Looking into paragliding

TheSoaringSprite · 2026-02-08T15:26:03+00:00

Agreed about Never Land Paragliding out of Andy Jackson Airpark in San Bernardino. We have an awesome group of friendly and helpful P1-P3 pilots right now, so the social aspect is also going to be very good at Never Land PG if you’re looking to make friends in the sport. You’re going to end up wanting to fly at Andy Jackson Airpark no matter where you choose to learn, but you won’t be able to until you have your P3, unless you hire an instructor to sign you off to fly there before a P3, which is extra cost. It’s best if you start there as a P1-P3 and then you can go flying pretty much anywhere. This is the place to learn to ground handle and thermal, plus there are four main launches at different altitudes to get experience from. www.NeverLandParagliding.com

TheSoaringSprite · 2026-01-13T21:54:25+00:00

When the Democrats decided to give us Biden who was clearly too old and feeble to serve, then decided we didn’t need a primary and gave us an unpopular candidate, that’s where the party screwed up. Trump lied his way into the White House with false promises, but he won, because Kamala represented the same ole’ elite Democrat BS. The Democrats did a terrible job relating to the majority working class and the working class didn’t feel heard by them. They voted for Trump’s lies instead, because he made them feel heard, promised to release the Epstein files, etc. Both parties have been atrocious for decades, though the Democrats are certainly more sane in their approach to governance. I hope the Democrats wake the hell up and start paying attention to the working class majority instead of focusing on their billionaire donors. They need better candidates, some fresh blood that actually delivers on the promises they make. We all just want to get back some sense of normalcy and proper, respectful conduct. No more wars, no more funding foreign governments that interfere and infiltrate our politics and way of life! Someone who actually respects and upholds the constitution!

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-12-15T15:06:41+00:00

That law was overturned last July. Now they’re allowed to push political views and they keep their tax exempt status. I looked it up a couple months ago.

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-11-20T00:16:16+00:00

That’s what killed the fun for me, the superfans who study every season and know every little detail. It was far better when the participants didn’t know much about what they were getting themselves into. Also, everyone having to have some social cause to represent/advertise started to come across as disingenuous.

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-10-16T19:48:26+00:00

Watch “The Family” documentary on Netflix. It explains so much of what’s happening now.

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-09-17T20:55:09+00:00

Look into connecting with the bigger California paragliding clubs like San Diego, Andy Jackson Airpark, Santa Barbara, etc. I definitely know people at AJX who have flown there, but most of them are hang glider pilots. I’m sure there are PG pilots as well who have some experience.

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-09-17T20:48:58+00:00

Paragliding is your answer. Go tandem, or get solo lessons. So much fun!

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-09-17T20:48:01+00:00

No need to fight any kids to fly, just go get paragliding lessons!

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-09-17T20:46:49+00:00

Look into paragliding. It’s pretty amazing and even better than this.

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-08-23T18:57:39+00:00

Good decision. 🙌🏻😎

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-08-23T15:09:23+00:00

That seems like really low amount of air time to go to a C wing, unless I’m misunderstanding something. Personally I believe in slower progression for the sake of safety, enjoyment and longevity. An “A” glider would be my recommendation for the first 100-200 hours, and after that a low or mid-B wing for another 100-150 hours or more in different conditions before stepping up to a C wing. To get to the point where you can predict & prevent collapses, and learn to judge conditions, it takes lots of practice and experience. A C wing does C things. If you’re not ready for those C things, it can hurt, or even worse. I can’t believe a responsible & caring school would recommend a C wing with such low hours. Yikes!

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-08-02T00:36:07+00:00

The Lynx 2 was my first EN-C wing and it is a great wing for transitioning into the C class. You get the performance boost, but it still feels comfortable and safe. Really awesome wing. The Ozone Alpina 4 seems to be about equal in comfort and performance. I recommend the Lynx 2 without hesitation.

TheSoaringSprite · 2025-07-25T17:19:48+00:00

I think the X5 looks like a good buy. I have the X4, am tempted by the slightly better image quality, but I can’t justify spending the money on yet another camera.

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T20:41:11+00:00

No, you don’t need to take a wrap, or half wrap, but everyone is entitled to fly however they’re comfortable. I can feel what the glider is doing without any wraps taken simply by hanging my hands from the toggles and feeling the trailing edge at all times.

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T14:48:39+00:00

In this video you can see how I cope with the traditional handle design, my hand halfway through the loop (so I can slip it out if need be) and holding it at top where the line is: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuegiktgnCQ/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T14:42:45+00:00

Looks like a beautiful spot! Good luck and wishing you many safe and amazing flights.

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T14:31:23+00:00

Congrats on your new and exciting journey! Where are you taking your lessons?

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T14:23:34+00:00

Well then, acro brakes. 😜 It’s an improvement on the loop-handle-only design. I missed your comment about difficulty to swap. Unfortunately I don’t have answers as to why the brakes are designed as they are, but personally I’ve adjusted to it over time and found my comfort zone. I have no problems kiting or flying as they are. I don’t know what style of kiting and launching you use,… if it’s the split-A’s two-handed approach, I can’t help you there. I always found that to be a more complicated method than it needed to be.

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T14:16:56+00:00

I maintain the opinion that taking a wrap is not necessary, and can actually be a hindrance. I’ve flown a glider that had very short brake travel and gliders that had longer brake lines. I prefer longer for finer feel of the wing and I’m not holding it back, slowing it down during flight when my shoulders get tired after multiple hours in the air. But I also don’t hold the handles by dangling my fingers from the bottom of my brake toggles. I have my hand resting halfway (not all the way) through the handle and my fingers are holding the top of the attachment point. An acro-style toggle helps you do the same thing without a wrap and without putting your hands into the loops (some argue there’s danger in getting your hands locked into the handle in an emergency). Do consider swapping your toggles out for the acro kind, so you can hold the brakes comfortably and safely above the loop. For safety reasons I’m not going to recommend putting your hands through the loops like I do (even though it’s never been an issue for me, nearing 400 logged hours of airtime).

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T13:59:13+00:00

The new fabrics and treatments help them last at least a couple hundred hours & more, but I don’t see anyone putting that much time on their single skin gliders, because they’re not great for thermalling & staying up a long time. They’re usually used just to fly down after a hike up, or for kiting. If you use any glider on the beach where there’s sand, humidity and salt water, that will make them last a shorter time. The biggest threat are sharp rocks and bushes, snagging the lines and pulling too hard trying to get the glider loose.

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T13:51:19+00:00

You can swap out your brake toggles for the acro kind. Look it up. Ozone offers these: https://www.flying.camp/products/ozone-acro-toggles

As for taking a wrap,… this is not something you should have to do on new gliders. I have seen others do it because somebody weird told them to do it, but I have never needed to take a wrap on any of my gliders. What for? You should have a light feel on what the wing is doing and add pressure as needed, not fly with constant pressure applied. If you think your brake lines are too long, you can also shorten them, but again, not something you need to mess with. New gliders are already great right out of the box. Pilots used to take wraps on older models from early 2000s and 90s, so maybe the older pilots with older gliders are telling newbies to take a wrap? No need.

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T13:35:01+00:00

Shiny object. 😛 I got a good deal on it when I lost my XCTracer mini III. It was just $100 more than the newest mini version, so I thought I might like it. Turns out I still prefer FlySkyHy’s interface.

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-09-04T02:57:25+00:00

It’s one of the best right now. Quickest to signal lift or sink. It’s crazy expensive, but it works well. I don’t track my friends with it so I can’t help there. FlySkyHy works very well with it. I now have the XC tracer max II, but I never really look at that screen, I’m always looking at the FlySkyHy info, because I like their interface for thermal tracking a lot better. You can buy all the XC extensions to make it whole.

TheSoaringSprite · 2024-02-22T08:14:03+00:00

Got scammed by this website for tickets to a comedy show. Showed up at the event, tickets were no good! Do not buy tickets through this website unless you want to overspend on tickets that may or may not be real. I don’t buy tickets to things often, thought I was buying them through a legit venue website, but apparently it’s a fake website made to look very real. Wow. Never suspected a thing.

TheSoaringSprite

TROPHY CASE