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.
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.
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.
Do you mean when holding the wing down (to prevent launching or getting dragged) or when launching or preparing for launching? This video is only about holding the wing down in a strong wind, not launching. Personally I definitely wouldn't hold my As when trying to hold the wing down. To prevent the leading edge or trailing edge flapping, I use my body position to adjust tension on all lines, including the As.
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.
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 😆
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.
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.
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.
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 🤣😂🤣
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.
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.
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. 👍👍👍
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.
How to avoid this the dreaded kangaroo-jump-start oscillation? First, prevention is far better than cure! Avoid tugging on the lines with your body / fighting with the wing in the first place. If the dreaded kangaroo-jump-start oscillation has started it is possible to stop it by avoiding tugging back on the wing after it stalls back down, by moving towards the wing instead of pulling back, then gently returning just the right pressure to hold the wing down and in place. If you're not succeeding in doing this - and you're still on your feet - try running around the side of the wing in an arc, keeping some tension on the lines, to turn the wing progressively side-on to the wind, reducing it's pulling force and tendency to want to come up and fly in the wind. If you fall over and are being dragged, one technique that works well, commonly known 'the drag back technique' in the UK, is to let go of one brake and 'climb up' the other brake line with both (gloved) hands (or, if you're unable to do this keeping wrapping the other brake around your hand) as quickly as possible to kill the wing, until you have the wing - preferably the whole wing - in your hands and arms.
I use the A's & C's also but on a split A's with ears kit which can be tricky to align. With just the center A's (as recommended) you can't steer the glider at all. With all A's & C's you can turn the risers opposite to each other to steer the glider without running all over the place. But yes there's still the power zone after it clears the ground so a forward run is in order. Of course with A's & C's you can kill it just as quick. I like to use that to pull me up a hill ;)
The Sonata is an excellent first wing, for sure! 🪂👍 See our mini review (if we have time we might make a full review) th-cam.com/video/71U__2JEi6I/w-d-xo.html
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.
Thanks for your very constructive input! 👍 We fully agree with you that an important limitation of launching using the As and Cs is that you sacrifice some directional control of the wing while you're bringing it up into position, which can be problematic. This is why we prefer to use other techniques which don't sacrifice directional control of the wing so much. However we understand that using these other techniques requires more precise input, which we think is why some pilots prefer to use As and Cs (and more brute force, rather than more precise control). We plan to cover this in detail in future videos... we just need more hours in the day to do everything! 🏃♂🏃♂🏃♀🏃♀💨💨
Hey Carlo, It's great if you start out with the C's in your hand, but I've been caught out a few times on hills where it is benign until a cycle comes through and you have the brakes in your hand and cannot get to the C's. Really interested to know how you handle this transition? Keep up the vids, and the great service!
If you happen to find you in a position where you can't let go of your brakes try to wrap them around your hand until you can reach your C's without letting go on the brakes. A few wraps should be enough.
For reverse launches, I actually prefer to always use the center-A's + C's technique in a huge range of conditions (only switching away from that to using cobra at the edge of the wind envelope under the strongest conditions I'm willing to launch in). This A's+C's method is simply done with brake toggles on each hand, then holding the center-A's in the top (turning direction) hand and C's in the bottom hand. In light wind, there's just less pressure on the C's, and in heavy winds the C's give you better control over how fast the wing comes up (as well as being able to keep it down). With some practice, you can control the glider quite well with A's+C's all the way to overhead & ready to turn without needing any brake input. Since you're already holding the brake toggles, when overhead and turned, simply release the A's & C's and you're ready to fly. (⌐▀ᴗ▀)
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.
Thanks for sharing your launching tips 👍 however 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.
This is a useful technique for sure. How do you then launch from this though? Do you release the C’s while leaning back? I tend to find my wing needs light middle-A pressure to come up cleanly even in strong winds but dropping the Cs then grabbing at the As doesn’t time well. I’d love more footage of your or others launches from this position.
Have you tried controlling both C's with your bottom hand and controlling the center-A's with your top (turning direction) hand? I find this method works great to control the wing all the way up to overhead and turning to launch under a huge variety of conditions.
@@BenBowler Yes, brakes are still in correct hands. This works fine because there’s more travel distance in the brakes than the rear risers. I’ll describe my actual sequence for doing this. Keep in mind that I turn to the left when I launch, so the lines from my left riser cross over top of the right riser lines and "left/right" in the description below will be reversed if you turn to the right. Also keep in mind that when I refer to “C’s” I’m simply talking about the rear risers (so just convert “C’s” to whichever your rear riser is). My sequence for doing this is as follows: 1. Facing glider on launch left lines are over right. 2. To make sure that orientation isn't messed up and I don't get a brake line wrapped, I run my left hand down the inside of the left riser and grab that brake toggle, putting fingers through it and placing toggle grip in the palm of my hand. Likewise, right hand runs down outside of right riser to grab that brake toggle and put fingers through that to hold the grip in the palm of my hand. 3. Gather center-A risers in my left hand and C's in my right (now those are what I'm focused on holding onto to control the wing. 4. If the wind is very strong, then I can rotate the left portion of my body and extend my left arm forward (decreasing pressure on center-A’s) while pulling back on the C’s (increasing pressure there) to keep the wing pinned to the ground. I find it’s actually helpful to maintain a liiiiiiittle bit of pressure on the A’s because it actually helps pin the wing down. 5. When I’m ready to launch, I tug the A’s and step back (in light wind) or forward (in strong wind). 6. As the wing begins to come up, I can steer it left or right with the A’s in my left hand while stepping left/right as needed. I can also de-power the wing and slow the surge with the C’s. 7. When the wing is overhead, more tension on the C’s (right hand) keeps it from overshooting. I can also steer the wing left or right with the C’s by moving my right hand left/right, while I also move left/right to keep it centered overhead. 8. If I need to bring it back down, then I pull hard on the C’s (and can use pressure on the A’s to keep it from slamming down too hard) 9. If I don’t need to bring it back down, and it’s centered overhead, then I’m ready to turn and launch or continue to kite with the brakes. To do this, I let go of the risers and control the wing with the brakes (which have been in my hand the whole time). 10. Turn and kite in forward position with brakes or launch. (⌐▀ᴗ▀) Hope that makes sense. I’m sure there are instructional vids for this method out there, but I can make a POV vid of this if you’d like. Just lemme know. (^‿^)
@@chilli8364 Awesome, I'm going to give this a go next time I ground handle. I've got pinning the wing down but when it comes to launching from there, it's another question. This will be interesting to try.
Can't confirm that on my Base 2. On my A I even started to pull in a bit of the Bs when in really strong wind. But with the higher AR and connected Bs, Cs work quite fine for me.
Whist I agree that the BC systems on some wings - especially more complex BC systems - do interfere with movement of the rear risers, and so make using the rear risers harder / less effective, I still find this technique (rear risers + lines) works best to hold the wing down in a strong wind - better than just using the brakes or just the rear risers, even with these wings. Some simpler - more elegant - BC systems hardly affect the use of the rear risers at all. The best example of this for me is the BC system on Phi's R07 risers (quite similar to that seen on the Supair Savage and Ozone Mantra M7), which come as standard on Phi's Maestro 2 and Allegro Light (and are available as an option for other Phi wings). Worse I think than over-complicated BC systems are wings that have the stabilos (stabilo lines, wing tip lines) connected to the rear risers, instead of the more usual B risers, so when pull the rear risers it pulls on the stabilos, causing the wingtips to come up (when you're trying to hold the wing down). With these it's possible to grab only the rear lines, to avoid pulling the stabilos, but that's quite fiddly, especially under duress - when you're about to get dragged by a strong gust, for example. Fortunately very few wings have this setup nowadays, I guess probably for this reason.
In the take off I just doing cobra style. In the final landing i just go to the any side either right or left to be in cross wind position Depends on the location if sandy, grass or rocks can choose the technique Mohamed Mostafa Sky Masters Qatar
Interesting, I've not heard of using that technique for holding the wind down in strong wind before. Although I've played around with many combinations, I'll give that a try in strong wind next time. What do you do with your brakes whilst you do this?
Yes, actually we first developed this technique when flying tandem paragliders, which are harder to hold down in strong winds. Of course this is just one technique amongst others that can be used, but actually we've found this to be the best all round technique for holding the wing down when the wind is strong, waiting for a calmer moment to launch.
5+m/s I use A-s in my right hand and C-s left hand. When inflating I overcompensate A-lines and keep wing from frontcollapsing with c-s,. So it looks like playing back-forth with a-s & c-s. It makes wing climb up slowly even with strong wind. If to use only C-s the wing still opens up too fast.
thats basic A-C method, tbh with 5m/s you can use whatever and it's going to work with a bit of experience, now, I can't make sense of the last sentence, how not using A-s can make wing open slower?
Yes, there are different sized wings for different weights of people. For info on getting started in paragliding and more see the Flybubble Knowledge Base flybubble.com/knowledge-base
Because the tunning of the wing, the profile, etc. Same reason it actually takes more strength and effort to do fullstall or backfly than with higher category wings.
I dont think it's perfectly accurate, I guess what the author means is that they have bigger chord and could in theory catch more wind when you pull brakes or Cs, but at the same time with high AR wings it's often the tips that are out of control, the wing reacts differently to brakes/C/B input along the span and therefore you might not be able to slow down the tips enough to stay on the ground,. Also the effect of the wing going rogue for even a moment is likely to end up with a cravat, which is not really an option with a school wing. Hence, it depends :) Any wing has its own characteristics and it might be more up to trimming or risers configuration than certification per se. E.g. the B-C linking systems are known to disturb -> not a problem in 2 liners :P
Actually this problem with *holding the wing down in a strong wind* applies to *all wings*, not just A wings. 🪂 I regretted saying "A wings" when we filmed this, which is why we added the big bold block text to the video "THIS APPLIES TO ALL WINGS, NOT JUST A WINGS." when I mistakenly say "A wings". 🙊Also I've edited the captions for this part so it's not just about A wings. ℹ It's easier to edit after than it is to say things perfectly in the moment! 🤓 Having said this, *in some ways* safer wings *can* be harder to manage in stronger winds than hotter ones (high B, C, D, CCC). Safer wings have more of a tendency to 'catch the wind' (mainly due to their larger cell openings), want to come up and fly more (aerodynamic characteristics) and are harder to stall (higher stall resistance, to be more forgiving in flight and on landing). 🛬 On the other hand, in other ways safer wings are easier to manage in stronger winds than hotter wings since they have less of a tendency to end up in a tangled mess, snake around, get cravats etc. 😱 Also safer wings tend to have risers which are easier to handle, and thicker and fully-sheathed lines, which also makes them easier to manage on the ground, especially on launch sites with grabby flora or terrain. 🌵 As I mention in this video, I use the technique shown here (rear risers + brake lines) to hold the wing down on most - almost all - wings, of all levels, and personally generally find it works best of all techniques for almost all wings. ✅ However, some wings have riser-line setups which restrict movement with the rear risers, making using the rear risers harder or/and less effective on the ground. For example, some 3-liners with more complex BC systems, or wings that have the stabilos (stabilo lines, wing tip lines) connected to the rear risers, instead of the more usual B risers. Having said this, even with these wings, I still find this technique (rear risers + lines) works best - better than just using the brakes or just the rear risers. 🙂 Of course the simple technique shown in this video is only one small part of managing your wing on the ground. More to follow, if and when time allows! ⏲
This video is about holding the wing down in a strong wind, not launching. I definitely wouldn't hold my As to hold the wing down. Anyway, whilst I know some pilots prefer the As and Cs, as you do, I don't think it works best for all. It doesn't work best for me, for example. I mostly use brakes and As in both hands, but vary my launch depending on the situation, conditions and wing. I don't use the same technique for all launches.
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This video is about holding the wing down in a strong wind, not launching. I definitely wouldn't hold my As to hold the wing down. Anyway, whilst I know some pilots prefer the As and Cs, as you do, I don't think it works best for all. It doesn't work best for me, for example. I mostly use brakes and As in both hands, but vary my launch depending on the situation, conditions and wing. I don't use the same technique for all launches.
that works well if the wind is fairly consistent, not really when you have an unexpected gust coming for example. Also even if you're really efficient with Cobra, you must be ready to kill your wing should something go wrong during the take off -> e.g. you've noticed a knot, cravate or had to give up for another reason, or simply wing fell down and now catches the wind.
This video is about holding the wing down in a strong wind, not launching. Anyway I don't agree that a cobra launch is best in all situations - actually I think it's only best in a few particular situations - but that's another topic, not what this video is about.
These types of videos should be made in strong conditions, not medium to soft conditions. The only way to truely show strong condition technique is to show getting dragged and ragg dolled with the wrong technique vs. a controlled technique. I prefer nose down to cobra launch in strong conditions to keep the glider out of the power zone at all times.
Thanks for your input. Whilst I agree that for the purposes of filming this video I did slightly exaggerate the effect of getting tugged by the wind, I can assure you that in real life this is not an exaggeration at all. I am sure that the very many paraglider pilots who've lost control in this kind of situation - even some very experienced pilots - and gotten dragged due to making these kinds of errors will agree. We chose to make this video after seeing several pilots dragged (through cow pats and sheep, into barbed wire fences and nasty hawthorn bushes) one different days due to making these kinds of errors. We've know some paraglider pilots to get very seriously injured as a result of this, never to fly again. So we're sharing this video in case it helps any pilots not make these basic mistakes, and given them a simple technique to stay more easily in control.
Thanks for the launch tip request. We plan to cover that in other videos. This video is about holding the wing down in strong wind, not launching. in brief, it depends on the wing. For many wings you can just let go of the rear risers and the wing will come up (after all, you're using this technique to stop the wing launching). Some wings, which have a tendency to hang back or come up asymmetrically, might require some riser input, in which case you have to go quickly from letting go of the rear risers and brakes to grabbing the risers, which requires practice to achieve precision. However, whilst holding the wing down using this technique, you can also turn the wing sideways, ready to bring it up around the edge of the power zone, a semi cobra style launch. If you prefer to launch using As and Cs (which I don't particularly, but some do) then you can transfer both rear risers to one hand, to hold the wing down, and reach for the As (however when you do this it often becomes clear why holding both the rear risers and brake lines works better to hold the wing down, as the wing can become harder to hold down). Lots more to be said - and shown - on this. Hope this helps for now! Carlo
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.
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.
Thank you very much for this idea. It would be a very good drill to add to one's routine.
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.
Do you mean when holding the wing down (to prevent launching or getting dragged) or when launching or preparing for launching? This video is only about holding the wing down in a strong wind, not launching. Personally I definitely wouldn't hold my As when trying to hold the wing down. To prevent the leading edge or trailing edge flapping, I use my body position to adjust tension on all lines, including the As.
@@flybubblecarlo When holding the wing down. Try it sometime, it's really much better, you have more control over the wing.
@@jakubvranacz Interesting, I will try this again, thanks.
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.
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 😆
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.
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.
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.
👍🏻 i often use the C risers without the brakes to keep the glider down. Useful during strong wind
I use this techniques too...
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 🤣😂🤣
😆😆🤣🤣😂😂😉😉
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.
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.
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. 👍👍👍
Your tips had help me so much thing iam very glad sir Thank you so much love frm pokhara 🇳🇵.
Always welcome
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.
How to avoid this the dreaded kangaroo-jump-start oscillation?
First, prevention is far better than cure! Avoid tugging on the lines with your body / fighting with the wing in the first place.
If the dreaded kangaroo-jump-start oscillation has started it is possible to stop it by avoiding tugging back on the wing after it stalls back down, by moving towards the wing instead of pulling back, then gently returning just the right pressure to hold the wing down and in place.
If you're not succeeding in doing this - and you're still on your feet - try running around the side of the wing in an arc, keeping some tension on the lines, to turn the wing progressively side-on to the wind, reducing it's pulling force and tendency to want to come up and fly in the wind.
If you fall over and are being dragged, one technique that works well, commonly known 'the drag back technique' in the UK, is to let go of one brake and 'climb up' the other brake line with both (gloved) hands (or, if you're unable to do this keeping wrapping the other brake around your hand) as quickly as possible to kill the wing, until you have the wing - preferably the whole wing - in your hands and arms.
Informative tip, Thanks!
Glad it was helpful! Fly safe🪂🤩🙌
Just use A's and C's inflation method, also known as the Mitsos technique. Works in all wing conditions. Full three-axis control.
Thanks for your input 🙏 although video is about holding the wing down in strong wind, not launching. 😎
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..
I use the A's & C's also but on a split A's with ears kit which can be tricky to align. With just the center A's (as recommended) you can't steer the glider at all. With all A's & C's you can turn the risers opposite to each other to steer the glider without running all over the place. But yes there's still the power zone after it clears the ground so a forward run is in order. Of course with A's & C's you can kill it just as quick. I like to use that to pull me up a hill ;)
Thanks for your input 👍 although this video is about holding the wing down in strong wind, not launching. 🪂
The new sonata wing looks beautiful.
The Sonata is an excellent first wing, for sure! 🪂👍 See our mini review (if we have time we might make a full review) th-cam.com/video/71U__2JEi6I/w-d-xo.html
B-stall on the ground is also helpfull - make a video about it
Thanks for the request. We plan to cover that in other videos.
Everday i learn rear... Thanks👏🤝
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.
Thanks for your very constructive input! 👍 We fully agree with you that an important limitation of launching using the As and Cs is that you sacrifice some directional control of the wing while you're bringing it up into position, which can be problematic. This is why we prefer to use other techniques which don't sacrifice directional control of the wing so much. However we understand that using these other techniques requires more precise input, which we think is why some pilots prefer to use As and Cs (and more brute force, rather than more precise control). We plan to cover this in detail in future videos... we just need more hours in the day to do everything! 🏃♂🏃♂🏃♀🏃♀💨💨
Gracias
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Hey Carlo,
It's great if you start out with the C's in your hand, but I've been caught out a few times on hills where it is benign until a cycle comes through and you have the brakes in your hand and cannot get to the C's. Really interested to know how you handle this transition?
Keep up the vids, and the great service!
it's really the training and groundhanding, with time you just get proper coordination to catch the right line/riser quickly
If you happen to find you in a position where you can't let go of your brakes try to wrap them around your hand until you can reach your C's without letting go on the brakes. A few wraps should be enough.
Kite more! You can practice for this
Muscle memory is key. Practice practice practice as mentioned above 🤙🪂
For reverse launches, I actually prefer to always use the center-A's + C's technique in a huge range of conditions (only switching away from that to using cobra at the edge of the wind envelope under the strongest conditions I'm willing to launch in). This A's+C's method is simply done with brake toggles on each hand, then holding the center-A's in the top (turning direction) hand and C's in the bottom hand. In light wind, there's just less pressure on the C's, and in heavy winds the C's give you better control over how fast the wing comes up (as well as being able to keep it down). With some practice, you can control the glider quite well with A's+C's all the way to overhead & ready to turn without needing any brake input. Since you're already holding the brake toggles, when overhead and turned, simply release the A's & C's and you're ready to fly. (⌐▀ᴗ▀)
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.
Thanks for sharing your launching tips 👍 however 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.
This is a useful technique for sure. How do you then launch from this though? Do you release the C’s while leaning back? I tend to find my wing needs light middle-A pressure to come up cleanly even in strong winds but dropping the Cs then grabbing at the As doesn’t time well. I’d love more footage of your or others launches from this position.
Have you tried controlling both C's with your bottom hand and controlling the center-A's with your top (turning direction) hand? I find this method works great to control the wing all the way up to overhead and turning to launch under a huge variety of conditions.
@@chilli8364 is this with breaks still in the correct hands?
@@BenBowler Yes, brakes are still in correct hands. This works fine because there’s more travel distance in the brakes than the rear risers. I’ll describe my actual sequence for doing this. Keep in mind that I turn to the left when I launch, so the lines from my left riser cross over top of the right riser lines and "left/right" in the description below will be reversed if you turn to the right. Also keep in mind that when I refer to “C’s” I’m simply talking about the rear risers (so just convert “C’s” to whichever your rear riser is). My sequence for doing this is as follows:
1. Facing glider on launch left lines are over right.
2. To make sure that orientation isn't messed up and I don't get a brake line wrapped, I run my left hand down the inside of the left riser and grab that brake toggle, putting fingers through it and placing toggle grip in the palm of my hand. Likewise, right hand runs down outside of right riser to grab that brake toggle and put fingers through that to hold the grip in the palm of my hand.
3. Gather center-A risers in my left hand and C's in my right (now those are what I'm focused on holding onto to control the wing.
4. If the wind is very strong, then I can rotate the left portion of my body and extend my left arm forward (decreasing pressure on center-A’s) while pulling back on the C’s (increasing pressure there) to keep the wing pinned to the ground. I find it’s actually helpful to maintain a liiiiiiittle bit of pressure on the A’s because it actually helps pin the wing down.
5. When I’m ready to launch, I tug the A’s and step back (in light wind) or forward (in strong wind).
6. As the wing begins to come up, I can steer it left or right with the A’s in my left hand while stepping left/right as needed. I can also de-power the wing and slow the surge with the C’s.
7. When the wing is overhead, more tension on the C’s (right hand) keeps it from overshooting. I can also steer the wing left or right with the C’s by moving my right hand left/right, while I also move left/right to keep it centered overhead.
8. If I need to bring it back down, then I pull hard on the C’s (and can use pressure on the A’s to keep it from slamming down too hard)
9. If I don’t need to bring it back down, and it’s centered overhead, then I’m ready to turn and launch or continue to kite with the brakes. To do this, I let go of the risers and control the wing with the brakes (which have been in my hand the whole time).
10. Turn and kite in forward position with brakes or launch. (⌐▀ᴗ▀)
Hope that makes sense. I’m sure there are instructional vids for this method out there, but I can make a POV vid of this if you’d like. Just lemme know. (^‿^)
@@chilli8364 Awesome, I'm going to give this a go next time I ground handle. I've got pinning the wing down but when it comes to launching from there, it's another question. This will be interesting to try.
@@chilli8364 Just wanted to say thanks a lot of your great contribution here! 😃
Well...when is windy.....i take my 14 🤣🤣🤣🤣
This method doesnt work that well on modern gliders where C risers are connected to B risers for better back riser control :(
Can't confirm that on my Base 2. On my A I even started to pull in a bit of the Bs when in really strong wind. But with the higher AR and connected Bs, Cs work quite fine for me.
Whist I agree that the BC systems on some wings - especially more complex BC systems - do interfere with movement of the rear risers, and so make using the rear risers harder / less effective, I still find this technique (rear risers + lines) works best to hold the wing down in a strong wind - better than just using the brakes or just the rear risers, even with these wings.
Some simpler - more elegant - BC systems hardly affect the use of the rear risers at all. The best example of this for me is the BC system on Phi's R07 risers (quite similar to that seen on the Supair Savage and Ozone Mantra M7), which come as standard on Phi's Maestro 2 and Allegro Light (and are available as an option for other Phi wings).
Worse I think than over-complicated BC systems are wings that have the stabilos (stabilo lines, wing tip lines) connected to the rear risers, instead of the more usual B risers, so when pull the rear risers it pulls on the stabilos, causing the wingtips to come up (when you're trying to hold the wing down). With these it's possible to grab only the rear lines, to avoid pulling the stabilos, but that's quite fiddly, especially under duress - when you're about to get dragged by a strong gust, for example. Fortunately very few wings have this setup nowadays, I guess probably for this reason.
@@OffSurfaceAdventures same for my BASE (1).
Probably benefits your porosity too.
In the take off I just doing cobra style.
In the final landing i just go to the any side either right or left to be in cross wind position
Depends on the location if sandy, grass or rocks can choose the technique
Mohamed Mostafa
Sky Masters Qatar
Thanks for your input 🤓 however this video is about holding the wing down in strong wind, not launching. 🪂
#Lovely❤❤❤
in extra strong winds with one hand both C's and another a little pressure on both B's ( for 2.5 and 3 liners)...
Interesting, I've not heard of using that technique for holding the wind down in strong wind before. Although I've played around with many combinations, I'll give that a try in strong wind next time. What do you do with your brakes whilst you do this?
would you recommend the same for Tandem paragliders?
Yes, actually we first developed this technique when flying tandem paragliders, which are harder to hold down in strong winds. Of course this is just one technique amongst others that can be used, but actually we've found this to be the best all round technique for holding the wing down when the wind is strong, waiting for a calmer moment to launch.
I GOT MY P1 rating from possibly the best instructor from airjunkies paragliding ken bair in encinatas califotrnia so im in the proper 2%
5+m/s I use A-s in my right hand and C-s left hand. When inflating I overcompensate A-lines and keep wing from frontcollapsing with c-s,. So it looks like playing back-forth with a-s & c-s. It makes wing climb up slowly even with strong wind. If to use only C-s the wing still opens up too fast.
thats basic A-C method, tbh with 5m/s you can use whatever and it's going to work with a bit of experience, now, I can't make sense of the last sentence, how not using A-s can make wing open slower?
Could someone who weighs 20 uk stones, get off the ground in one of these things?.. Asking for a friend.
Yes, there are different sized wings for different weights of people. For info on getting started in paragliding and more see the Flybubble Knowledge Base flybubble.com/knowledge-base
Is it much worse with EN-A wings? What are the main reasons why?
Because the tunning of the wing, the profile, etc. Same reason it actually takes more strength and effort to do fullstall or backfly than with higher category wings.
I dont think it's perfectly accurate, I guess what the author means is that they have bigger chord and could in theory catch more wind when you pull brakes or Cs, but at the same time with high AR wings it's often the tips that are out of control, the wing reacts differently to brakes/C/B input along the span and therefore you might not be able to slow down the tips enough to stay on the ground,. Also the effect of the wing going rogue for even a moment is likely to end up with a cravat, which is not really an option with a school wing. Hence, it depends :) Any wing has its own characteristics and it might be more up to trimming or risers configuration than certification per se. E.g. the B-C linking systems are known to disturb -> not a problem in 2 liners :P
Actually this problem with *holding the wing down in a strong wind* applies to *all wings*, not just A wings. 🪂
I regretted saying "A wings" when we filmed this, which is why we added the big bold block text to the video "THIS APPLIES TO ALL WINGS, NOT JUST A WINGS." when I mistakenly say "A wings". 🙊Also I've edited the captions for this part so it's not just about A wings. ℹ It's easier to edit after than it is to say things perfectly in the moment! 🤓
Having said this, *in some ways* safer wings *can* be harder to manage in stronger winds than hotter ones (high B, C, D, CCC). Safer wings have more of a tendency to 'catch the wind' (mainly due to their larger cell openings), want to come up and fly more (aerodynamic characteristics) and are harder to stall (higher stall resistance, to be more forgiving in flight and on landing). 🛬
On the other hand, in other ways safer wings are easier to manage in stronger winds than hotter wings since they have less of a tendency to end up in a tangled mess, snake around, get cravats etc. 😱 Also safer wings tend to have risers which are easier to handle, and thicker and fully-sheathed lines, which also makes them easier to manage on the ground, especially on launch sites with grabby flora or terrain. 🌵
As I mention in this video, I use the technique shown here (rear risers + brake lines) to hold the wing down on most - almost all - wings, of all levels, and personally generally find it works best of all techniques for almost all wings. ✅
However, some wings have riser-line setups which restrict movement with the rear risers, making using the rear risers harder or/and less effective on the ground. For example, some 3-liners with more complex BC systems, or wings that have the stabilos (stabilo lines, wing tip lines) connected to the rear risers, instead of the more usual B risers. Having said this, even with these wings, I still find this technique (rear risers + lines) works best - better than just using the brakes or just the rear risers. 🙂
Of course the simple technique shown in this video is only one small part of managing your wing on the ground. More to follow, if and when time allows! ⏲
Both A’s and brakes in right hand Both C’s and left brake in left hand.
This video is about holding the wing down in a strong wind, not launching. I definitely wouldn't hold my As to hold the wing down. Anyway, whilst I know some pilots prefer the As and Cs, as you do, I don't think it works best for all. It doesn't work best for me, for example. I mostly use brakes and As in both hands, but vary my launch depending on the situation, conditions and wing. I don't use the same technique for all launches.
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A and C together are the best option and the smoothest take-off when the wind is strong, the one in the video is not very strong :)
This video is about holding the wing down in a strong wind, not launching. I definitely wouldn't hold my As to hold the wing down. Anyway, whilst I know some pilots prefer the As and Cs, as you do, I don't think it works best for all. It doesn't work best for me, for example. I mostly use brakes and As in both hands, but vary my launch depending on the situation, conditions and wing. I don't use the same technique for all launches.
@@flybubblecarlo I agree with you too.
If you have enough space at your take-off site, just do a cobra start
that works well if the wind is fairly consistent, not really when you have an unexpected gust coming for example. Also even if you're really efficient with Cobra, you must be ready to kill your wing should something go wrong during the take off -> e.g. you've noticed a knot, cravate or had to give up for another reason, or simply wing fell down and now catches the wind.
This video is about holding the wing down in a strong wind, not launching. Anyway I don't agree that a cobra launch is best in all situations - actually I think it's only best in a few particular situations - but that's another topic, not what this video is about.
These types of videos should be made in strong conditions, not medium to soft conditions.
The only way to truely show strong condition technique is to show getting dragged and ragg dolled with the wrong technique vs. a controlled technique.
I prefer nose down to cobra launch in strong conditions to keep the glider out of the power zone at all times.
I think everybudy knows this.
This is not what the difference realistically looks like. It's very much exaggerated to make a point, i.e. produce postable content of naught.
Thanks for your input. Whilst I agree that for the purposes of filming this video I did slightly exaggerate the effect of getting tugged by the wind, I can assure you that in real life this is not an exaggeration at all. I am sure that the very many paraglider pilots who've lost control in this kind of situation - even some very experienced pilots - and gotten dragged due to making these kinds of errors will agree. We chose to make this video after seeing several pilots dragged (through cow pats and sheep, into barbed wire fences and nasty hawthorn bushes) one different days due to making these kinds of errors. We've know some paraglider pilots to get very seriously injured as a result of this, never to fly again. So we're sharing this video in case it helps any pilots not make these basic mistakes, and given them a simple technique to stay more easily in control.
98 % If you use a number you should have a background to it...
clickbait
I 49% agree with that 😉
What I miss in the video is you showing us how to lift the glider up when you want to. Do you just let go of the rear risers or?
Thanks for the launch tip request. We plan to cover that in other videos. This video is about holding the wing down in strong wind, not launching. in brief, it depends on the wing. For many wings you can just let go of the rear risers and the wing will come up (after all, you're using this technique to stop the wing launching). Some wings, which have a tendency to hang back or come up asymmetrically, might require some riser input, in which case you have to go quickly from letting go of the rear risers and brakes to grabbing the risers, which requires practice to achieve precision. However, whilst holding the wing down using this technique, you can also turn the wing sideways, ready to bring it up around the edge of the power zone, a semi cobra style launch. If you prefer to launch using As and Cs (which I don't particularly, but some do) then you can transfer both rear risers to one hand, to hold the wing down, and reach for the As (however when you do this it often becomes clear why holding both the rear risers and brake lines works better to hold the wing down, as the wing can become harder to hold down). Lots more to be said - and shown - on this. Hope this helps for now! Carlo