, is an adventure medic and researcher who, for the last few years, has been engaged in answering basic questions about our sport. What happens to our heart rates and stress levels when we fly? What do pilots actually do when they try to throw their reserve? How does the cold affect our hands in flight?…

I’m 29, and live near Stuttgart. In daily life I am an orthopaedic technician – I build prosthetics. But in the evenings, weekends and vacations, everything is about flying. I got my paragliding licence at 16. I was on vacation in Austria, hiking up the Neunerköpfle. It was hot, my knees hurt and I still had to walk down. I saw these paraglider pilots, who only took a few steps before taking off and flying down. I decided right there that I needed to learn this. I still love to go free flying. When I’m in the mountains I always bring a paraglider. But at home I didn’t get much airtime. I could only fly in the evenings but there were not enough thermals at the small hills in my…

Thirsty? Maintaining proper hydration is one of the most important aspects of health, performance, and recovery. A long day in the sun, whether it is in a harness on an XC flight, hiking up a mountain, or just doing chores around the house can leave you feeling the effects of poor hydration. Pilots often talk about a lack of focus or clarity four and six hours into a long flight. While there can be many contributing factors, often dehydration is near the top of the list. It’s simple enough to get it mostly right and with a few additional tips you will be at the top of your hydration game. How much to drink? “DITCH THE JUNK DRINKS, DRINK WATER AND MAKE A MENTAL NOTE TO DRINK WHILE FLYING” Let’s…

The short review They called it the #thermalmonkey for a reason – this glider can climb! But more than that, there's an attitude to this wing that will speak to any pilot who wants more than just miles out of their everyday flying. Background The Rise 4 is the high-B in AirDesign's fleet of wings, sitting above the Vivo (EN B) and below the Volt 3 (EN C). It was released at the beginning of this year, and replaces the Rise 3, which was three years old. The high-B segment is a crowded market but an important one. As AirDesign point out in the glider's manual, "The B+ market is established and proven. It’s the most prominent category because the majority of experienced pilots now choose to remain on B+…

Ten-second review Clever design makes this reversible harness equally good in both harness and rucksack modes – plus it’s comfortable in flight. Background Woody Valley brought out a new version of the Wani Light lightweight reversible open harness at the end of last year. It can be used for hike-and-fly, but also for everyday flying as it has back protection and a built-in reserve compartment and bridles. The rucksack is designed for serious walking, and it looks as if as much thought and attention to detail have gone into the rucksack as the harness. First impressions The Wani Light 2 is made in four sizes and as always the advice is to try it on if you are in an overlap zone on the size chart. From my measurements Woody…

The Neo Bikini is the French manufacturer’s first tandem-pilot harness and is designed to solve some of the comfort and posture problems affecting professional tandem pilots, while being as practical as possible for the job. “Full-time tandem pros spend a great deal of time in harnesses with poor back support,” Neo explain. “Common designs position the pelvis too low, brakes and knees too high, forcing the pilot to lean forward and upward to maintain good visibility and control, stressing the pilot’s back and shoulders.” The result is that long-time tandem pilots can suffer back and shoulder pain. Neo’s designer Eric Roussel said the idea was, “to create a comfortable and appropriate tool for pros.” I tested the Bikini commercially in Interlaken, Switzerland in July and August, flying 30-40 flights on…

The experimental Gin Boomerang Z made its debut at the Swiss Open and then appeared again at the Paragliding World Cup in Disentis in August. This high-spec prototype competition glider is a project from Gin Gliders in South Korea, and it turned heads because of its distinctive leading edge – it’s wavy. The shape is inspired by the tubercles – small rounded projections – on the fins of the humpback whale. It’s an idea that has been experimented with before in paragliding, and more recently applied in surfing and in prototype wind-turbine blades. We asked legendary Gin Gliders owner and designer Gin Seok Song all about the design. Gin, where does this idea come from? It’s inspired by nature. Several academics have conducted research on the tubercles of the humpback…

FLYING FREE Théo de Blic on how to fly by feel alone, no instruments allowed p34 BODY & SOUL Ben Abruzzo on why it’s so important to stay hydrated while in the air p36 HOW TO SKEW-T What those squiggly lines on the balloon soundings mean for the day ahead p38 DO YOU CCC? Malin Lobb on how to make the move from EN D to flying comp wings p44…

Cancelled, postponed, regretfully on hold…. The 2020 international competition season across the free flying world was pretty much cancelled due to Covid-19 this year. Except for Disentis. Under the stewardship of Swiss team leader Martin Scheel, the first and perhaps only leg of this year’s Paragliding World Cup circuit took place in Switzerland from 15-23 August. Given the international travel restrictions in place it was understandably dominated by Swiss and French pilots (35 pilots from each nation) and at 115 pilots the field was smaller than it can be, but the flying was perhaps all the sweeter for it. Between showers and foehn there were four tasks over the week – 76km, 62km, 109km and 55km – and Switzerland’s Stephan Morgenthaler won the overall competition. In the first task he…

Ten-second review It’s a weapon. Background Last year, as expected, Switzerland’s legendary Chrigel Maurer won his sixth Red Bull X-Alps. However, after refusing to fly one in previous editions, this was the first time he did it on a two-liner. What changed? Like Ozone’s Zeolite and Zeolite GT the Omega XAlps 3 (OXA3) is a high-performance two-liner that is not only a pleasure to fly but also to launch, land and pack. This glider is Advance’s Swiss Army Knife and was developed with the help of Chrigel and Advance test pilot Patrick Von Känel – a process that reportedly required more than 30 prototypes. As a performance enthusiast I could not be happier to try such a toy. I flew the size 23 (85-97kg) loaded up to 92kg, using the…

Ten-second review Installation means drilling, but once fitted it’s easy to use – and it made me feel like the Red Arrows. Background “Smoke on!” When given the opportunity to try the PPG Smoke System (V2) I thought of course, no brainer, I wasn’t going to miss the chance to look and feel like a maverick, even for a few flights! Mostly used for display or show flying, in theory using and flying with smoke is easy: the system drip-feeds tiny droplets of oil into the exhaust, which then burn up and come out as a big trail of billowing smoke. You then wow the crowd. You can buy specialist smoke oil, but in fact the recommended oil to use is baby oil. Yep, baby oil – it’s kinder on…

Ölüdeniz Air Games The 21st edition of the Ölüdeniz Air Games festival in Turkey will go ahead “as planned” according to organiser Kadri Tuglu. In August he said that the “latest information” is that the four-day festival would happen from 21-25 October. It will be the biggest fly-in to happen in Europe since the Stubai Cup in March. Turkey has had an interesting season – the shutdown of tourism meant the professional tandem pilots in Ölüdeniz went solo flying, with some big results. Duncan Babington, a British pilot who lives in Turkey, wrote: “In normal years, after the end of May, all the best pilots in Turkey go to Ölüdeniz for the tandem season to earn their money for the rest of the year. But Ölüdeniz has been virtually deserted.…

The writer James “Kiwi” Johnston, a long-standing contributor to Cross Country over the years, disappeared while on an XC flight in Nevada on 22 August. After a large ground and air search involving three local agencies, scores of volunteers, and hundreds of people online looking at satellite images, the official search for him was called off a week after he went missing. Kiwi, a New Zealander resident in the USA, was 86km into a flight when his Garmin InReach broadcast its last signal at 13,980ft – about 6,000ft AGL. The groundspeed of the InReach was recorded as 2.9 mph, which led search and rescue personnel to believe the unit was in freefall as it fell. The wind was 10-15mph, and if Kiwi had been under reserve he would have been…

As an acro pilot I have never really flown with an instrument. When I started, flying with a vario was not that common. In fact, people criticised instruments, saying they killed the purity. I have nothing against pilots flying with instruments, but I have seen pilots land early or not go XC because their vario’s batteries died, and I do think that’s a shame. A pilot’s skills should not be related to their instrument, and instruments should be a bonus rather than a mandatory tool for flying. So here are a few tips on how to fly without a vario. It’s all in your butt cheeks. A very good sign that I am in a strong thermal is when I feel my harness putting pressure on my butt cheeks. It’s…

Ethiopia should be an ideal place for vol-bivouac. In the dry season the winds are calm, rain is rare and the thermals are generous. Tourism has started to develop, and apart from a few hyenas there are no dangerous animals. However… Travelling and flying with Sophie Tabakova our plan was to travel 1,200km by tandem in the north of the country, in search of freedom, the source of the Nile and the most beautiful landscapes in the world! We took an Ozone SwiftMax and two Ozone Solos harnesses (the main advantage being they are reversible – organising yourself for a tandem vol-biv is not easy). We packed enough food for 15 days and planned a three-week trip, hoping to buy some food along the way. Logic told us the most…

Ten-second review A wing that will go in my apocalypse survival kit. First impressions Back in March, having just arrived back in Interlaken after a successful winter season in Colombia, as the pandemic was expanding, I got a package: the Ozone Zeolite GT. This new two-liner is based on the Zeolite, Ozone’s 2019 Red Bull X-Alps wing, but made with sturdier materials. The promise is a great compromise of performance, weight and user-friendliness. It was late but I rushed to the mountain. Opening the glider for the first time I instantly noticed Ozone’s new G-string lines on all the cell openings, which help keep a clean shape on the leading edge. There are only 64 cells, far fewer than the Zeno (78) and the Enzo 3 (101); 36g cloth is…