2 - 4 February. See the hottest new gliders and hear manufacturers reveal their latest developments at the Bregenzer Wald Cup in Austria, the European season opener.

Jocky Sanderson talks us through the most accessible and effective way of burning off height quickly

French vol bivouac duo, Philippe Nodet and Julien Wirtz, redefine adventure flying over ten incredible days in the heart of the Karakorum in Northern Pakistan.

The first time your risers go slack, and your leading edge lurches down towards and tries to slap you in the face…

Accidental anglophile Jerome Maupoint discovers the pilot’s mighty pleasuredome offered by the UK’s Lake District

There’s no room for naked fear tackling the first paraglider circumnavigation of 8,126 m Nanga Parbat - the naked mountain

Why do birds fly in circles? Which way should you turn? Where’s the core going to be? Bob Drury picks up some tips from some of the best pilots in the world about how they thermal, in the final part of Cross Country magazine’s definitive guide to thermalling

Cross Country Magazine’s definitive guide to thermalling by Bob Drury

So far we’ve only soared the Danish coasts, but next week we are off to Italy for some real flying. World Champion Louise Crandal’s life takes an unexpected twist as she falls for a bird of prey

Raul Rodriguez recounts his invention of the latest aerobatic manoeuvre. Right back in our early days Felix and I loved the energy of throwing our gliders about and even collapses became like a game to us. Step by step we learnt to understand the dynamics of the glider and how to deal with big collapses; we even became confident at using the full stall as our ?get out of jail card? when it all went wrong.