How to: Get a Flying Start

Do you nail your launches every time? Felix Wölk has some top tips to help make every take-off a perfect one

Learning to control your glider on the ground and all the way through the launch phase will give you huge confidence. But it’s not something many of us focus on, and in fact lots of us are pretty poor at it. In the worst-case scenario it means you can miss out on a great day’s flying because you can’t manage your wing in the conditions on the day, or you might even injure yourself or others. Fortunately, good launch technique, whatever the conditions or situation, can be learnt. Here are some key pointers on how to do just that.

1. Change your centre of gravity

One of the simplest ways to give yourself more control over your glider while you are on the ground is to get into the habit of bending your knees during groundhandling and reverse take-off. This allows you to use your bodyweight better via the harness. 

You can quickly load or unload the wing by moving your centre of gravity up or down. In turn, this allows you to react flexibly to rapid changes in lift caused by different wind forces. 

For example, in a gust, stretch your legs and take the pressure off...