18: Advanced Maneuvers

Various maneuvers help us lose altitude, change flight path, practice skill enhancement, look good in demonstrations, and others. The more extreme variations are risky beyond appearances and should be learned only special courses taught by highly competent coaches. Survival suggests doing them over water with appropriate flotation and other precautions.

Our gliders can mis-behave wildly if sufficiently provoked, and handling what nature doles out can be worse than pilot-induced tomfoolery—either way you can get wrapped up in your wing. That can happen even with coaching but is less likely. Still, do it over water.

Techniques change with technology. What you read here or in the PPG bible or even in a maneuvers clinic may become dated as knowledge and gear improves. The techniques recommended by experienced maneuvers coaches differ slightly, too. It’s not a hard, cold science despite what some would lead you to believe.

Doing steep turns, intentional wing deformations or other steep maneuvering should never be just tried without first attending a maneuvers clinic. Doing so means you willingly take an enormous risk.


Tragedy: Wingover Fatality

Fatalities | Steep Maneuvering Risk Article | Condolences to the family and friends of a fallen pilot. For the third time this year, a paramotorist has died doing steep maneuvering, making paramotoring as risky as paragliding. This reminds me of the effect speedflying...

Going to a Maneuvers Clinic (SIV)

Powered Paragliding Pilots “throw down.” In February of this year, while synchro spiraling with Phil Russman, I flew through his wake—a wake strengthened by the 2 G’s we were pulling. My wing surged below me and took a minor collapse. Even though I...

Maneuvers Clinic On a MacPara Spice 22

I finally did it and took the MacPara Spice 22 (see Review) paraglider through a maneuvers clinic put on by Chris Santacroce. Probably the most important bit to know is how dangerous this stuff is outside of a well-run over water clinic. My guts were nearly handed to...