Episode 26 Kelly Farina and Mastering Paragliding

Kelly Farina’s “Mastering Paragliding”

In this episode I sit down with former British team pilot and 15 year instructor and Alps guide Kelly Farina to discuss his new comprehensive book on paragliding, “Mastering Paragliding.” This fantastic read is and A to Z encyclopedia of flying. Many concepts were completely new to me- the 4/90 rule, the Golden Rule of thermalling and gliding, lee side warnings, becoming a “natural”, the air mass spectrum and a lot more. As I read the book I kept notes the entire way and tried to pick Kelly’s brain on everything I could to help our audience understand and incorporate his many great ideas and observations into becoming a better pilot. We discussed the following and a lot more: developing a solid “toolbox”; how developing skills is more important and a lot safer than chasing numbers; when and why and the dangers of moving up to a hotter glider; how observation trumps glider performance every time; the three common mistakes of thermalling; the lee side rule; a simple way to understand speed to fly; the importance of flying without instruments; understanding the spectrum of “fizzy to sticky” days and a LOT more. Whether you are a newbie learning how to launch and land to a PWC pilot air Jedi, this talk, and Kelly’s book will uncover some fantastic concepts that you can use. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

To purchase the book go here.

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Show Notes:

Kelly discusses the importance of the “toolbox”
The difference between unconscious competence and luck
The dangers of flying for distance, and why training the basics is so much more important
When to move up to a hotter wing- and when not to. And should we?
“Observation suffers when the pilot flies a too-demanding wing”
The “Golden Rule”
The three most common mistakes of thermalling
The 4/90 rule of thermalling (ie how to turn tighter)
The “definite don’ts” of thermalling
Leeside- what’s too much?
Speed to fly- a simple rule of thumb
Flying without instruments- the “Natural”. Are thermal mapping widgets good to use?
The Air Mass Spectrum- from Volatile to Stubborn and why it’s important
A warning of Foehn
Advice to the 50 hour pilot- take your time!
Mentioned in this episode: Bill Belcourt, Russ Ogden, Nate Scales, Nick Greece, Bruce Marks, Matty Senior, Thomas Walder, Cross Country Magazine, XCTracer