Books, DVD's & Instructional Material | Torrey Pines Gliderport

Cross Country Flying Book

Isabela Weir — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 20:30:58 +0000

Cross Country Flying is aimed at pilots who can already thermal and want to progress on to flying XC, as well as those pilots who already fly XC but want to know more and get better.

It features a wealth of information, all of which is aimed at making you a better, more informed pilot, capable of flying further and longer than ever before.

Illustrated throughout with full-page photographs and easy-to-understand simple diagrams, the book is an ideal companion to Thermal Flying by the same author, and is a must-have for any pilot serious about learning to fly XC and go far.

The book is hardback, has more than 500 illustrations and is 242 pages long.

It includes chapters and information on:

Pre-flight planning, route-planning and how to use technology
Online contest rules and tactics
Cross country for novices
Weather and thermalling
Understanding best glide and McReady
Need to know essentials: best time to launch, inversions, convergence, crossing valleys, dolphin-flying, tactics, valley winds and more
How to fly the mountains
Flatland flying
In-depth advice from expert XC pilots
Site guides to international XC sites

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THERMAL FLYING BOOK

Isabela Weir — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 20:19:19 +0000

Thermal Flying is the world’s best-selling guide to the art of thermalling and XC flying. Cross Country’s team has been hard at work thoroughly revising and updating the title, line by line, and the design and photography has been refreshed to bring it bang up to date.

Learning to climb well is probably the most valuable skill of all in free flying, but it can be an incredibly frustrating experience. Burki Martens’ Thermal Flying has been written as a guidebook, and whether you have one hour or a thousand hours’ airtime, you’ll find it incredibly useful.

Hundreds of photos and illustrations make technical concepts come alive and easy to understand. Technical theory is kept to a minimum while real-world experience and practical advice help you grasp tricky concepts easily.

Thermal Flying Includes comprehensive instructions on:

How to predict and find thermals
How and where thermals form – sources and triggers
Different types of thermal models
Windward and lee-side thermals
The theory of temperature gradients
Vortex ring structure and lift distribution in thermals
How to read clouds and weather

Plus hundreds of helpful tips on:

Soaring, staying up and top-landing
Coastal flying and sea breezes
How to core thermals and get to cloudbase
Valley winds, mountain flying and magic air
Flying the flatlands
XC tactics from first flights to 100km

Thermal Flying has been published in 15 languages and has sold over 50,000 copies worldwide. This third edition brings the art of thermal flying to a whole new generation of pilots. Burki Martens is a multiple XC League champion and an excellent coach and communicator.

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Paragliding – The Beginner’s Guide

Isabela Weir — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 22:46:41 +0000

If you’re interested in paragliding or have already started training, this book is what you need. It includes:

Learn the essentials of keeping safe – like how turbulence forms behind hills and terrain – through to the intricacies of thermalling with birds of prey, thousands of feet high.
All the know-how to help guide you from your first thrilling, ground-skimming flights to aerobatic manoeuvres and beyond.
Follows the teaching syllabuses of the BHPA (UK), USHPA (USA) and other national paragliding bodies, including Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

What the experts say:

“Absolutely bang up to date. Its high standard of writing conveys intricate concepts in an easy-to-understand way. The layout, technical illustrations and time-lapse photography combine to produce a very aesthetically pleasing result” – Steve Uzochukwu, Skywings Magazine, BHPA

“As a new pilot entering this beautiful 3D game, it’d take years of research and conversations with experts to glean all the information this book provides in its 300+ pages. Coupled with an easy reading style, this book is an absolute must” – Wally Arcidiacono, Bright Flight Paragliding, Australia

“Paragliding: The Beginner’s Guide is essential reading for all our students” – Jess Cox, Chief Flying Instructor, Fly Sussex, UK

“This book is now standard issue to all of our beginning flight students” – Brad Hill, Discover Paragliding, USA

340 pages of comprehensive instruction and information including:

Understanding the air
Learn how the air moves and what happens when you fly through it on a paraglider. Aerology is essential to keeping you safe and helping you pass your flying exams, and diagrams and easy-to-read explanations throughout make everything clear.

All the gear you need
Understand the difference between different types of paragliders and harnesses. Learn about flying instruments, helmets and reserve parachutes – as well as specialist kit for acro, accuracy, hiking, mountaineering and powered paragliding.

Getting started
How does a wing fly? What happens on a paragliding training course? How do you safely launch a paraglider in different conditions? Turn? How do you come down? The book answers all the new-pilot questions in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way.

Learning about the weather
The book is an excellent meteorology primer, explaining weather systems and the art of forecasting. You’ll learn to read the clouds and the sky, how valleys and hills affect the wind, and how to use apps and other technology to your full advantage.

Becoming a qualified pilot
Learning to fly independently from an instructor is when your learning curve really takes off. So it’s time to learn advanced manoeuvres that will keep you safe in a range of conditions. In the book you’ll learn about advanced training, techniques, and safety clinics.

Going places
Air law and airspace can be a dry topic, but here the editors have made the essentials really simple and clear so you can stay safe – and legal. Also, find out about the different kinds of instruments available – from basic altimeters to hi-tech flight computers.

Getting your licence
Paraglider pilot training across the world follows the same basic principles. The book follows the broad teaching curricula of the BHPA (UK), USHPA (USA) and other national paragliding organisations, including Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, so it’s suitable for pilots worldwide.

The story of paragliding
From pioneers to world record flights. Learn how paragliding grew from an experimental activity in the French Alps to the incredible adventure sport it is today, enjoyed by an estimated 125,000 qualified pilots worldwide.

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Advanced Paragliding Book By Gavin McClurg

Isabela Weir — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 22:40:06 +0000

Written by Gavin McClurg, edited by the Cross Country team, and packed with insight from the very best, Advanced Paragliding is aimed at all intermediate pilots up, to help them build on their foundations and progress. There’s a big focus on aerology, meteorology, psychology, safety and risk-management. If you have 100 hours or more and want to go places in paragliding, this is for you.

Advanced Paragliding draws on over eight years’ of in-depth interviewing with over 100 of the world’s best pilots. With Gavin’s incredible popularity among a listener base of 30,000+ pilots, this book is set to be a massive worldwide success.

“This book is an international curated collection of voices, experiences, perspectives, and approaches to the sport that we all love. It is the undeniable power of the lead gaggle, with the best pilots in the world sharing their knowledge. And it is not just about techniques. It is also about the philosophy of adventure, the value of accepting risk and managing it, and the importance of training the mind as well as the body. It is about the flying life.” – Bill Belcourt

18 ‘secrets of champions’ chapters include incredible insights from Adel Honti, Alex Robé, Armin Harich, Bruce Goldsmith, Chrigel Maurer, Cody Mittanck, Dustin Martin, Honza Rejmanek, Jeff Shapiro, Jocky Sanderson, Kelly Farina, Maxime Bellemin, Nick Neynens, Pál Takáts, Rafael Saldini, Russ Ogden, Thomas Theurillat and Will Gadd

“Every 20 years a seminal work is published that pushes the measuring tape forward in terms of knowledge base. When I first started flying, Dennis Pagen’s ‘Secrets of Champions’ gave me glimpses into the minds of the best hang glider pilots in the world. It helped me improve drastically. ‘Advanced Paragliding’ is a ‘Secrets of Champions’ on steroids. It features a true treasure trove of stories, teachings and other gems. Many of my paragliding idols reveal ultimate tips and tricks to fly far, fly safe, and fly fun. If you fly paragliders this book will make you better. Kudos to Gavin: this is a resource that will better our community.” – Nick Greece

OVER 14 TECHNIQUE CHAPTERS INCLUDE:

How to Thermal Better
How to Glide Better
How to Navigate ‘Intermediate Syndrome’
When to Step Up – and When to Step Down
How to Tweak Your Mental Game
How to Avoid Accidents
How to Kill Complacency
How to Throw Your Reserve
When and how to approach SIV training
How to Fly Competitions
How to Fly Big XCs – learning to fly faster
How to Recover from Frightening Experiences
Threat and Error Management: what we can learn from other aviation disciplines

The book also includes pilot self-assessment and gives guidance on personal progression, using mentoring techniques. In terms of skills development, Advanced Paragliding sits at the top of the stack of Cross Country’s existing range of books, which includes Paragliding: the Beginner’s Guide, Fifty Ways to Fly Better, and Mastering Paragliding.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gavin McClurg is an outstanding writer, pilot and communicator, who enjoys the respect and appreciation of tens of thousands of pilots worldwide for his Cloudbase Mayhem podcast series. Gavin is an established adventure pilot and Red Bull X-Alps pilot

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Thermal Flying by Burkhard Martens

Isabela Weir — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 21:47:02 +0000

This hardback book is a comprehensive guide to thermalling and cross country flying – every pilot should read it. It is chock-full of priceless information on concepts, techniques, and reading conditions, including illustrations, and is suitable for beginners and experienced pilots alike. Thermal Flying is peppered with experts’ tips and the author’s own personal experiences and is beautifully illustrated with succulent photographs.

9.5″ x 6.5″ hardback, 260pp, 2nd ed.

ISBN 978-3-00-040212-8

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The Torrey Pines Gliderport History

Isabela Weir — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 20:42:13 +0000

As “Air Capital of the West,” San Diego boasts a rich history in aviation that began with glider flights by John J. Montgomery in the 1880s. By the 1930s, gliding experienced a renaissance as an inexpensive means to take to the skies. Gliders dotted the West Coast with pilots testing their designs in the prevailing sea breeze. Locations such as Torrey Pines attracted pilots from all over the nation for their idyllic conditions, where humans could soar with birds over the sea. These early pioneers helped define soaring as a sport and left an indelible mark on American aviation. Of the coastal gliderports of the 1930s, only one remains today, the Torrey Pines Gliderport – an aviation landmark that has become famous around the world with aviators who share this unique resource through multiple forms of non-powered flight.

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The Powered Paragliding Bible

Isabela Weir — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 18:55:17 +0000

The Powered Paragliding Bible 4th Edition builds on Paramotoring’s most popular training manual and reference guide.

New techniques, improved color, more illustrations and enhanced versions of existing ones make the subject come to life in an easy-reading style. The book guides a pilot from first look at the equipment through first flight and well beyond.

Experienced pilots will appreciate the entire section devoted to mastering Powered Paragliding. Jeff has drawn from his experience as multiple time U.S. Champion and, more importantly, by learning from our sports most successful instructors.

Many new photographic and illustrative techniques, including animation, make difficult concepts emerge through the fog. It’s full of vivid 4-color pictures and illustrations covering everything from pulling the wing out to mastering many finer points.

Besides the flying, there is thorough, concise coverage of airspace and rules as they apply to paramotor pilots, PPG aerodynamics, choosing gear and complete coverage of reflex wings.

If you’re looking at getting into powered paragliding, this exposes what you’re in for. Chapters 1 through 7 take you through first flights. Later Chapters offer experienced pilots new tools to improve skills and safety.

It is not meant for self training, an endeavor that has proven expensive at best. But it is a great tool for those who want to be responsible, really learn the sport, learn its nuances, understand the rules and gain life-saving tips.

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Mastering Paragliding

Isabela Weir — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 18:30:17 +0000

Mastering Paragliding is a new approach to learning to fly cross country by paragliding guide Kelly Farina.

Kelly approaches pilot progression in a systematic, logical way. From understanding the basics of glider handling to thermalling techniques and high-level cross-country advice, he breaks the sport down into manageable stages with achievable goals.

It includes:

Mastering the basics: learning to fly smoothly, consistently and confidently
Thermalling well: the 4/90 rule, thermal etiquette and gaggle flying
How to plan a cross-country route and fly it successfully
Valley winds explained, including where and where not to fly
An in-depth exploration of how to fly the mountains
High level flying: how to fly efficiently and fast
Meteorology for pilots, including cloud assessment and the Föhn
Thermal formation, restitution and inversions
Real-life practical flying case studies in the Alps and Dolomites
How to structure your learning and progress quickly using the Pyramid of Progression

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Security In Flight

Denise Garrison — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 22:04:00 +0000

Security in Flight

Jocky Sanderson's award-winning film takes you, the pilot, through a series of dramatic maneuvers detailing how to recognize and react safely to problems you may encounter during your cross country flight. Using dynamic Air to Air footage, Jocky Sanderson, one of the worlds leading figures in S.I.V. flying, talks you through & demonstrates maneuvers including wing overs, big ears, B-lines, symmetric and asymmetric collapses, stalls, cravats, reserve deployment, spiral dives, spins, thermalling and more.

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USHPA Paragliding Instructor’s Manual

ShopMngr2 — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 09:51:12 +0000

Author: Dennis Pagen

For use by instructor candidates during Paragliding training clinics.

The official USHPA Instructor’s Manual for instructor candidates, covers learning to teach, teaching to learn, school organization, teaching beginners, teaching novices, weather considerations, the wing in the air, Intermediate & Advanced instruction and much more! Choose from Hang Gliding or Paragliding.

11′ x 9″ 3-ring binder, 140 pages, 2012 ed.

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