Weather

Understanding the weather for paraglider pilots and free flight pilots

Chrigel Maurer performs during the Red Bull X-Alps 2021 at Mont Blanc, France on June 26, 2021

Meteorology: Understanding mountain gap winds

Every pilot knows about the Venturi. But do you know about "gap winds", where the same effect happens on a much larger scale? Here's a serious primer.
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A temperature map for western North America on 29 June 2021, when an all-time high temperature of 49.6C was recorded in Lytton, British Columbia, western Canada. The next day the village was evacuated before it burnt to the ground as a wildfire swept through. Two people were killed. Image: Nasa

Extreme weather? Think ‘compound event’

A succession of record-breaking natural disasters swept the globe in 2021, including floods, heatwaves, drought and wildfires
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How to read the clouds

Seb Benz on how to read the clouds

Seb Benz explains what to look for when looking at cumulus clouds. How can paraglider and hang glider pilots read clouds – and get it right?
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Paragliding-Thermalling-Tips-Jerome-Maupoint

Five tips for flying windy thermals

Learning how to thermal? Keep falling out of them? Here are five things you need to know about flying thermals in the wind.
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Paragliding a quick guide for beginners and new paraglider pilots

Paragliding: A Quick Guide for Beginners

Paragliding: A Quick Guide is a new download from Cross Country Magazine aimed at absolute beginners and new paraglider pilots.
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Ozone McDaddy coastal soaring

Techniques: The art of coastal soaring

There’s more going on at the coast than you might think. Honza Rejmanek kites into the lift at his local cliff to explain
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Getting up close and personal with the clouds. Photo: Jerome Maupoint

Lockdown learning: Backyard Meteorology

Stuck in lockdown, Tarquin Cooper put his time to good use with a free online meteorology course. But was it any good?
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beginners-guide-to-paragliding-2500

Paragliding: The Beginner’s Guide released

Paragliding: The Beginner's Guide has been officially released. It is aimed at new paraglider pilots and those learning to fly
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Flat-topped convergence

When cumulus clouds look odd

A cumulus cloud can give us insight into how the upper portion of a thermal behaves, as the cloud represents a thermal that has reached condensation level
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Mont Blanc

Forecasting Valley Winds

Can you forecast the height of a valley wind? Meteorologist Honja Rejmanek explains valley winds, first published in issue 195
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