Paragliding training videos
These videos include both PG and PPG. Go to my YouTube site for many more videos of both PG and PPG.
A. Landing
Perfect landing by a student pilot (PG)
Landing properly (PPG) – The pilot lands flying a reflex glider. Always watch the hands. If a pilot flares too early he will always have a rough landing! If he flares too late or not at all, he will have to run more/faster but his landing will not be hard. This is the hardest concept for new pilots to understand.
Landing with obstacles – If you are coming in for a landing and there are small trees or other types of vegetation in the way, you can use your feet and hands to kick or push them out of the way. Here is an example of the "corn dance".
B. Launching
Perfect launch – a student pilot demonstrates a perfect PG launch in light winds
Cravat at Launch – Why pilots always must check their gliders BEFORE committing to launch.
Failed launch – An example of a failed launch by a pilot who lacked basic wing handling skills. It is exceedingly dangerous to attempt a launch from an advanced site, like Dry Canyon, if a pilot is unable to control his glider on the ground. He was fortunate he was not injured or killed.
Failed PPG launches – After a number of tries, the student pilot gets it right. Includes his landing.
Good launch I – What a safe and controlled launch should look like.
Good launch II – Control of the glider is critical when conditions are turbulent at launch. Want to be an expert pilot? Become an expert kiter.
Launches by various pilots in slow motion – Watch the hands!
Launch from tow by a student
Launch from tow even when the pilot falls. If the glider is flying properly it may be safer to continue, as here.
Launching with hands everywhere
Launching without having the glider under control – It is not safe to turn and go before you are certain the glider is stable and free of tangles/cravats. Conditions were moderate with weak thermals. The pilot was fortunate that the site was easy. A cliff launch with a gust could have sent him into the rocks. The same pilot and another had some much better launches.
Launching with too much or too little brake from a mountain site – New pilots need to kite as much as possible in order to be able to fly "blind". That is, to be able to control their glider and know its location without looking at. When a pilot's brain gets overloaded (as here) he tends to make more mistakes. Anapra Mesa is a good place to make these kinds of mistakes while learning how to ridge soar.
The good, the bad, and the ugly – PG and HG Launches from Pico in Roldanillo, Colombia. My flying buddy and I just sat on the ground and wondered who would crash and who would make it away from launch?
Tow training at the Evergreen Turf farms in Santa Teresa, NM – Note that a lot of running is involved. One pilot, his first tow, sits down. Another pilot cannot get the glider up evenly on a number of tows but, near the end of the day starts to get the required control. Depending on the pilot's skill level, we adjust the tows to increase complexity at launch. Translated: If the pilot gets one thing down, we add another...and another....
C. Accidents
Joe Parr's accident – Important Note: this YouTube has now been withdrawn, unfortunately. There is a new YouTube in its place that has an analysis that is not accurate, bad-mouths the general flying conditions of Valle de Bravo Mexico, and removes the culpability of the instructor that permitted Joe to launch in the first place. I have flown safely at VB for many years. If you want strong conditions, go late in the season, if you want modest conditions go early e.g., November. Launch early in the day and land before noon for a great introduction to mountain flying. The "Hey! Look at this!" attitude of the new YouTube of the accident is unfortunate. There is nothing in the new video that accurately analyses the accident except, "Don't fly at VB!" if you want to live. In any case, VB is not a P2 site.
Joe Parr's famous tip stall, spin, spiral dive, reserve deployment, and tree landing in Valle de Bravo, Mexico 2005. He made at least (10) major errors as a pilot. See if you can find them. (Here is a complete analysis of the mishap by Had Robinson.) We appreciate Joe making this superb teaching aid available to the world. His instructor was there ! What in the world was he thinking having a new pilot flying in advanced conditions? If anything serious had happened, the instructor – whoever it was – would have been to blame.
Near accident – Poor launch and kiting skills nearly sends this pilot into the trees. What was he doing in Valle de Bravo? Why do so many instructors allow people who are hardly a P2 to fly this very thermic site which is, often enough, deadly? Where do new pilots get the "twitch launch"? "Jerk your wing around and up she goes!" Maybe...
Near collision – These two pilots are pros but did NOT check the launch area to see if it was clear before takeoff! Almost a tragedy. If these pilots had attended our school, they would have learned not to do this.
Yo-Yo ride – Why pilots need to be careful and launch in the proper conditions – it can be a yo-yo ride.
D. General
Reserve deployment I – Here is a very smooth deployment of a reserve – the way it should happen. The pilot lets go of the deployment bag and stalls the wing so it will not down-plane and increase his descent rate. However, he would have had a slower descent rate if he had used a B-line stall rather than pull the brakes.
Reserve deployment II – An actual reserve deployment at an SIV clinic. The pilot was doing acrobatics that went awry. Note how long it takes for the reserve to inflate – a result of poor packing or lack of force in the deployment.
Energy – Expert test pilot and flight instructor Bob Hoover on converting energy from plenty of airspeed into maneuverability. Both PG & PPG pilots need to practice exactly what he does (minus the loops and rolls). Coming in for a landing with plenty of energy is good. "The only thing an airplane recognizes is airspeed." Pouring iced tea while doing a roll.
Side hill landing – How to do a side hill landing
Good kiting skills – Kiting at Kilbourne Hole maar. The pilot stays directly beneath the wing at all times by using the brakes. The better a pilot gets at kiting, the less he has to work keeping himself under the wing. Note his bent knees.
