The West Australian Paragliding Esperance Waggas beach & dune flying festival runs from 9-14 April 2009. $ 100.00 entry fee includes transport from Esperance to flying sites. Organisers promise lots of free flying and fun! The event’s main objectives are 1. To encourage pilots whatever their level and facilitate opportunities for learning ground handling, dune [...]

Ozone’s Ultralite has now been certified EN B in the 19 m size. The company are proud to have shaved even more weight off this already record-breaking (for lightness) wing, to create the UL09, which they say is the world’s lightest ever paraglider. It also sports a new top surface design and three colour options. [...]

MPH Sports of Ruch, Oregon, USA, are hosting two paragliding comps for summer 2009: The West Coast PG Championships (WCPC) will be held from 31 May to 6 June and organisers say it will consist of “longer and more challenging tasks”. If a leg-up into the competition world is what you are after, the Rat [...]

Ten tasks over twelve days made the 2009 Paragliding World Championships in Mexico the most demanding, and the fairest, FAI event in the history of the sport

Designed and tested over a two year period, Niviuk say the Artik 2 is now ready to bring you “security and performance like no other EN C available today”. They say the sense of coordination between pilot and glider and smooth, balanced and responsive handling will enable you to fly with confidence, without restrictions or [...]

Torrey Pines Glider Port is hosting its 12th annual Flight Test from 19 – 24 May 2009. The event will include hang glider and paraglider comps, including acro and tandem events with 6,000 USD cash prizes to give away. There will also be a Try & Fly exhibition and much more. More info on http://flytorrey.com

Taken from the Kitchen Productions Ground Handling DVD this top tip will teach you how to collapse your glider safely in strong winds. This method best suited for experienced pilots uses the A’s to collapse the wing while stalling the other side.

What’s the best way of turning your wing over. Taken from the Kitchen Productions Ground Handling DVD this top tip will teach you how to turn your glider over in a controlled manner. You can also use this method, on a soft grass surface to empty your glider of debris.

Charly’s new reversible rucsac / harness is a lightweight (4.4 kg in M size, without karabiners) piece of kit that does not scrimp on details, practicality or safety. The 4 chamber Charly Inflate System (C.I.S) airbag inflates rapidly after take off to protect the pelvis area and is said to give record-breaking shock absorption values [...]

Sky paragliders have taken another name from Greek mythology to name their new EN B glider, the Anakis (derived from Anakes, meaning lords or kings). Aimed at novice pilots, occasional flyers and advanced students, they say the glider has “excellent take off characteristics, remarkable reactions for the speed and very pleasant and easy thermalling”. The [...]

The list of competitors has changed slightly: Japan’s Masayuki Matsubara is to replace France’s Julien Serré, who has had to drop out due to injury following an accident in December. Matsubara joins compatriot Kaoru Ogisawa, who finished fifth in 2007, as Japan’s second athlete. Suunto are one of the event’s sponsors, and will be providing [...]

Sup Air have brought out the Sup 08 light, pull-down apex reserve parachute, with lower weight and pack size than the School Light model that it replaces. They have kept the colour-coding that they used before, with the small size chute being red, the medium, white and the large, blue. The chute weighs in at [...]

If microlights are the motorbikes of the skies, then this is the bicycle: The Airbike is a supine unit that can be attached to either hang gliders or paragliders, that enables you to pedal in between thermals. Described as a  lightweight, low drag and comfortable piece of kit, the unit features a fully enclosed pod [...]