From analysing your thermalling circle to flying the big stuff, the November issue is out now. Here’s what’s in Cross Country 215.
How tight should you turn? How tight do you turn? How do you turn efficiently? In an incredible piece of number-crunching French flatland maestro Martin Morlet has analysed 100,000 flights to find out. His answer? The best pilots turn the tightest (less than 20 seconds for a full 360), while most of take much longer – 27 seconds. It’s not only about tight turns though – you’ve got to be good! This is genuinely new insight into the art of thermalling, whatever level of pilot you are.
What’s it like to take on an adventure hike-and-fly race as a supporter? Mathilde Chivet just did that, helping France’s Damien Lacaze keep flying and keep hiking throughout this year’s Dolomiti SuperFly.
Photographer Jorge Atramiz asked what is the most important thing to take with you on vol-bivouac adventures both at home and abroad. The answer he came up with is simple: “Take people you trust.” In this extraordinary photo essay of flying in the Rockies and the Himalaya he celebrates the people he trusts as much as the flying he does.
The Gin Calypso (EN B) is a lightweight all-rounder aimed at pilots keen to progress. From early morning hike-and-fly to alpine thermals and XC flying, Charlie King put it through its paces under review.
“Our flying community has near unlimited resources. Use them.” Gavin McClurg was on the ground in Nevada when they were searching for Kiwi Johnston in August. He called the search effort “heroic and mind boggling” and, together with others who were involved, explains what the team learnt out in the desert. “These are the most valuable thing we learnt, things that could impact future search efforts.”
California has seen an unprecedented wildfire season, which has affected thousands of people’s lives and the whole environment. We look at the some of the climate and meteorological reasons why this year has been so bad.
Dan Burton and James Borges headed to Scotland to fly the famous North Coast 500 by paramotor. Over a week of flying wild, remote and rugged places, it became routine to, “land beside a road, assess the weather, then take off again. As they say in Scotland, if you don’t like weather, just wait 10 minutes for it to change!”
Also under review is Apco’s innovative Hybrid tandem. “There are not that many lightweight tandems on the market, and this one is unique,” writes our review pilot. Aimed at hike-and-fly and travel, it’s also certified for paramotoring.
This new unit combines the famously reactive vario with a superb screen. Perfect for pairing with a map on a tablet, we put it through some real-world testing. “This is one of the clearest screens I have ever seen on an instrument,” our pilot says.
The Red Bull X-Alps recently announced its athlete list for the 2021 race, but how do you know when you’re ready to even apply for such a marathon event? In his latest Head Game column Matt Warren talks to hike-and-fly young gun Sepp Inniger about why he didn’t apply for the X-Alps, despite being one of the most up and coming names in the sport. “The physical skills are quite natural for me,” he reveals, “but for me it’s now about motivation. I’m working so my mind is prepared to fly 10 hours. That is the key.”
