Airmanship, judgment and cross-country tactics

What kind of sport is this?

The same idea in one sentence: the pilot's judgment is the most important safety factor, and judgment means matching conditions, site, equipment and your own state to your skill and experience today.

What each rating means (SOP 410)

Rating	What the pilot is expected to be able to do
P1 Student	Fly and practise under direct instructor supervision, at sites and in conditions the instructor defines, with instructor-approved equipment.
P2 Novice	Fly and practise without direct supervision, within the recommended operating limits. Understands the rating system.
P3 Intermediate	Fly most sites in mild to moderate soaring conditions, and judge when a site and its conditions are within his or her skill, knowledge and experience. Understands the CARs and the flying rules (ridge rules, thermal right of way, CAR 602.29, airspace).
P4 Advanced	Fly technically demanding sites in strong soaring conditions, and judge when they are within his or her skill.

Recommended operating limits (know these numbers):

	P2 Novice	P3 Intermediate
Wind	Avoid wind above ⅔ of your glider's trim speed	Max base wind 25 km/h (16 mph), peak gusts 30 km/h (19 mph), gust change 8 km/h in 5 s
Thermals	Do not fly in thermal lift beyond your ability to keep control	No thermals with peaks over 800 fpm (4 m/s) or with significant vertical cloud development
Manoeuvres	Avoid spirals, wing-overs and stalls without a certified instructor	Brake no more than ¾ of the way to stall; bank angles the manufacturer recommends; speed in turns no more than 2× brakes-off cruise speed; exit any spiral that steepens or accelerates
Terrain	Keep the landing zone within a safe glide	Downwind turns only with 300 ft (100 m) clearance from the hill in winds above 24 km/h, 250 ft (75 m) above 15 km/h; avoid steep turns close to the ground
Wing	Manufacturer-recommended for beginner or intermediate pilots	Within the manufacturer's stated limits

New manoeuvres, sites and conditions: an intermediate pilot pursues them with the guidance of an HPAC Advanced instructor or observer.

The intermediate syndrome and staying current

Intermediate syndrome is complacency and a know-it-all attitude: skills have grown faster than judgment, the pilot has had no accidents yet, and stops respecting the conditions. It is most common around the intermediate stage, but the exam's point is that it can affect any pilot at any level, including instructors and tandem pilots with thousands of flights.

Currency. If you have not flown recently, your skills and your feel for the air are reduced. The correct response is to reduce your operating boundaries: easier site, gentler conditions, familiar wing, shorter flights, until the currency is back. You do not need to rewrite an exam, and you do not apply for a lower rating.

Flying a new site: protocol and landowners

Why join the local pilots and follow HPAC rules? Three reasons, and the exam wants all of them:

1. Paragliding in Canada is self-regulated through the national association; Transport Canada leaves us alone as long as we manage ourselves.
2. Every site exists because someone built a relationship with the landowner. One bad incident, one angry farmer, one parked car in the wrong place, and the site closes.
3. It is far easier to open a site than to re-open it after it has been closed because of an incident.

Practical protocol: find the local club or school, read the site guide, ask about site-specific restrictions (launch and landing access, parking, no-fly zones, airspace, seasonal closures for wildlife or crops), check in with a local pilot, fly the site at a rating level you hold, and leave the landing field cleaner than you found it.

Your personal safety plan (the P2 long answer)

The P2 ends with an essay: list several steps you can take to reduce your risk of an accident, under six headings. Prepare it now. Write two or three points under each heading.

• Safety equipment: helmet; reserve (repacked yearly); back protection; hook knife; radio; first-aid kit; whistle or mirror; tree-landing kit; water; phone.
• Glider maintenance: inspect all lines and the sail before each flight; repair holes and worn areas professionally; annual inspection with trim check and porosity; keep the wing dry and out of the sun; repack the reserve annually.
• Personal skill: evaluate launch, landing and conditions before every flight; fly only sites and conditions within your rating; keep your logbook; refresh knowledge with reading and seminars; practise ground handling; take an SIV course.
• Personal attitude: do not show off; watch for changing conditions and land when they exceed your skill; do not fly unless you are 100% confident; resist peer pressure and the "one more flight" urge; accept that the decision not to fly is a good pilot's decision.
• Physical preparation: pre-flight glider, harness, reserve and instruments; eat, drink and rest; be fit for the walk-up and the landing; change only one variable at a time (a new wing at a familiar site, a new site on a familiar wing).
• Mental preparation: feel 100%; no recent alcohol or drugs; not ill, tired or distracted; always have a flight plan (launch, route, landing options, escape routes, what to do if the wind changes) and a decision point to land.

High-altitude sites

At a high site (2,000–3,000 m ASL) the air is thin. Everything happens faster: your true airspeed and groundspeed at launch and at landing are higher, the run is longer, the landing is faster, and you have less energy for a mistake. The stall angle is the same; the speeds are all higher. Add heat and it is worse. Plan for hypoxia on long, high flights (Module 09).

Cross-country tactics (P4)

Drift. Everything in the air moves with the wind: you, the thermals, and the clouds. A cumulus straight ahead of you in a crosswind is drifting at the same speed as you. Fly straight toward it. You do not need to aim upwind of it, because you and the cloud are both carried by the same air.

Choosing clouds on a crosswind leg. When your route runs across the wind, choose the cumulus clouds on the windward (upwind) side of your route. You will drift downwind while you climb, and end up back on track. Clouds on the lee side of the route drift you further off course.

Climbing. In a thermal, when the vario rises to a peak and then falls, flatten your turn momentarily just before the peak, then resume your bank (Module 03). Leave weak lift early when the day is strong; take anything when you are low.

Speed to fly (Module 01): fast in sink and headwind, slow in lift and tailwind; take the "half-speed-bar" middle road when unsure.

Landing options. Always have a field within reach that you have already examined for wind, slope, obstacles, power lines, animals and a way out. In the mountains, avoid landing behind a ridge in the lee, and remember the valley wind: strong up-valley in the afternoon, down-valley in the evening.

Drifting over the back. If a thermal drifts you downwind over a mountain launch, you are being taken into the lee: expect sink and rotor. Decide early: either stay well upwind of the crest or commit to flying over with a big height margin and a landing plan beyond.

Crab angle in ridge lift. To hold a track parallel to a ridge as the wind increases, fly faster at the same crab angle, or increase the crab angle at the same airspeed (either works).

Towing

Paragliders are towed with payout or tension-controlled winches. Static-line towing (fixed rope behind a vehicle) is not recommended for paragliders because of the wing's limited speed range. Under tow the wing is more heavily loaded and the stall speed rises (Module 07). Know your release, your weak link and your signals.

Reporting incidents

HPAC asks members to file an accident/incident report on the HPAC website after any accident, and to read the current accident reports as part of P3 preparation. Transport Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) must be told, by the quickest means, of a reportable accident (serious injury or death, an aircraft missing, significant damage) (Module 10). Reporting is how sites stay open and how the next pilot learns.