The Paraglider Podcast

Kinga Masztalerz is a Polish pilot who spends half her year in New Zealand and the other in Europe, chasing an eternal summer. She is one of the very, very few women to undertake big solo vol biv trips and has crossed the Southern Alps in New Zealand and the Dolomites in Italy on her own. A hard-core climber, she is physically and mentally very strong and has the fitness and determination to complete these trips. She has just been selected to compete in the 2019 X-Alps - one of only six women ever to get a place. Here she talks about her adventures and motivation. To see her beautiful movies go to her youtube channel.

Our latest podcast with Matt Senior and Jesse Williams is on dust devils. The Scientific American describes dust devils as small, rotating columns of air that we can see because of the dust and debris they pick up from the ground, resulting from a mini-weather system that occurs when one piece of ground heats up faster than the ground surrounding it on a hot, calm, dry day. They are also defined as heated thermal sources that should have been triggered but have become super heated, so that when they do release they do so with a surprising vehemence. Extremely dangerous near the ground, expert pilots do use them in competitions and during cross-country flying. In this podcast we talk about the dangers, safety, some tips and just how beautiful they are.

Greg Hamerton is well known as the Paragliding Evangelist at Flybubble UK. His videos and articles on techniques, safety and adventures are a fountain of knowledge and entertainment. Greg was a competitor in the 2016 X-pyr and here he shares some insights into the 2018 route and some tactics that the competitors might employ. There is a condensed video version of this podcast where you can follow the route on Google Earth. You can see this at X-Pyr 2018

Simon Blake is a pilot from the north-west of England. Having learnt to fly paragliders, he was very diligent about noting down his flights and what he learnt from them. A few years ago he put his collected experience into a book called Prepare to Fly, with the very apt subtitle Paragliding tips I wish Id learned sooner. If you havent read it yet, its a goldmine of information for both new and old pilots. This is the authoritative guide to what you can do - in every aspect of your flying - to prepare in advance. He covers everything from packing before the next flight, equipment use, weather knowledge, flight planning, competitions, cross-country, accident management, etc. Everything you can possibly prepare for so that you can decrease your mental load and concentrate on the important things - enjoyment of flight, safety or results. Simons book covers it all!

The X-Pyr started in 2012 with just a dozen competitors. The first edition was 438km from Hondaribia on the Altantic coast to Port de la Selva on the Mediterranean. The biannual race flourished from there, with top hike and fly competitors from all over the world now coming to compete in the race. Having been an X-Alps supporter twice, Jesse Williams competed in the 2016 X-Pyr. Jesse did exceptionally well in the race... his first ever hike and fly comp and he came 5th! Beaten only by Maurer, Mayer, Durogati and Arevalo. He battled injury, but continued until the last minute. He gained a place in the X-Alps as a result and comported himself very well there too. Jesse is back for the 2018 X-pyr, with a lot more experience and a new supporter. After endless, minute preparation last time, including making his own rucksack and having loads of kit, Jesse is taking a different approach. Here he talks me though some of his thoughts on this years preparation and race, the differences between the Pyrenees and the Alps, this years route and how he hopes to make it more relaxed and fun! Please support him in his 2018 race.

British acro pilots Lee Tryhorn, Alex Colbeck and Jack Pimblett set up the British Acro Paragliding Academy to promote the discipline and help pilots to progress in an organised, safe way. The BAPA aims to get British acro to the highest level.

Every pilot has had a site briefing and most have provided one, but there is a dearth of guidance on how to effectively do one. In this podcast Judith Mole mulls over some of the critical information that should be given, how to give it and what not to do! Listening is key for the briefer, as is asking the right questions of the new pilot. Each briefing will be different, but this podcast aims to help those coaching and briefing new(er) or visiting pilots to do this in an effective way, keeping the pilot safe and our sites secure.

Originally from the Isle of Wight, Lawrie lives and flies in the Peak District. A member of a flying family (his dad, uncle and cousin all fly), he was connected to flying from a young age. He was an instructor at Airways Airports for many years, but having a proper job now means he can only get out to fly for pleasure these days. Having won the British Paragliding Cup in 2014, hes really got into comps and recently broke the UK declared tandem record with fellow young hotshot Theo Warden. He is sponsored by Cross-Country magazine. In this podcast Lawrie answers questions on the secret of his flying success, which flying site/area is top of his flying bucket list and which flying-related book he would recommend most.

Juan Sebastian Ospina, commonly known as Sebas, was born in Colombia, has lived for many years in England and now lives and works as a tandem pilot in Switzerland. A member of the UK national team, he is a multiple record-holder in a variety of countries. He holds the Colombian distance record, the UK declared triangle record and is the British pilot to have flown the greatest distance abroad with a flight of 400km in Quixada, Brazil. Sebas answered questions on whom he most admires in the sport, what makes a good pilot and if he could have a wild card entry into any comp, which one would it be? This podcast was recorded in March 2016, shortly after he broke the Colombian distance record. Sebas will be competing in the world championships in 2017. We wish him good luck.

Tim Pentreath is an Advance UK XC Team pilot from Bath. He has been flying for many, many years and last year finally made his first 200+ km flight in the UK - joining a small, select group of people to have achieved this. He is Mr. Advance in the SW and also keeps and informative and entertaining flying blog at https://flyaszent.wordpress.com/ In this podcast he answers questions on whether he does mental training for paragliding, his fantasy retrieve and if he could fly over any impressive building which would it be? Enjoy.

Dara is an Irish pilot from Dublin who describes himself as a weekend pilot rather than a Sky-God. As he approaches 70, his ambition is to fly 50km sometime soon. He is the former chairman of the Irish Hang-Gliding and Paragliding Association and a keen aerial photographer, so much so that his photos were used twice as inside covers in SkyWings in 2016. Dara answered questions on whom he admires most in flying,if hes ever dropped something in flight and what has changed over the years since he started in the early 1990s.

Kussy is originally from Venezuela but has lived and flown in New Zealand for many years. A skydiver and competition pilot, she nevertheless likes to do her own thing. In this podcast she answers questions on her all time PG hero, the biggest risk she has taken in flying and the most bizzare sight that she has seen on landing.

Malin is a pilot originally from the SW of England. He flies speed wings, paragliders and paramotors. A keen competition pilot, he has been instrumental in organising the British Paragliding Racing Academy , which aims to train up-and-coming British comp pilots. His ambition is to become an SIV instructor and to move abroad to somewhere warmer. For this podcast we asked him whether he had a lucky charm/mascot when flying, which superhero he most resembles and in three words, how he would describe his flying style.

Rhona Carrigan is a Pennine Club pilot and member of the Pennine Posse. In this podcast she answers questions on what she would change her vario tune to, whats the most frustrating thing about paragliding and how long she had been flying before she considered herself to be a proper pilot?

Bob Moore lives and flies in the south-west of the UK. He has flown in various areas of Europe and Australia. He is retired but keeps busy with his video camera reviews which you can see on youtube here. He mentions a guiding outfit in Greoliers at the end of the podcast. More info on them here. In this podcast he answers questions on the strongest thermal he has been in, how important attitude is and the most consistent flying area in the world.

Gavin Jillings runs Rose Valley Lodge in Sopot, Bulgaria. He was so taken with the place that he and his wife Lucy packed up and shipped out from Belfast to live the dream of being paragliding/motorcycling guides and restauranteurs. Gavin is a qualified BHPA instructor and runs BHPA accredited EP/CP courses in Sopot. You can see more about him and his business at http://www.rosevalleylodge.net/ He is also the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Associations Facebook admin. In this podcast Gavin answers questions on his most vivid flying dream, his favourite thing to do on a rainy day and his most scary flying experience.

Many of us travel to far-flung places to appreciate the amazing scenery, cheap drinks, food and accommodation and better flying weather than we can find at home. We are treated hospitably and are often helped by locals when we land out or are involved in an incident. So can we give something back to the communities we fly in, whether that is at home or abroad? For example, should we give to begging kids or child glider packers? Is there a sustainable way to make a difference? This podcast tells the story of the Cloudbase Foundation, KarmaFlights work in Nepal and their amazing response to the devastating earthquake, whether you should pay packing kids and how you can make a difference to the communities you fly in.

Greg Hamerton is a South African pilot who lives and flies in the UK. He is the chief paragliding evangelist for Flybubble, a job he describes as perfect. And you can see why, he lives, dreams and breathes flying and all he has to do is enthuse others with the same passion. His videos are excellent and contribute much to the learning and safety of thousands of pilots. Greg likes a bit of adventure and came a very credible 8th in his first Bornes to Fly in 2016. He is the only UK competitor in the 2016 X-Pyr race, in which he will race the entire length of the mountain range from the Atlantic to the Med, by flying and hiking. He be supported by James Hope-Lang. Greg elected not to know his ten random questions in advance and we did have a good giggle during the recording. Enjoy.

Ollie Chitty is a hang gliding instructor, competition pilot and British hang gliding record holder. A young pilot, he comes from a flying family and acted as ballast for his dad Nick Chitty for years. A rising star of the UK hang gliding scene, he answered questions about whether he ever tried any DIY flying when he was a kid; how he has changed as a pilot over the years and the most ridiculous thing a non-flyer has ever said to him about hang gliding.

Andrew Craig is a pilot from the south of England (originally from London), but now lives in Wiltshire for the better flying opportunities. A former journalist, he is one of the moderators of PG forum and a Mastermind contender. We asked him ten random questions on topics like whats the most radical manoeuvre he has done, how he celebrated his greatest success in flying so far and whether he would you fly naked if it was for charity. Find out the whole naked truth here...

Ten Random Questions for Mark Meadows, organiser of Parafest. He is a keen paramotor and paraglider pilot who puts flying way before work. In this podcast he talks about his inspiration for the Parafest event and answers random flying-related questions on his proudest flying moment or achievement, what his parents think about his flying and whether he was an instructors dream or nightmare.

In our continuing series of fortnightly podcasts called Ten Random Questions for... we have come up with 250 flying-related questions and put them into a random question generator. This weeks guest is Viv Fouracre, well known in the south west of England and a long time committee member of the British Paragliding Cup. She answered questions on diverse topics like whether she has ever had a cravat, whether she has ever exaggerated her flying exploits to non-pilots and how low her lowest low save has been. Enjoy!

In the second podcast on flying and motherhood I speak to Ruth Churchill-Dower and Judy Leden from the UK, Heidi Insam from Italy and Elli Torro from Finland about being a flying mother, childcare arrangements and flying with your kids. If you have not already done so, you can download the Flying when Pregnant podcast from the podcast page on this site.

The latest in our series of fortnightly podcasts called Ten Random Questions for... is with Tim-Patrick Meyer from Germany. He learnt to fly in Chile and has since competed in various events, including a pre-PWC where he succeeded in getting onto the podium in the sports class. At the Paraglider have come up with 250 flying-related questions and put them into a random question generator. Tim-Particks questions included queries about his flying dreams, a flight that still makes him smile and whether he would fly without a parachute?

In this podcast I talk to Ruth Churchill-Dower and Judy Leden from the UK, Heidi Insam from Italy and Elli Torro from Finland. This podcast is one of two about paragliding and motherhood. Many women give up the sport when they become mothers. This may be due to a greater perceived risk, a greater feeling of responsibility or because of lack of sleep and time. For these two podcasts I have spoken to Elli, Heidi, Judy and Ruth, all of whom decided not to give up. All flew during their pregnancy and have continued to fly, compete, work as tandem pilots and instructors as their children have grown up. In this first podcast I will look at flying and pregnancy and in the second we will discuss motherhood, child care arrangements, responsibility and taking your kids with you to fly.

At The Paraglider we have started a new series of fortnightly podcasts called Ten Random Questions for... We have come up with 250 flying-related questions and put them into a random question generator. We then interviewed a number of pilots and this weeks guest is Matthew Tandy, organiser of the Advance British Clubs Challenge. He has been flying since 1993 and is a professional helicopter pilot for the Royal Air Force. His questions included where was the most unusual place hes had a flying related bruise, whether hes ever missed an important event to go flying or XC and whether he has ever shouted at someone in the air. Enjoy!

Our latest series of podcasts is called Ten Random Questions for... We have come up with 250 flying-related questions and have fed these into a random question generator. Each fortnight we interview a pilot using ten randomly selected questions. The results are interesting, educational, insightful and sometimes hilarious. No two sets of questions are ever the same. We start our series with Lee Tryhorn, proprietor of the Free Flight Academy, a paragliding school and guiding service which operates all over the world. Lee is a keen acro pilot and he has some interesting tales to tell!

In this podcast Judith Mole examines how we make decisions, what influences our decision making process and looks at ways we can make better decisions. Drawing on research from economics, psychology and neuroscience, she explains how the brain works and applies good general practice to a flying context and gives you some tools to try to help you make good decisions when it comes to being on launch and deciding whether to take off or not.

John Hovey is an experienced first aid trainer and expedition leader with the with the National Outdoor Leadership School (www.nols.edu). This podcast looks at what to do in the event of an accident. It covers liability, taking charge, moving a casualty, emergency procedures, kit to carry etc. This podcast could help you feel prepared if you have the misfortune to witness, or be involved in, an accident.

Gavin McClurg is a professional adventurer. As well as circumnavigating the world by boat, he used to be in the US ski team, is an accomplished white-water kayaker and he currently holds the North American foot launch distance record (387 km), set from his home town of Sun Valley to near Helena, Montana. In summer 2014, Gavin and Will Gadd, himself a flying, climbing and ice climbing legend, set out to complete a 700 km traverse of the Canadian Rockies and fly to the US border and into the record books - they did the distance flying, without any hiking. The aim was to make forward progress only when they were in the air. The project was filmed and sponsored by Reel Water Productions and Red Bull and is released as The Rockies Traverse. The Canadian Rockies are remote and there are few landing opportunities, which made the flying both exciting and dangerous. Added to that, Will and Gavin had never met before commencing the adventure. As a result of this amazing trip, Gavin and Will were nominated for the prestigious National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Award. In this podcast, Gavin gives me the background to the journey and lets me have an insight into the planning and execution of this remarkable adventure.

Kathleen Rigg is an extremely accomplished hang glider pilot based in Derbyshire, England. She has flown at the top level of the Womens World Hang Gliding Championships for years, has been the British Womens Champion numerous times and has been awarded the Royal Aero Club Individual Gold Award. With the number of hang gliders declining in recent years, paraglider pilots are getting less opportunity to fly with hang gliders and are therefore often unaware of their flying, launch and landing characteristics, difference in speed, etc. This lack of understanding had sometimes inadvertently caused problems for hang glider pilots and lead to friction between the two communities. In this podcast Kathleen explains some of the issues about sharing the sky from the hang glider perspective and talks about what we can all do to make things easier for everyone - and that includes paraglider pilots as well!

Ziad Bassil (Dust of the Universe) is passionate about testing gliders. He has flown a staggering number of them over the past 20 years. With his friends, he flies the mountains of his native Lebanon and makes glide angle comparison tests in moving air and writes up his reviews on his blog at www.dustoftheuniverse.com. He is completely independent and is not aligned to any company or brand. In this podcast we talk about what he does and he offers useful advice for other pilots on testing gliders and how to choose the wing for you!

Phil Colbert and Barney Woodhead (Niviuk UK) are part of the Pennine Posse - a lose gaggle of pilots who fly and party together. Their strategy of sharing info, planning flights, travelling and flying together and then helping each other with retrieves has made them one of the most successful flying buddy groups in the country. And it works - the Peninne Club have won the UK XC league every year since 2011. In this podcast Barney and Phil talk about their philosophy, the secret of their success, the tools they use and how good sharing useful info can be. And anyone is welcome to join them... just contact them or tune into Barney FM (143.95 Long wave). Apologies for some of the sound quality in this podcast, but the content definitely makes up for this. Warning: best not to listen to this one with small kids around.

Heike Hamann learned to fly in 1992 and recently completed a Masters in Process Oriented Psychology. After a few paragliding incidents she developed a fear of being high and as part of her thesis she started to examine her fears and thought about how she could tackle them. The result is an article called The Seven Steps of Fear Management in Paragliding. The article can be read here. In this podcast she talks about how she came to develop the seven steps, how to use them to control your own fear and what practical things you can do when you feel anxious. This will hopefully lead to you getting more enjoyment out of your flying and improve your performance. Heike offers one-on-one coaching for people who are dealing with fear in paragliding. The coaching normally lasts for a series of 4-5 sessions, each 60-90 minutes in length. If you would like to connect with her about receiving some coaching, or if you have any questions or comments about the article, please contact her at heikehamann@gmail.com

Tim ONeill started flying 44 years ago in sailplanes and has been hooked on aviation ever since. He began flying paragliders in 2002 and has been an avid XC pilot for the last 9 years. He makes his living flying 747s for a US airline, but spends much his home time assessing whether the day is flyable or not... His interest in the safety aspect of our sport is based on his 26,000 hours of accident-free experience in civilian aviation, coupled with his occasional bouts with injury and over-enthusiasm in paragliding. If you want to see more about him and his flying adventures you can view his blog here: www.timospgblog.com Tim loves to have fun and in this podcast he talks about his personal attitude to safety, communication, attitudes to risk and how to balance having a great time while trying to stay safe...

Jug Aggarwal, Matt Beechinor, Alan Ford and Iain Frew. When you land out, you often find yourself in somewhat bizarre places, as is proved in this collection of funny retrieve and landing stories. In this podcast you will hear about why going cross-country can be the best adventure youll ever have; one of the coolest ways of getting back home ever, running from bulls and why to avoid yellow trucks in Oregon. Whether you fly XC or not, we hope you find this new series of paragliding anecdotes entertaining. If you know someone with a good story (or you have one yourself) please contact us at judith@theparaglider.com

Jugdeep Aggarwal (Flymaster USA) - there are many formats for competitions. Larger international competitions usually run over one to two weeks. Smaller, national or local competitions have the luxury of being more flexible, since competitors dont have to travel quite so far to attend. The North California League uses a completely flexible approach and has been going from strength to strength since it was first founded over a decade ago. Jugdeep Aggarwal is in charge of the organisation of the competition series. He has been working on reducing the infrastructure required to run the competition and this has several advantages. Jug calls the league Cross-country flying with a mission!. The league isnt just about having a competition - it provides a valuable mechanism for building and consolidating the paragliding community, providing an opportunity to meet and fly cross country collectively in a safe way, with retrieves provided. This podcast is aimed at potential competition organisers and anyone with an interest in comps at a local/national level (depending on how big your country is).

Timothy Bishop - in this podcast Tim and I discuss safety, including human factors, attitude and how we can improve paragliding safety culture. Tim comes from a military and civil aviation background and the discussion is informed by this knowledge of flight safety training. In the podcast he mentions his home-made paragliding flight simulator, pictures of which can be seen here and here.

Her-Hsin Tsai - as well as being a keen XC flyer, Hamish (as he is better known in the paragliding community) lives and flies at the coast. In this podcast he discusses a wide range of aspects of coastal flying, including weather, hazards, coastal XCs, sea breezes, convergence, sea thermals and more. It makes valuable listening for people both familiar and unfamiliar with this flying environment.

Steve Nash (Nova) and Dean Crosby (Active Edge) - in August/September 2012 Steve and Dean set out to cross the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean by foot and flying. They did the trip completely unsupported so they had to carry everything they needed - gliders, shelter, food, clothes, etc. This podcast is a discussion between them on preparation, what kit worked and what didnt, foot care and loads of other useful advice for anyone wishing to undertake fly hiking. A second podcast all about their trip is also available. A full kit list is available from their blog .

Kirsty Cameron - on the 13th of May 2012 Kirsty flew a massive straight line flight of 233km from Milk Hill in Wiltshire to the flats of Norfolk. This is the second longest flight in the UK ever and only the third over 200km long. In this podcast she describes the flight and how to negotiate the extensive airspace she had to cross, as well as providing loads of good tips for aspiring long distance fliers. Click here to see her tracklog.

Jorg Ewald - this podcast is about scoring formulas and how they work. It is not aimed at scorers, but competition pilots so they can know more about how tasks and competitions work and why some days are high scoring and others are worth little. It also tells you about what questions to ask, and how knowing a little about this topic can help you prepare better for your whole comp. There is also a very detailed, 18 page, written explanation of the GAP scoring formula available from the FAI: GapGuide-2011-v1.pdf (written in Feb 2011).

Steve Ham (flyPiedrahita) should need little introduction. He is a multiple record holder, former British champion and long term national team member. Since he discovered Piedrahita he has been a pioneer in the area and is now a legendary guide. This podcast is about flying in flatlands, but also includes invaluable information for anyone wishing to go to the flying mecca of Piedrahita.

Richard Carter - the big UK XC ambition of 2011 was to break the 200km mark on a paraglider. Richard bypassed this distance on the 9th of August with a flight of 253.4km from Derbyshire to Essex. Here he describes this flight and other record breaking flights hes done in the past.

Steve Hudson (Derbyshire Flying Centre) - wave is a fairly common weather condition in the UK and can provide excellent and exhilarating flying, but it can also be scary if you dont know how it works. While hang gliders have a lot of knowledge and experience of it, many paraglider pilots are unsure of flying in wave. In this podcast, Steve aims to explain how to assess conditions, get down, fly safe and have fun!

Kai Coleman - after achieving huge open-distance XC flights in the UK, Kai started turning his attention to triangle flying and has done so successfully for the last few years. In this podcast, Kai talks about his experience of flying triangles and gives some advice on planning, GPS use and just going for it! See Kais triangle flight from the Wrekin and Graham Steels flight from XClent.

Judith Mole - in this podcast I talk about some of the strategies I have used to become a better pilot in a structured way over the last eighteen months. You can also read Dave Thomas article to see how he became a better XC pilot by reading it here (right-click to download).

Dave Thomas has been flying various aircraft since 1979 and has a huge amount of XC experience. He excels on blue thermal days and in this podcast he explains how they work and how to make the most of them. He uses a flight at the Malverns to illustrate his points. If you would like to see the terrain he describes, you can view Daves tracklog and Judiths tracklog from the day in Google Earth.

Martin Dockerill, Wendy Griffiths and Simon Twiss - in this podcast Martin, Wendy and Simon talk about why they decided to enter the competition, what they learned, and they also provide some tips for others thinking of entering for the first time. Please note: there is no longer a stipulation to have the Advance Pilot licence to enter the British Nationals. Nowadays a Pilot licence is sufficient.

Kelly Farina (Austrian Arena). This podcast doesnt explain what a thermal is or how to find one, but it explains the common mistakes people make and how to rectify them. It is aimed at people experienced in thermalling, who want to improve their technique. [Excuse the quality of this podcast - it was recorded remotely, but the content makes up for the poor audio!]

David Thomson (Border Crossings). If you think winter flying is the same as summer flying just colder, think again. There are lots of differences (meteorological, how the wind works, assessing conditions, etc.), which change the way we fly in the winter months. In this podcast David talks through his observations over the last 15 years.