a new (?) PG magazine - free

 

find it here

also in IT, FR

Merry XMas & Happy New Year!

Many thanks to all the regular (or occasional) readers of my blog for your continued interest in my (not really relevant) flying adventures.

I wish you, your relatives and friends a very happy, healthy and successful coming year!

May the weather be better and more stable to permit us all many great and safe flights (and thus more stories to tell).

Brgds
Taggi

Google Glass: App for paragliding

I admit, that I'm not really 'pro' google glass in daily life; but in paragliding it could make me change my mind if you look at the pontential of the app develloped at the ZHAW in Switzerland.
Especially if they would not only show cables and other obstacles, but also airspace...

Flying in a garden chair (sorry - in italian only)

Here you can find the story of Larry Walters, who fullfilled his dream of flying by attaching ballons to a garden chair - beautifully told (in Italian) by my friend Marco, who is currently cruising around the world. (If you are able to read Italian, his blog is a source of inspiration and knowledge.)

AIR14 - the pilot's view

This summer a big air show (called AIR14) was held at Payerne. A SWISS A330 also participated; here is the video (in case it's not working properly), which shows the view from the cockpit of the A330.

 

Adventurers of the year: traversing North America’s most rugged wilderness with paragliders (article in National Geographic)

all pictures © National Geographic !

Read here:   

Adventurers of the year (article in National Geographic Magazine)

Santa Elisabetta (Belice)

Yesterday (for the first time this year) I met my Italian friend Ennio. Actually we had wanted to fly in Piossasco, but as the shuttle was not operating there, he took me to a site called 'Santa Elisabetta' (a little NW of Torino, Piemonte, Italy). We met (Pier)Andrea (Patrucco) the local 'No.1' in this region.

Ennio, Andrea

Unfortunately the sky was much more cloudy than predicted, because it would have needed only a little sun to make the thermals strong enough to be able to stay up.
But I could clearly see that this site (even from this lower take-off called 'Belice') has really good potential for cool flights.
The launch has been recently enlarged/ improved and as you can see in the pix it could be called a perfect PG (and HG) launch: large, grassy, no stones, ideal exposure against the wind, ideal slope, paved road to launch, parking just 20m above launch - what else does one need?

TO 'Belice', Ennio

Ennio landing at LZ 'Salto'

The 'Salto' LZ is a little small for HGs and has a (good visible) powerline going across at its northern end. But more than big enough for PGs - but still people manage to hang themselves into the powerlines...

Oli

My friend Oli sent me this selfie during a flight he made last week; I'm very impressed about his level of acro-flying.

AirDesign RISE-2 (XL)

After several talks/ mails with Martin from AirDesign (AD), I have finally decided to order this wing.
Tipping the scales was the promise to build a special riser, which will allow me to reach the A-lines with my damaged left shoulder.
It will look something like this: (left: original, right: modification)

For making 'B-ears' (Big ears by using the outer B-line) and B-stall (should I consider this necessary) there are some ideas how this could be eventually achieved - you just have to talk to André from Flugsau!

In therms of colour I have choosen the following:

The reason for this is, that I hope this colourscheme will make for good visibility of the wing in flight, especially as there are no other options than 'white' for the undersail.

more info about this wing can be found here.