XC131: the latest issue of Cross Country magazine
The latest issue of Cross Country magazine ‘XC131: the mountain issue’ has just gone to print. As you can guess from the title we’ve focused the Sept/Oct 2010 issue of Cross Country magazine on mountain flying.
Accompanying XC131 is a FREE A2 colour poster that explains how valley winds work.
The 84-page glossy colour extravaganza kicks off with a six-page gallery dedicated to mountain flying, with contributions from the legendary lenses of Maupoint, Scheel and Busslinger.
With your appetite thoroughly wetted towards adventures in the big stuff, flick onwards to ‘Mountain Flying’, the first main feature of the issue. Cross Country’s outgoing editor Bob Drury gathers some of the best names in the sport to create an eight-page focus on how to fly the mountains. With special attention given to understanding those mysterious beasts the valley winds, it’s a must-read for anyone serious about flying in mountainous terrain.
Staying on topic, ex-paragliding world champion Bruce Goldsmith looks at some of the techniques he’s used over the years to bring him his world title and three British Championships, when he explains how to race in the mountains.
XC Files, Cross Country magazine’s tuitional section, looks at the effect of a wind gradient, the performance gains of pod harnesses, and long-time hang gliding weather expert Denis Pagen challenges our resident meteo columnist Honza Rejmanek on his explanation of dust devils last issue.
As well as a look at the safety of 2 mm sidewires on their wings, hang glider pilots also get a closer look at the goings on in the European championships, then get closer still with the new European champion Gerolf Heinrichs.
If thrills are your thing then be prepared to be overdosed when you read the firsthand account of Cross Country magazine’s resident acro columnist Pal Takats’ experiences of learning to Infinite Tumble a tandem with Gabor Kezi. The bit where the glider explodes and they plummet into freefall will make you shiver; the onboard images of it happening are amazing!
And there’s more…
Find out what the test team thought when they took the Ozone Delta and ITV Awak Tandem for a spin. Read about the 312 km flight and the PG pre-worlds in Spain’s Piedrahita, the latest from the PWC, the El Yelmo festival, iPhone apps for flying and the sad discovery of Russian Alexey Ashurov, the pilot who disappeared in Bir, India last Autumn.
XC131 is available in paper or digital format as part of a yearly subscription or as an individual issue.
