Thanks for sharing! Great stuff! And no doubt this took lots of work to create, so thanks for putting out this important info. In the spirit of constantly improving our collective knowledge, I have a few things to add... 1. You discusses Venturi being at the top of the hill... and aside from a brief mention of wind going around a butte, you neglect to talk about the same effect going on in wind wrapping around mountains. For folks flying in the mountains, wind wrapping around the mountains is where we experience it most. The gaps in the ridge that act like a funnel. A pass in the mountains can easily suck pilots through it! 2. You say venturi only happens at 12mph and above.... and I'd agree it commonly presents problems of being blown back above 12 mph, but venturi are present at ALL wind speeds. At 7mph a Venturi could cause 12mph or 14 mph winds and that could be enough to prevent a PG from making the LZ. 3. You said speed bar will will double your speed. I WISH! Maybe on an Enzo. For us mortals, that’s definitely not the case. Pretty typical numbers for a Low B glider would be 38kph trim and 50 kph top speed. A C is like 39 trim, with 58-60kph top. Definitely not double. We don't want to oversell the benefits of speed bar, lest folks get in over their heads. Folks should test it out and get to know their glider. 4. You said something like “never use big ears as this adds drag and slows you down.” This is generally true and good advice, but not universally. Some gliders the increase in wing loading makes you go a little faster. Know your glider. 5. Regarding the advice to get higher... I am 100% with you that higher means more time to think and problem solve... but let's remind folks that in mountain situations it often gets windier the higher you get. This wind gradient can sometimes be quite dramatic. This is super common during glass off while mountain flying. In those situations when I see a student's ground speed has slowed, I will occasionally have them pull big ears to get down lower, where it is less windy and they can penetrate better. Nit picking details aside, this is a great video. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome comments and constructive information Calef ! I might not be able to think about all the situations but I was surprised thermal winds in valleys were not discussed. I fly in the swiss alps and the mountains sucking air up can create very strong winds in the valley, sometimes making bottom landings impossible. Avoiding these situations is best and landings on the hillside as high as possible are good options. But, in case you get stuck in the wind, making yourself as fast as possible and being patient can pay off. As air has a lot viscosity, it will slow down close to the hillsides and the ground, so try to position your glider in these areas and you will likely make more ground the lower you get. Always consider other fields for landing and position yourself upwind of these, so you have landing options behind you in case you are blown back. Also, you should consider using the furthest point downwind of the valley where the wind hits the mountain, it will probably be slower because a lot of the airmass went from the valley to the previous hillsides and as the air is forced up the mountain, it will loose horizontal speed. Be confident, know how to respond to collapses and trust your glider. Most importantly, have fun !
My interpretation of his comment that " your glider will be twice as fast on speed bar" was a comment specific to a situation where you are barely penetrating into wind. Say your progress is only 5-10kmh into the wind... On speed bar you will gain 10-15kmh and so he's right you will be twice as fast, if not more, in this situation. Welcome to paragliding where the answer to everything is, It Depends. lol.
Good video. Got blown over the back for the first time a couple of weeks back. At the point of no return I did a turn and burn and just like you say, experienced my first bit of cross country and luckily found a bowling green among all the trees to land on. Scary but great experience
so true... so realistic... and so convinient explanations and advances. i've been blown back twice and i know really what y're calling about. thank you so much my freind!
Awesome video! I’m glad I’m not the only one who was terrified going backwards in the Venturi. I also had the misconception that speedbar was very risky so I only pressed half way. I learnt so much from this video, thank you!
Great tips man. As a beginner I was paragliding in China in high wind low penetration on launch and I was the first guy off. After an assisted launch I barely penetrated to escape the mountain. The next girl to take-off got blown to the leeside and crashed but was ok. All flights after (10) cancelled. It was terrifying just hanging there. I couldn't deploy my speed bar because I was afraid to let go of brakes even if put them in one hand so I NEVER USED THE SPEEDBAR. instinctively thinking of aerodynamics and maintenance of constant heading saved me. The instructors were yelling "speed bar!!!" in Chinese but at the time I didn't know the vocabulary for that. Got it on Video
You can also grab on to the pulleys that the speed bar line is connected to (on the risers) and put some of your weight on it. That's basically what the speed bar does, this method may be quicker if you don't have easy access to the actual speed bar.
really like your videos, and how you explain things, I wish when i started to have all this information. had to learn by trial and error. my only comment is that at the beginning of your videos its super loud compared to the rest of the video. keep sharing your wisdom and making this sport safer. cheers
Wish I would have seen this video before my crash at a ridge soaring spot as a fresh pilot. Ripped my hamstring while hitting the base of a tree. But could have got impaled on a branch. Consider myself lucky. After getting back under my wing I went to a ridge soaring spot in Costa Rica and learned lots. With the knowledge from CR and this video I definitely would have avoided the mistake. This video was packed with great tips. Thank Ari. Just subscribed to your podcast today.
Thanks for sharing Ryan, and so sorry to hear about your accident. I'm happy to hear that this was helpful. Thanks for watching and listening. See you in the sky
Hi Ari, thanks for the great video! There‘s one thing I don‘t quite agree on: We have a local soaring ridge with a very level surface behind and there is a very dangerous rotor which can drop you from 20 meters right to the ground. It‘s not right behind the edge, but about 50-80 meters back.
so you saying that level or shallow lees don‘t create much rotor could be dangerously misleading. This is absolutely not what I have learned in my theoretical and practical experience. When you fly back another 200-300 meters, you get past that downwash and can land safely. But if you fly into it, you‘re in trouble.
But what is the shape of the object that you are soaring the face of? If it is a steep cliff, then surely you'll have lots more rotor than if it is a smooth and gradual hill.
100% great advice. Wish I had this knowledge a few months ago. I found myself in an "up and back" situation at Crestline, CA in the late evening. Luckily, I did most of what you suggested. Full bar, straight heading and trimmers out (freeflight/paramotor wing) with limited light left in the day, my head was stuck on getting down quickly and of course, safely. I basically spent 20 min straight on bar, but with big ears until I was out in front and low enough to land next to the highway. I can see why big ears wouldn't be the best thing to do in most situations, although I'm not sure if attempting a dark landing would be any better. Looking back there were plenty of signs not to launch that I ignored...lesson LEARNED. Another great video Ari!
@@paraglidingtalk Yeah, just a bit but I was able to recover and push forward. Just a good ol' kick in the ego was all I needed. Haha, I didn't see it a couple weeks ago when I was there...rumor has it.
First - thank you for sharing your knowledge. I love your videos and as new pilot, I am always looking for some extra tips that my instructors my not know or might teach a different way. So, thank you. Now, science geek alert. Air don't actually compress to any degree on the front of a hill. If you read engineering level text you will find that free stream air behaves as an incompressible fluid until about 300m/s and compressibility really kicks in about 0.7M. Not speeds we are usually worried about. Until these speeds, dynamic air pressure will change, but not the density, which is the definition of compression. Geek alert over. Thanks again for all the knowledge sharing.
Great video I got pinned and was planning to pull big ears if I could not get out front. Only later learned that would not have helped. More awareness needed on this topic for coastal pilots. Funny things was as I was pinned on full speedbar a hang glider came and flew around me giving me a bit of a look. Pretty obvious by that point I should have been on the ground already. But as mentioned in the video just sat there and eventually made my way out front. Back and forth a bit but eventually made it out front and was able to land safely. One more point I found was that the safe compression zone was much further forward than normal so to get back I needed to be way out front to progress along the coast.
Really like the video, easy to understand and with good explanations. My only criticism is when you a referring to measurements you refer to metres and MPH. I am old so I understand imperial and metric but most people in the world now use metric. I will never understand why Americans refuse to change to a rational system like metric. There was I believe a time when the government tried to change the system but most refused to change. In Australia when referring to wind speed we generally talk about km. hr or at the coast Knots. But enjoyed the video.
@@AriintheAir - Just found your channel yesterday. Love your style and the fact that you focus on mental state that so often gets overlooked. Being a complete newbie, I'm soaking up everything I can find (as you mentioned in your beginner tips vid, and have watched almost all Andre Bandarra's stuff). As you mention, the ground is the most dangerous place. You did a vid on tips for launching, so my obvious next choice for new material would be landing. I've watched some of Greg Hamerton's stuff on flybubble about landing, and calculating groundspeed vs windspeed, and avoiding obstacles, etc. but would love to see your take on the subject. Great work man! PS: Bend is a great area. Was a close second to my current Boulder, CO residency.
Thanks for the video! Good tips with technique and strategy here. When discussing the area that lee turbulence/ rotor can affect, you're multiplying some very different units together. I've often heard a rule of thumb of "up to 2 times the height of the obstacle", I'm not sure where height in meters * wind in miles per hour = distance in meters of disturbance comes from, so I'd be curious to see your sources. I'm also curious about the cone that the turbulence seems to be confined to in your diagram, it doesn't look like other representations I've seen. My understanding is that "turbulence" is generally found underneath some angle from the lip, and kind of adheres to the lee side of the slope rather than leaving a wedge of undisturbed air on the lee side. This probably depends on your definition of turbulence (I'd consider the backwards eddy or even the calm air you spoke about as disturbed air/turbulence because it's not the predominant wind.)
Hi Rachel! If you want to know more, check out Understanding the Sky by Dennis Pagen. As you fly more and more, this becomes an integrated understanding and the numbers fall away. And 'turbulence' is also a spectrum, from kinda bumpy air to totally unflyable rotor!
I can’t believe it......only one person in 115 comments noticed that the pilot did not have his speed bar connected. This video should have pointed this out right from the start. Never ever fly without your speed bar connected. Also, this looks like a real dumb place to fly (especially without a life jacket) coastal wind/sea breeze can pick up really fast.......no place to land out front and it is a spine back with water behind....landing in water can, more often than not, be fatal. Also........if you are coastal flying, and you can see ‘white horses’ on the water (check the first couple of seconds of the video) then it is probably getting too strong to fly. This guy was very lucky to survive......did he?
Going up highly depends on the upper air layers. Lets say you're soaring in strong winds (lets say 25-30 km/h) on 2000 m above ground. You know that on 3000 m you'll have wind speeds of 40 km/h and 50 km/h on 4000 m. I'd say its better to stay low. B stall and big ears are obviously not smart. I know there is not data for every spot on earth but if there is a weather station even 200 km away on some comparable or better higher peak you can find some live data or if there isn't check the clouds before lunch. Best greetings from Switzerland :-)
@@AriintheAir I think I speak for everyone when I say, we'd like the resolution of this situation! I fly coastal features like this (with water behind me) and this is my biggest fear paragliding... what did he end up doing? How did he get out of it? Presumably he ended up in the water? A breakdown of this would be extremely valuable for pilots who risk this situation frequently like myself.
HI Ari. I was blown back in the Pyrenees in Spain. I was learning to fly. only about two hours experience. The valley winds blew me back on my skywalk mescal dhv 1. I was over a forest with no landing in minutes. I eventually got low and down into a river after avoiding high tension power lines and 100 foot trees. I had to lift my legs over the boulders as i skimmed over the water. Then I had to grab glider before it filled with water and dragged me down stream. I had no time to get scared. This was just one of the terrifying lessons that week. I have been blown back about four times in total. Very scary.
Hi Ari. Thanks for your great videos. I had a close call on being blown back last year. I did indeed pull big ears though, because I knew from the forecast, that higher up the wind would be much stronger still. And I was getting higher fast. With ears And speedbar I was eventually able to escape, just. So what I’m trying to say, it may not be categorically wrong to pull ears, or what do you think?
Great video Ari, I wish I had watched it before. I am a beginner flying a EN A wing, last week I got myself into some bad trouble. I launched into light winds that turned strong very fast and found myself in the venturi on top of some high trees, applied full bar and was still getting blown back behind the trees. It was either treetop landing or trying to turn downwind. Unfortunately I was too low to fly over the rotor. So I turned downwind and got hit by the rotor pretty bad, had multiple collapses and hit the ground quite hard, luckily I was uninjured. I just cannot stop thinking about it, I know now that the best option is not to get yourself on that situation ever. But I keep thinking about what if I had thrown my reserve? Either from over the trees still facing the wind or just after I turned downwind. Do you think a reserve would've stayed open on the rotor? I have the ayvri log if you want to see it but I think youtube is not allowing me to put the link here. Thank you
Very interesting, I wish Ari would answer but I think we don't know much about reserves in rotors. Like you said, we should avoid getting ourselves in these situations. In order to do that, we have to try to understand the sky
Snap! But I was lucky to have come down in front of the trees. I’m glad I learnt the lesson of venturi in high winds on a site which had few leeside objects and is relatively flat
The reserve keeps you in the air purely with drag, so it doesn't need to maintain a specific shape like a glider. It just has to be open. And they're usually shaped such that they will open easily. I don't think rotors will disturb that much. It's definitely not ideal, but if you were falling and you needed the reserve you definitely should still open it. The only issue is you may be dragged pretty far downwind
Nice and clear. I have to disagree with what you are saying at around 15.35 about big-ears making you go slower. Most gliders don't have much change in overall airspeed with the ears in but some do go a few miles an hour faster. Only some do go slower. You should find out what your own glider's airspeed is with ears in. It is great if yours is one that does go faster in ears.
Thanks for watching Andrew. The problem with pulling big ears is that it increases your descent rate, even if it does make you faster, and thus, brings you closer to the ground, compression and venturi. If you get out of the situation where you aren't struggling for penetration, then you can pull ears or a bline stall and descend to land. But if you're being blown back, getting closer to the object will only make it worse. I think I could have been more clear about my reasoning in the video.
What are the attachments you mentioned that allow you to pull speed bar with your hands? Any chance you have a link or a picture? I'm looking for something like that for my kiting wing. (And thanks for the nice video!)
this will help new pilots for sure, good explanation ,applies anywhere.. I wonder if this new pilots radio friends explained this to him prior to flying this place? (I'm sure they did after)
In the 1980s I was flying my Seedwings Sensor 180 along the ridge of the White Mountains. Curious sight, a pilot on the ground folding up his glider. I look up and figure out what's going on - no penetration. Pulling the bar to my knees, I would descend into the canyon in front of me. Wanting to live to fly another day I choose to land on the ridge too - just like flying Funston! I think there was a venturi effect created by the canyon in front of me. Perhaps I could have moved through it. Bar to the knees, as I'm dropping my ground speed is minus 4 mph, walking speed backwards. The control bar is two feet off the ground, it leaps out of my hands and slams into the ground. A Wile E Coyote moment later, I land on top of it. Four of us packed up our gliders and walked out. One fellow let himself go over the back at a low altitude and died. I saw him go over, I didn't see what happened after that.
Yeah, I know that feeling of being blown back. It’s not a nice feeling and the rods and screws in my back is a constant reminder ... I’m still flying though 😜
Won't getting the ears in increase your wing loading and help forward penetration. Also would getting on the speed bar after pulling ears help out better?
On some gliders, it might increase your speed, but most gliders it increases your descent rate but INCREASES DRAG. If you're in a venturi situation, you don't want to pull ears, cause going down will only make it worse - you need to go forward and away before going down. And yes, full bar in whatever configuration is advised!
@@AriintheAir Launching... I am still nervous about launching. Once I am up and away I am comfortable and confident...but I am still having confidence issues on launch. I am way less nervous jumping out of a plane than launching a glider. Right now I am still doing forwards in 4 - 7 mph winds..not much chance for a blow back in my conditions right now. 😀
Ari, I’m afraid you misunderstand the word “Venturi” and the related physics. A Venturi occurs when a gas or fluid is forced through a narrow constriction. The phenomenon of high winds on narrow city streets is an example of the Venturi effect i.e. higher winds and lower pressure. There is no Venturi on top of a standard ridge where we paragliders fly. That’s simply the compression area (which you depicted as being out in front of the ridge). In your diagrams you should re-name this as the “lift band” and replace the word “Venturi” with “compression area”. Hope this helps, Dara.
Dara, I agree on your definition of venturi but disagree that it doesn't take place on top of a ridge. Although it seems semantic, it seems that I have Dennis Pagen on my side for this one. Thanks for the sub and I appreciate the discourse!
well the weight of the air above hows the lower air in its position so it acts like the other side of a venturi structure and does cause speeding up of the air at the smallest gap
It's still a venturi; the "undisturbed air" overlying hills creates the other side. Just like an airfoil producing lift creates a low pressure zone on the upper surface and high pressure underneath is due to the venturi effect between the top surface and the undisturbed air above it.
DON'T try and be aerodynamic, allowing more drag on the pilot will put you slightly behind the glider, making it pitch forward and gain some speed. It helps the speed system.
Do you have any references to this idea? My intuition and experience is that your comment is completely false. If on full speed, you let go of the brakes and fold your arms, tilt your head back and make yourself more aerodynamic, you can gain up to 2km/hr. Its known in racing, I've personally done it, so I'd debunk your claim - BUT, if you have information to the contrary, I'd love to see it.
@@AriintheAir i haven't tried myself. I am very new to paragliding. But I had a discussion about this exact topic with my soaring instructor just a few days prior to watching your video. He has been flying 30+ years. His claim is that being aerodynamic gives you a better glide angle but not speed. He also mentioned witnessing a competition pilot throwing his pod deliberately at a right angle to the gliders direction in order to gain speed.
Hey, just found your channel, great tips! I think it's worth mentioning that pointing straight into the wind is most effective when the wind is also straight 90* onto the hill. When it's not, crabbing with some small angle in direction opposite to wind might give some extra penetration and distance from the hill, as described here: skynomad.com/articles/ridge_soaring.htm Regarding big ears I think there are some situations where one could use them to avoid being blown back (e.g. grassy hill or dune where landing backwards is not a problem) but this is marginal use case, and in most situations one is better off with speedbar / building height / crabbing away / getting aerodynamic. What do you think? Anyway, subscribed, good content!
Thank you so much, and I appreciate your thoughtful feedback. I totally agree that in a ridge situation, crabbing with a little crosswind is a great option and I really like that article, thats a great resource. I also agree that big ears is a viable option in some cases, but from the incidents that I've seen, a big problem is people being afraid and wanting down, so they begin to use descent techniques, which I strongly recommend against, cause it'll take you to the venturi! Once out front, big ears it up, all you want! Thanks again for subscribing! Where are you located and how do you like to fly?
@@AriintheAir Did most of my flights in Spain in coastal setting, now back to flatlands in Poland. Still low airtime pilot (around 30h), but had 2 potential blowback situations. The "I want to be on the ground, quick" effect is a real thing when it happens, and can lead to bad stuff so I totally get why you advocate against descent techniques.
I was there, he did not take anymore collapse. He has able to fly to the closest low tide mark, there was an overhanging tree so he had to stall and flap in on the rocks. He was a little banged up but nothing bad at all. It was very lucky we lost a pilot there last year at the same spot. This is cape lookout, just outside of Tillamook Oregon. I live and fly here as a Cpc club pilot. You can see the site guide at cascadeparaglidingclub.com
On the video the guy doesnt have any safe place to land in front or behind the hill he can reach, so not a safe place to fly. I have been blown back on a hill with flat ground behind the hill, I used the turn and burn technique, and landed in a full grown corn field. It was Not fun.
Thanks for sharing! Great stuff! And no doubt this took lots of work to create, so thanks for putting out this important info. In the spirit of constantly improving our collective knowledge, I have a few things to add...
1. You discusses Venturi being at the top of the hill... and aside from a brief mention of wind going around a butte, you neglect to talk about the same effect going on in wind wrapping around mountains. For folks flying in the mountains, wind wrapping around the mountains is where we experience it most. The gaps in the ridge that act like a funnel. A pass in the mountains can easily suck pilots through it!
2. You say venturi only happens at 12mph and above.... and I'd agree it commonly presents problems of being blown back above 12 mph, but venturi are present at ALL wind speeds. At 7mph a Venturi could cause 12mph or 14 mph winds and that could be enough to prevent a PG from making the LZ.
3. You said speed bar will will double your speed. I WISH! Maybe on an Enzo. For us mortals, that’s definitely not the case. Pretty typical numbers for a Low B glider would be 38kph trim and 50 kph top speed. A C is like 39 trim, with 58-60kph top. Definitely not double. We don't want to oversell the benefits of speed bar, lest folks get in over their heads. Folks should test it out and get to know their glider.
4. You said something like “never use big ears as this adds drag and slows you down.” This is generally true and good advice, but not universally. Some gliders the increase in wing loading makes you go a little faster. Know your glider.
5. Regarding the advice to get higher... I am 100% with you that higher means more time to think and problem solve... but let's remind folks that in mountain situations it often gets windier the higher you get. This wind gradient can sometimes be quite dramatic. This is super common during glass off while mountain flying. In those situations when I see a student's ground speed has slowed, I will occasionally have them pull big ears to get down lower, where it is less windy and they can penetrate better.
Nit picking details aside, this is a great video. Thanks for sharing!
I'll call you before my next tutorial to make sure it passes your inspection! ;) Go paraglide!
thank you too :)
Awesome comments and constructive information Calef !
I might not be able to think about all the situations but I was surprised thermal winds in valleys were not discussed. I fly in the swiss alps and the mountains sucking air up can create very strong winds in the valley, sometimes making bottom landings impossible.
Avoiding these situations is best and landings on the hillside as high as possible are good options. But, in case you get stuck in the wind, making yourself as fast as possible and being patient can pay off. As air has a lot viscosity, it will slow down close to the hillsides and the ground, so try to position your glider in these areas and you will likely make more ground the lower you get. Always consider other fields for landing and position yourself upwind of these, so you have landing options behind you in case you are blown back. Also, you should consider using the furthest point downwind of the valley where the wind hits the mountain, it will probably be slower because a lot of the airmass went from the valley to the previous hillsides and as the air is forced up the mountain, it will loose horizontal speed.
Be confident, know how to respond to collapses and trust your glider. Most importantly, have fun !
My interpretation of his comment that " your glider will be twice as fast on speed bar" was a comment specific to a situation where you are barely penetrating into wind. Say your progress is only 5-10kmh into the wind... On speed bar you will gain 10-15kmh and so he's right you will be twice as fast, if not more, in this situation. Welcome to paragliding where the answer to everything is, It Depends. lol.
Good video. Got blown over the back for the first time a couple of weeks back. At the point of no return I did a turn and burn and just like you say, experienced my first bit of cross country and luckily found a bowling green among all the trees to land on. Scary but great experience
This is thus far the best video explaining venturi/rotor . Illustrations are very basic yet effective. Thanks Ari !!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching and for the nice note!
Great video Ari! Nice visuals and clear descriptions. Thanks for helping paraglider pilots understand this situation.
Thanks Shawn! We get a ton of practice with this at Pine!
so true... so realistic... and so convinient explanations and advances.
i've been blown back twice and i know really what y're calling about.
thank you so much my freind!
Yep. This happened to me two years ago. Learned a lot from the experience
Awesome video! I’m glad I’m not the only one who was terrified going backwards in the Venturi. I also had the misconception that speedbar was very risky so I only pressed half way. I learnt so much from this video, thank you!
Great tips man. As a beginner I was paragliding in China in high wind low penetration on launch and I was the first guy off. After an assisted launch I barely penetrated to escape the mountain. The next girl to take-off got blown to the leeside and crashed but was ok. All flights after (10) cancelled. It was terrifying just hanging there. I couldn't deploy my speed bar because I was afraid to let go of brakes even if put them in one hand so I NEVER USED THE SPEEDBAR. instinctively thinking of aerodynamics and maintenance of constant heading saved me. The instructors were yelling "speed bar!!!" in Chinese but at the time I didn't know the vocabulary for that. Got it on Video
You can also grab on to the pulleys that the speed bar line is connected to (on the risers) and put some of your weight on it. That's basically what the speed bar does, this method may be quicker if you don't have easy access to the actual speed bar.
really like your videos, and how you explain things, I wish when i started to have all this information. had to learn by trial and error. my only comment is that at the beginning of your videos its super loud compared to the rest of the video. keep sharing your wisdom and making this sport safer. cheers
Thanks for watching and for the feedback Enrique!
Awsome! I´m not one to subscribe to youtube channels, but after watching two of your videos you´ve earned yourself a new subscriber ;)
Wish I would have seen this video before my crash at a ridge soaring spot as a fresh pilot. Ripped my hamstring while hitting the base of a tree. But could have got impaled on a branch. Consider myself lucky. After getting back under my wing I went to a ridge soaring spot in Costa Rica and learned lots. With the knowledge from CR and this video I definitely would have avoided the mistake. This video was packed with great tips. Thank Ari. Just subscribed to your podcast today.
Thanks for sharing Ryan, and so sorry to hear about your accident. I'm happy to hear that this was helpful. Thanks for watching and listening. See you in the sky
Hi Ari, thanks for the great video! There‘s one thing I don‘t quite agree on: We have a local soaring ridge with a very level surface behind and there is a very dangerous rotor which can drop you from 20 meters right to the ground. It‘s not right behind the edge, but about 50-80 meters back.
so you saying that level or shallow lees don‘t create much rotor could be dangerously misleading. This is absolutely not what I have learned in my theoretical and practical experience. When you fly back another 200-300 meters, you get past that downwash and can land safely. But if you fly into it, you‘re in trouble.
But what is the shape of the object that you are soaring the face of? If it is a steep cliff, then surely you'll have lots more rotor than if it is a smooth and gradual hill.
concise and informative video -can never be reminded enough with complacency always lurking around
Totally agree, these things are happening a little too often in my opinion!
Please I want to see the full first video!!!
Once I made exactly the opposite as you recommend. Excellent video! Thank you
100% great advice. Wish I had this knowledge a few months ago. I found myself in an "up and back" situation at Crestline, CA in the late evening. Luckily, I did most of what you suggested. Full bar, straight heading and trimmers out (freeflight/paramotor wing) with limited light left in the day, my head was stuck on getting down quickly and of course, safely. I basically spent 20 min straight on bar, but with big ears until I was out in front and low enough to land next to the highway. I can see why big ears wouldn't be the best thing to do in most situations, although I'm not sure if attempting a dark landing would be any better. Looking back there were plenty of signs not to launch that I ignored...lesson LEARNED. Another great video Ari!
Thanks Ben! Glad you liked it. Most of us have at least one story of being blown back, I'm glad yours was incident free!
Ben! You got blown back at Crestline!?! So scary! I saw that asian dude got blown into the trees. The rumor is his glider is still in the trees...
@@paraglidingtalk Yeah, just a bit but I was able to recover and push forward. Just a good ol' kick in the ego was all I needed.
Haha, I didn't see it a couple weeks ago when I was there...rumor has it.
First - thank you for sharing your knowledge. I love your videos and as new pilot, I am always looking for some extra tips that my instructors my not know or might teach a different way. So, thank you. Now, science geek alert. Air don't actually compress to any degree on the front of a hill. If you read engineering level text you will find that free stream air behaves as an incompressible fluid until about 300m/s and compressibility really kicks in about 0.7M. Not speeds we are usually worried about. Until these speeds, dynamic air pressure will change, but not the density, which is the definition of compression. Geek alert over. Thanks again for all the knowledge sharing.
Great video I got pinned and was planning to pull big ears if I could not get out front. Only later learned that would not have helped. More awareness needed on this topic for coastal pilots. Funny things was as I was pinned on full speedbar a hang glider came and flew around me giving me a bit of a look. Pretty obvious by that point I should have been on the ground already. But as mentioned in the video just sat there and eventually made my way out front. Back and forth a bit but eventually made it out front and was able to land safely. One more point I found was that the safe compression zone was much further forward than normal so to get back I needed to be way out front to progress along the coast.
Glad that worked out! The one technique that I think I could have mentioned is using weightshift to make small wingovers, called falling leaf.
Please do more videos about air movements and turbulence in XC flying. It's really interesting.
Really like the video, easy to understand and with good explanations. My only criticism is when you a referring to measurements you refer to metres and MPH. I am old so I understand imperial and metric but most people in the world now use metric. I will never understand why Americans refuse to change to a rational system like metric. There was I believe a time when the government tried to change the system but most refused to change. In Australia when referring to wind speed we generally talk about km. hr or at the coast Knots. But enjoyed the video.
Enjoyed that one!............Can never be reminded enough of the dangers!! ..................thanks
Thanks man! What other pg subjects should I teach about?
@@AriintheAir - Just found your channel yesterday. Love your style and the fact that you focus on mental state that so often gets overlooked. Being a complete newbie, I'm soaking up everything I can find (as you mentioned in your beginner tips vid, and have watched almost all Andre Bandarra's stuff).
As you mention, the ground is the most dangerous place. You did a vid on tips for launching, so my obvious next choice for new material would be landing. I've watched some of Greg Hamerton's stuff on flybubble about landing, and calculating groundspeed vs windspeed, and avoiding obstacles, etc. but would love to see your take on the subject.
Great work man!
PS: Bend is a great area. Was a close second to my current Boulder, CO residency.
@@MrWhynotnow Thanks for all the nice words John, really appreciate it. Landing is really important, I'll try to make a video on it!
Thanks for the video! Good tips with technique and strategy here.
When discussing the area that lee turbulence/ rotor can affect, you're multiplying some very different units together. I've often heard a rule of thumb of "up to 2 times the height of the obstacle", I'm not sure where height in meters * wind in miles per hour = distance in meters of disturbance comes from, so I'd be curious to see your sources. I'm also curious about the cone that the turbulence seems to be confined to in your diagram, it doesn't look like other representations I've seen. My understanding is that "turbulence" is generally found underneath some angle from the lip, and kind of adheres to the lee side of the slope rather than leaving a wedge of undisturbed air on the lee side. This probably depends on your definition of turbulence (I'd consider the backwards eddy or even the calm air you spoke about as disturbed air/turbulence because it's not the predominant wind.)
Hi Rachel! If you want to know more, check out Understanding the Sky by Dennis Pagen. As you fly more and more, this becomes an integrated understanding and the numbers fall away. And 'turbulence' is also a spectrum, from kinda bumpy air to totally unflyable rotor!
Excellent video, cheers for uploading. I’m a new P2 and this video was a great help thanks.
I can’t believe it......only one person in 115 comments noticed that the pilot did not have his speed bar connected. This video should have pointed this out right from the start. Never ever fly without your speed bar connected. Also, this looks like a real dumb place to fly (especially without a life jacket) coastal wind/sea breeze can pick up really fast.......no place to land out front and it is a spine back with water behind....landing in water can, more often than not, be fatal. Also........if you are coastal flying, and you can see ‘white horses’ on the water (check the first couple of seconds of the video) then it is probably getting too strong to fly. This guy was very lucky to survive......did he?
Going up highly depends on the upper air layers.
Lets say you're soaring in strong winds (lets say 25-30 km/h) on 2000 m above ground.
You know that on 3000 m you'll have wind speeds of 40 km/h and 50 km/h on 4000 m. I'd say its better to stay low.
B stall and big ears are obviously not smart.
I know there is not data for every spot on earth but if there is a weather station even 200 km away on some comparable or better higher peak you can find some live data or if there isn't check the clouds before lunch.
Best greetings from Switzerland :-)
Great video and informative.
Great video, thanks! I have to watch all of your videos. Bad time is good time to do it.
Thanks for a video. What will be other exit option? Land flying backwards? In my area it is mosly forest.
Great video. Are you seriously going to leave us hanging without seeing the rest of the video? PLEASE POST!
Hahahaha!!!! So sorry to do that to ya! ;) Carlos' camera stopped recording!
@@AriintheAir I think I speak for everyone when I say, we'd like the resolution of this situation! I fly coastal features like this (with water behind me) and this is my biggest fear paragliding... what did he end up doing? How did he get out of it? Presumably he ended up in the water? A breakdown of this would be extremely valuable for pilots who risk this situation frequently like myself.
Great video! Great illustrations! Thanks for putting that together. Look! You have 300 subscribers! Get it homie!
300! Sweet! Thanks for your support dude! I want to talk to you about my channel, lets chat soon.
Great video. Even love the sound track. Really helpful to have a sense of what to do in this situation.
Thank you damian!!!
Hi Ari, a question not related to the topic you have explained beautifully.
What is the song that you have playing in the background?
Very well explained
HI Ari. I was blown back in the Pyrenees in Spain. I was learning to fly. only about two hours experience. The valley winds blew me back on my skywalk mescal dhv 1. I was over a forest with no landing in minutes. I eventually got low and down into a river after avoiding high tension power lines and 100 foot trees. I had to lift my legs over the boulders as i skimmed over the water. Then I had to grab glider before it filled with water and dragged me down stream. I had no time to get scared. This was just one of the terrifying lessons that week. I have been blown back about four times in total. Very scary.
Woah! Glad you're ok
You have vids
I've had that feeling too, where you don't have time to get scared... Definitely scary looking back at it though
Awesome and very Instructional video, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Hey man I really want that footage😂
Hey cool video, can you send the link to the video in the beginning of the video, really want to see how it end!
Me too
Excellent
flawless victory.
Hi Ari. Thanks for your great videos. I had a close call on being blown back last year. I did indeed pull big ears though, because I knew from the forecast, that higher up the wind would be much stronger still. And I was getting higher fast. With ears And speedbar I was eventually able to escape, just. So what I’m trying to say, it may not be categorically wrong to pull ears, or what do you think?
Great video. Very clear and easy to understand.
Great video Ari, I wish I had watched it before. I am a beginner flying a EN A wing, last week I got myself into some bad trouble. I launched into light winds that turned strong very fast and found myself in the venturi on top of some high trees, applied full bar and was still getting blown back behind the trees. It was either treetop landing or trying to turn downwind. Unfortunately I was too low to fly over the rotor. So I turned downwind and got hit by the rotor pretty bad, had multiple collapses and hit the ground quite hard, luckily I was uninjured. I just cannot stop thinking about it, I know now that the best option is not to get yourself on that situation ever. But I keep thinking about what if I had thrown my reserve? Either from over the trees still facing the wind or just after I turned downwind. Do you think a reserve would've stayed open on the rotor? I have the ayvri log if you want to see it but I think youtube is not allowing me to put the link here. Thank you
Very interesting, I wish Ari would answer but I think we don't know much about reserves in rotors. Like you said, we should avoid getting ourselves in these situations. In order to do that, we have to try to understand the sky
Snap! But I was lucky to have come down in front of the trees. I’m glad I learnt the lesson of venturi in high winds on a site which had few leeside objects and is relatively flat
The reserve keeps you in the air purely with drag, so it doesn't need to maintain a specific shape like a glider. It just has to be open. And they're usually shaped such that they will open easily. I don't think rotors will disturb that much. It's definitely not ideal, but if you were falling and you needed the reserve you definitely should still open it. The only issue is you may be dragged pretty far downwind
Nice and clear. I have to disagree with what you are saying at around 15.35 about big-ears making you go slower. Most gliders don't have much change in overall airspeed with the ears in but some do go a few miles an hour faster. Only some do go slower. You should find out what your own glider's airspeed is with ears in. It is great if yours is one that does go faster in ears.
Thanks for watching Andrew. The problem with pulling big ears is that it increases your descent rate, even if it does make you faster, and thus, brings you closer to the ground, compression and venturi. If you get out of the situation where you aren't struggling for penetration, then you can pull ears or a bline stall and descend to land. But if you're being blown back, getting closer to the object will only make it worse. I think I could have been more clear about my reasoning in the video.
What are the attachments you mentioned that allow you to pull speed bar with your hands? Any chance you have a link or a picture? I'm looking for something like that for my kiting wing. (And thanks for the nice video!)
very helpful, thank you
Thanks for your insight, always great for thought!
Thanks for watching!
Great content, huge respect🙏🏼
Thanks Ivan!
this will help new pilots for sure, good explanation ,applies anywhere.. I wonder if this new pilots radio friends explained this to him prior to flying this place? (I'm sure they did after)
Great tips thanks!
What would you do if despite using all the speed bar the wind keeps pushing you? Patience???
Turn downwind and land anywhere
This video literally saved my ass today.
Thanks for great lesson .... Have one question : Would you use speed bar going down wind too ????
Thanks....
Hey bro, thanks! Check out some of the XC tips videos on my channel, as we talk about 'Speed to Fly' and when to use the bar downwind. Cheers!
@@AriintheAir Thanks..... subbed....
In the 1980s I was flying my Seedwings Sensor 180 along the ridge of the White Mountains. Curious sight, a pilot on the ground folding up his glider. I look up and figure out what's going on - no penetration. Pulling the bar to my knees, I would descend into the canyon in front of me. Wanting to live to fly another day I choose to land on the ridge too - just like flying Funston! I think there was a venturi effect created by the canyon in front of me. Perhaps I could have moved through it. Bar to the knees, as I'm dropping my ground speed is minus 4 mph, walking speed backwards. The control bar is two feet off the ground, it leaps out of my hands and slams into the ground. A Wile E Coyote moment later, I land on top of it. Four of us packed up our gliders and walked out. One fellow let himself go over the back at a low altitude and died. I saw him go over, I didn't see what happened after that.
Please can you cite the video you showed in the intro.
Your channel is under rated ! Your videos are great, thanks for those amazing explanations!
Great video, as always. But what's with the panflute music?
Thanks, very helpful.
Yeah, I know that feeling of being blown back. It’s not a nice feeling and the rods and screws in my back is a constant reminder ... I’m still flying though 😜
Nice one Ari!
KYLE!!!! Thanks brotha!!!! Stoked to fly together!
Won't getting the ears in increase your wing loading and help forward penetration. Also would getting on the speed bar after pulling ears help out better?
On some gliders, it might increase your speed, but most gliders it increases your descent rate but INCREASES DRAG. If you're in a venturi situation, you don't want to pull ears, cause going down will only make it worse - you need to go forward and away before going down. And yes, full bar in whatever configuration is advised!
@@AriintheAir Thanks man. Really appreciate the feedback.
Great video!!
Great information...thanks for sharing. 👍
You're welcome Scott! Thanks for watching! What other paragliding subjects are you curious about learning?
@@AriintheAir Launching... I am still nervous about launching. Once I am up and away I am comfortable and confident...but I am still having confidence issues on launch. I am way less nervous jumping out of a plane than launching a glider. Right now I am still doing forwards in 4 - 7 mph winds..not much chance for a blow back in my conditions right now. 😀
@@TheSavacc Dude you got it! Its the most dangerous part, and way too many pilots overlook it! Video coming soon! Thanks for your input
@@AriintheAir Awesome.... looking forward to it (no pun intended).😀👍
There is a lot of detail to be aware of on launch but it makes me over think.
Thank you for your video was a great help
💙🎶🎶🎶🎶
Glad it was helpful!
I like your videos. The music is distracting. Thanks for the tutorials.
I should have watched this before yesterday. I decided to pull big ears and land in a Venturi
Damn! Glad you're alright!!!
@@AriintheAir not bad, but twisted my ankle
I got blown backwards last week. And when I landed I got dragged backwards on the ground on touchdown. All good though!
Ari, I’m afraid you misunderstand the word “Venturi” and the related physics. A Venturi occurs when a gas or fluid is forced through a narrow constriction. The phenomenon of high winds on narrow city streets is an example of the Venturi effect i.e. higher winds and lower pressure.
There is no Venturi on top of a standard ridge where we paragliders fly. That’s simply the compression area (which you depicted as being out in front of the ridge). In your diagrams you should re-name this as the “lift band” and replace the word “Venturi” with “compression area”.
Hope this helps, Dara.
Dara, I agree on your definition of venturi but disagree that it doesn't take place on top of a ridge. Although it seems semantic, it seems that I have Dennis Pagen on my side for this one. Thanks for the sub and I appreciate the discourse!
well the weight of the air above hows the lower air in its position so it acts like the other side of a venturi structure and does cause speeding up of the air at the smallest gap
It's still a venturi; the "undisturbed air" overlying hills creates the other side. Just like an airfoil producing lift creates a low pressure zone on the upper surface and high pressure underneath is due to the venturi effect between the top surface and the undisturbed air above it.
Technically speaking compression zone it is not venturi - but it looks like half one......
We all got it ....
He is absolutely correct!
Like n500. Very helpfull dude!
DON'T try and be aerodynamic, allowing more drag on the pilot will put you slightly behind the glider, making it pitch forward and gain some speed. It helps the speed system.
Do you have any references to this idea? My intuition and experience is that your comment is completely false. If on full speed, you let go of the brakes and fold your arms, tilt your head back and make yourself more aerodynamic, you can gain up to 2km/hr. Its known in racing, I've personally done it, so I'd debunk your claim - BUT, if you have information to the contrary, I'd love to see it.
@@AriintheAir i haven't tried myself. I am very new to paragliding. But I had a discussion about this exact topic with my soaring instructor just a few days prior to watching your video. He has been flying 30+ years. His claim is that being aerodynamic gives you a better glide angle but not speed. He also mentioned witnessing a competition pilot throwing his pod deliberately at a right angle to the gliders direction in order to gain speed.
👏👏👏
Hey, just found your channel, great tips!
I think it's worth mentioning that pointing straight into the wind is most effective when the wind is also straight 90* onto the hill. When it's not, crabbing with some small angle in direction opposite to wind might give some extra penetration and distance from the hill, as described here: skynomad.com/articles/ridge_soaring.htm
Regarding big ears I think there are some situations where one could use them to avoid being blown back (e.g. grassy hill or dune where landing backwards is not a problem) but this is marginal use case, and in most situations one is better off with speedbar / building height / crabbing away / getting aerodynamic.
What do you think?
Anyway, subscribed, good content!
Thank you so much, and I appreciate your thoughtful feedback. I totally agree that in a ridge situation, crabbing with a little crosswind is a great option and I really like that article, thats a great resource. I also agree that big ears is a viable option in some cases, but from the incidents that I've seen, a big problem is people being afraid and wanting down, so they begin to use descent techniques, which I strongly recommend against, cause it'll take you to the venturi! Once out front, big ears it up, all you want!
Thanks again for subscribing! Where are you located and how do you like to fly?
@@AriintheAir Did most of my flights in Spain in coastal setting, now back to flatlands in Poland. Still low airtime pilot (around 30h), but had 2 potential blowback situations. The "I want to be on the ground, quick" effect is a real thing when it happens, and can lead to bad stuff so I totally get why you advocate against descent techniques.
@@stangwara Cool man! Do you guys tow in poland or do you have a mountain to launch off?
Northern part = towing, southern = mountains, so bit of both :)
What happened to guy from beggining? Went on mandatory swimming lessons? 😂
Yeah yeah great talk blablabla... But really, where is the end on the intro video?!?!
Hahahaha! The camera stopped recording! He landed on a rocky beach without incident!
I was there, he did not take anymore collapse. He has able to fly to the closest low tide mark, there was an overhanging tree so he had to stall and flap in on the rocks. He was a little banged up but nothing bad at all. It was very lucky we lost a pilot there last year at the same spot. This is cape lookout, just outside of Tillamook Oregon. I live and fly here as a Cpc club pilot. You can see the site guide at cascadeparaglidingclub.com
On the video the guy doesnt have any safe place to land in front or behind the hill he can reach, so not a safe place to fly.
I have been blown back on a hill with flat ground behind the hill, I used the turn and burn technique, and landed in a full grown corn field. It was Not fun.
Super ;)
wow that a bad place to be. At least there is water...
F*****g miles por hour use the metric sistem already ;P