Flying Culture

People, places and adventure

Testing paragliders doesn't always mean flying it. Image: Air Turquoise

Video: How paragliders are tested and certified

In this excellent 17-minute film Air Turquoise explain exactly why and how paragliders are tested before they are certified for sale to the public
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Andean condor

Understanding how condors fly

Emily Shepard and her team at Swansea University have been tagging and tracking condors for five years. They have learnt that condors almost never flap in flight
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Icaro 2000 Nerv helmet

How to choose a free-flight helmet

The most important, advanced and technical piece of gear you own is your brain. From beginner to world champion, you have to keep it safe
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Skywalk Range X-Alps 2 harness

How much difference does a pod harness make?

Believe the hype! Wind-tunnel testing shows us a well-adjusted pod harness can significantly increase performance, writes Hugh Miller
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Paragliding World Champions Team GB

Team GB: ‘How we won the World Championships’

A brilliant insight into paragliding competition at the very highest level – and how the British team and Russell Ogden won gold in Argentina
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Watch: Round Britain’s COP26 paramotor edit

Made by Sacha Dench and the late Dan Burton, this film is a unique look at the "Green Revolution" that's happening everywhere right now.
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Paraglide-Kilimanjaro-2500px

From Paraglide Maui to Paraglide Kilimanjaro

When Peter Fay from Paraglide Maui was forced to temporarily close his business earlier he headed to Tanzania to hike-and-fly from Kilimanjaro
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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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Launching at Loma Bola, Argentina. Photo: Julian Cisterna

FAI Paragliding World Championships 2021: Need to know

As the FAI Paragliding World Championships 2021 kicks off in Loma Bola, Argentina, here's what you need to know
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Antoine Girard’s world record flight above Broad Peak

Watch Antoine Girard fly to 8,407m above Broad Peak, setting a new world record in paragliding. Incredible footage from the Karakoram
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