How to be a better paragliding pilot

Well learning doesn't stop at your paragliding school

Nop, join clubs, hook up with groups of like minded newbies and go and immerse your self in the sport. Watch whatver you can excpet the diaster  clips of course, ground handle on any safe day you can, as those days you keep familiarity with your equipment and get good at the trickest part of flying, take off. 

As you should now know, ground handling promotes understanding and intution between you and your glider, so you feel and predict movement, and don't simply react to what happens.

Make sure you are on the best equipment that you can afford. 

That's not a pitch, modern paragliding equipment is fantastic, old tired paragliding equipment are various shades of what they once were.  New gear , with great porosity, offers the latest tech and designs with good performance and nice intutitive handling. Old doggy wings behave like a slow old dog...enough analagies.

Have some aims

Aim to build hours, flying, ground handling, learn not just your reverse launch but also try different techniques like cobra launching, forward launching for light thermic hillsides in Europe.

Yep, you ideally want to get through the first 25 hours of flying as quick as possible so don't just let the weather happen, start getting to grips on recognising the the windows, I always think synoptic charts are good simple forecast for the week ahead. Then follow up with wind graphs, Know your local flying sites, draw a circle around your available flying sites so you can have a quick reference of where to go, then check your weather forcasting on apps if you’re looking at the right place etc.

Work towards your Pilot rating

Aiming to fly Xc then you'll need your Piloat rating, you would have been sent a list of pilot tasks to get signed off by any availble coach or Instructor. These can be achived on holiday or on the local club sites.

Log your hours

Yep, even write them down if you remember how to, the process of writing up your days flying regardless of how successful it was or not gives just moment of thought as to how it could of gone maybe better or what maybe you learnt along the way , good or bad.

Plan holidays

I know few Brit pilots or European ones for that matter, who don't already plan a seasonal trip in either Spring, Autumn or the midst of winter. Long haul destinations get tricker but liaise with your instructors, if they are running trips or tours then they will deem them suitable for your level., Cp plus or mentor plus style course like we have in Spain. Early trips are sometimes geared to skill levels, You wouldn't want to being flying the Alps in early Spring but you might be worth a visit late Autumn. Again , do the research see, whats popular and ask around your club on good destinations. I sometimes think that with only a week away , just as you start getting to grips with thermalling technique or the local sites you have to head back, then you move to the next spot, yes collecting fridge magnets along the way but sometimes repeated visits bring familiarity to your endeavours to progress.

Network

Liaising with other pilots, coaches and going out on the half days are the only way you get hours and experience the the UK. The half days might seem like marginal days but in truth some will be a waste of time but others will win great rewards.

Do a Siv or Pilotage course

Really, yes when you feel ready for it, when is the right time...sort of depends, if the idea scares the bejesus out of you then leave it a year or so, but as soon as you realise that the more knowledge you have about your glider, how safe it can be , how over piloting and poor decisions tend to leed to problems so the best way is understanding how to pilot your glider better...don't worry one course won't do it, get some confidence pulling some deflations and understand how to build anbd disperse engery in your glider and you'll be on the road to being a better pilot. 

If you are unsure what your next step is , when the right time to upgrade your kit is or where you should go looking for flying or coached courses, then remember your instructor or school will always be there for sound advice.