Bob Drury reviews the Ozone Rush 4 in Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec 2014). We told him to take it out into the rush hour traffic above Chamonix – where he promptly put it through its paces in the alpine sky. Unrolling the Rush 4 you are immediately assured that this baby has all the technology […] …read more
Author: winguu
Flying EN A XC in the Southern French Alps
In Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec 2014) Marcus King takes an EN A paraglider out for a spin in the southern French Alps and flies a mini XC classic, from Col de Bleine to St Andre les Alpes. I worked every piece of lift on the way; if I arrived too low I would miss the […] …read more
Destination: Paragliding and hang gliding in Chile
Almost 4,000km long and snaking between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, Chile is a pilot’s paradise. In Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec) Loreto Hurtado introduces us… A few years ago on a plane flying north a friend looked out of the window and asked me: “Is that real?” Below us was a vast, empty desert. […] …read more
Speeding Points: Learning to Speedride
With winter on the horizon in the Alps in Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec 2014) we take an in-depth look at how to learn to speedride. It’s not as simple as borrowing your mate’s 8m speed wing! Arnaud Baumy is a paragliding and speedriding instructor in Les Arcs. He got into the sport with Francois Bon […] …read more
Jon Chambers: Training for the Red Bull X-Alps
Jon Chambers has competed twice in the Red Bull X-Alps and got to Monaco once – finishing fourth in the 2013 race. In Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec 2014) he explains how any pilot can take the techniques that X-Alps pilots use to train and turn them on themselves. The aim is not to turn us […] …read more
Meteorology: What is cold air advection?
In Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec 2014) Honza Rejmanek answers the question, ‘What is cold air advection?’ As a recreational soaring pilot you probably do not have the luxury of flying any day you fancy. Life has a way of loading on countless obligations and responsibilities. What is quite frustrating is that someone is always trying […] …read more
Icaristics: Brakes and Efficiency
In Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec 2014) former paragliding world champion Bruce Goldsmith looks at how much brake we should fly with. Some pilots fly with a little brake the whole time, whether climbing, gliding or just ridge soaring. There are schools that teach this as the standard technique, because it can provide a level of […] …read more
EN Test updated: Randi Eriksen explains
Changes to the EN flight test for paragliders were announced in April this year, including one that will automatically classify the glider EN D if folding lines are used in the test. In Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec 2014) we sit down with Randi Eriksen from test house Air Turquoise and asked what the changes are, […] …read more
Francois Ragolski: My Line interview
Francois Ragolski is the Acro World Cup Champion and an XC crack – as happy spiralling onto the raft in an acro comp as he is deep-breathing at 6,000m in the Karakoram. The subject of our regular My Line feature in Cross Country 156 (Nov/Dec 2014), he reveals what it takes to fly and perform […] …read more
Fabio Barretto Fava: Naked Pilot 156
Fabio Barretto Fava is the subject of our Naked Pilot interview in Cross Country 156. Describing himself with a laugh as “an ancient acro pilot!” he is, in his own words, “the only transtibia amputee to infinite tumble!” After a wingsuiting accident in 2012 that saw him lose his leg, Fabio is back doing the […] …read more