The Paraglider
Gavin McClurg unravels the complicated subject in this very useful article. Also, don’t miss his latest podcast, a great interview with Russ Ogden
Coupe Icare is a truly unique event, perched above an enormous craggy ridge the village of St Hilaire du Touvet is a stunning setting for the World’s largest free-flying festival. Thousands of people descend on the normally sleepy French village filling it with all the colour, noise and excitement you’d expect from a music festival. Unlike most festivals though the activity doesn’t stop at ground level, the air is almost constantly filled with paragliders, hang gliders, sailplanes, sky divers, wingsuiters, balloons, acrobatic aircraft and even at one point Jetman!
With Mark Nicol
South Devon is a beautiful part of the country with a stunning coastline and a wild heart, Dartmoor National Park.
With Anita Hafdís Björnsdóttir
I learned Paragliding in 2007 on a whim, in Iceland, and have not looked back since. In 2009 I sold all my belongings other than my glider and became a travelling paragliding bum. In 2013 I finished my tandem training in South Africa, returned to Iceland, co-founded the first Paragliding company here, and am now a full time Tandem pilot and Paragliding instructor in Iceland.
By Rolfe Oostra
“YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO BIG EARS MATE!!” shouted the instructor down the radio. “What?” whimpered the student being sucked up rapidly to 3000 meters “what the fuck is a big ear??” A big ear procedure involves gathering the outermost cords off your wing and pulling them in towards you; basically reducing the size of your wing by collapsing the outside. The result is that you fall out of the sky pretty rapidly. It’s not the thing you want to be told on your first ever paragliding lesson. “NOTHING ELSE FOR IT MATE, I’LL TALK YOU THROUGH IT” shouted the instructor cheerfully.