Paragliding in the Italian Dolomites
Photo: Felix Wölk
Cross Country Issue 254

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Ready for adventure?

They don’t tell you when you sign up for paragliding school that everything might change. That you might fall in love with the sport, that it might start to direct your life, that it could take you places you never knew existed, that you might end up seeing things and doing things that no one else has. That it might change your life.

When we started to ask pilots for stories about trips that had changed them, as a pilot or person, we tapped into a remarkable seam. We weren’t asking for the highest or furthest or the one where they won something, we were asking for something more personal. 

And boy did they deliver. I shivered when I read Tobi Dimmler’s account of his group’s 2016 trip to Kashmir, and I just felt joy reading Algirdas Mažeika’s mini story of his expedition to Iceland. “This journey not only enriched my life with new experiences but also reminded me that happiness lies in small moments,” he writes. Amen to that.

This issue we have a wide ranging focus on the theme of ‘Adventure’. And that means everything from learning to buddy up to getting to grips with the latest tracking apps to exploring combo flying in the Alps to taking first steps into the mighty Karakoram sky. There really is no limit. 

It’s an inspirational collection of personal stories and hopefully will help inspire you when it comes to making plans for your own next flying trip, whether you stay local or head off to explore horizons far, far away.

Adventure doesn’t only mean one thing, however. Bastienne Wentzel finds out about a unique partnership between paramotor pilots and ecologists in Peru, and Tarquin Cooper looks back at the remarkable life of Bill Moyes, who died aged 92 last year. 

That’s a man who knew about adventure, whether it was taking the first steps towards working out how to ridge soar to flying into the depths of the Grand Canyon a few years later. It’s about unshackling your imagination and letting yourself dream a little.

Wherever you plan to go next, however you want to fly and whatever you want to do, enjoy the adventure – and enjoy this issue.

Ed Ewing, editor

In the Core: People, news and insight

Hugo Hadaš

‘The best bit was flying wing-to-wing at 500K’

Hugo Hadaš becomes the youngest person to fly 500km – and on an EN-C

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Ben Lewis

‘The vario was just screaming’

How Ben Lewis survived being swept to 7,000m in a Himalayan storm

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Bruce Daniels

On launch with Bruce Daniels

Bruce Daniels on mixing up XC and PPG – and the day he flew into his prom

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Linda Willemse

Kilimanjaro calling

Meet Linda Willemse, the go-to fixer for flying in East Africa

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Pants for life

The seat of your pants

From cloudbase to club, Veso Ovcharov’s flying trousers do it all

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Daniel Tyrkas

My flying life: Daniel Tyrkas

“I’m hooked for life, I think.” Daniel Tyrkas is in the hot seat

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Flying IQ: Helping you fly better

Gaggle

Fundamentals: Staying connected with Gaggle

Lawrie Noctor on why the Gaggle app could be a game-changer for groups

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Buddy Up

How To: Buddy-up

We need to look out for each other. Jack Sheard talks to Jocky Sanderson about buddying up

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Puretrack

Q&A: Puretrack 101 with Tim Bromhead

Now there’s a good idea: all the tracking apps, on one map

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Cu Nimb

Weather: The science behind Cu-nims

Honza Rejmanek looks at the science behind embedded cu-nims

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Night gliding

The long game: Chasing the monster

Gavin McClurg gets the tandem ride of his life on a 1,000km wave flight

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Speedmo

Welcome to: Speedmo

Race up, fly down. Jack Sheard gets an insight into the new world of speedmo

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Paramotoring over the Egyptian pyramids

How to: Fly the Egyptian pyramids

Rich Dolan on flying Egypt and its famous Pyramids of Giza

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Features

Flying from the Aiguille Verte, Chamonix

A new puzzle to play

Jake Holland and Fred Souchon tackle a classic Alpine route by paraglider and mountain wing

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Flying in the Italian Dolomites

A trip that changed me

Flying trips can change you in profound ways as a pilot – and also as a person

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Karakoram

The Karakoram, my way

What does it take to fly the Karakoram if you’re not Durogati or Damien Lacaze? Ollie Carr finds out

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Paramotoring

Air to air

Bastienne Wentzel talks to the scientists and pilots involved in a remarkable conservation project in Peru

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Bill Moyes

The original Moyes Boy

Tarquin Cooper looks back on the life and legacy of one of hang gliding’s founding fathers, Bill Moyes

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Kitlist: Design insight

Karabiners for paragliding

The right connection

Ever stopped and looked at your karabiners in flight? Bastienne Wentzel investigates our most critical links

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Supair ALP

Hike-and-fly submarines

Ultralight subs offer cutting-edge performance and design. Przemek Marek learns more

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