Met onder andere: WK Deltavliegen | Drieluik climb&fly deel 2: Mönch | Terugblik Red Bull X-Alps met Sebrand Warren | Ozone Chabre Open 2025 | Fly&hike Oostenrijk | Na 15 jaar weer paragliden | Oldtimers op het strand | NK Vlakland paragliding 2025 | Overland met de paramotor

Aaron Durogati ended Chrigel Maurer's dominance of the RedBull X-Alps when he won the 1283km race in style in June. Bastienne Wentzel talked to him and the other final four about what was extraordinary and at times controversial, edition of the competition.
Bastienne Wentzel and Erwin Voogt contributed to reporting the race for Cross Country with photos, videos and interviews on social media, online as well as in print.

Met onder andere: Red Bull X-Alps special | Interview met Sebrand Warren | Live tracking | Vol-bivouac avontuur in Frankrijk | Soaren op Madeira | Harnassen en protectie deel 4 | Vliegen rondom een CTR | Lessen na een ongeval | Langs de Liftlat: Mark de Lange | Drieluik hike&fly rondom Alpenreuzen deel 1: Jungfrau.

We talk about arc in the design of a paraglider, but what does that actually mean?

Naviter is a new race partner this year in the Red Bull X-Alps, which kicks off on 12 June 2025. It means they will be supplying all athletes with a flight instrument for tracking; the brand new Naviter Omni. But behind the scenes, Live Tracking is a lot more involved than just following the tracks of the athletes. Let's take a look. (Image: Naviter)

Kanan
"When I was about six years old, we saw gliders on a family holiday in Panchgani. My dad asked them 'Will you take my daughter?". So I was strapped to the chute and in my memory the person behind me was just hanging from the two lines he was holding. Later I learned that the pilot sits in a harness too, and I thought, ah, that makes a lot more sense now!"
 
Josh
"I was around paragliding before I could walk or talk because of my dad Jocky Sanderson. I used to go tandem with him all the time. I initially learned paragliding at 13 and passed my exam at 14."

Met onder andere: Hike&fly in Colombia | Stubai Cup 2025 | Interview Greg Hamerton | Harnassen en protectie deel 3 | Recensie Gin Calypso 2 en Camino 3 | Langs de Liftlat

Have you seen the videos of paraglider pilots flying through tunnels? How do they do that? (photo: Adi Geisegger)

Finally, the day arrived that you can fly free. You just passed your exams and received the coveted pass to free flight: your pilot's license. Classic psychology tells us that you have graduated from 'unconscious incompetence' - when you started to fly you didn't know what you didn't know - to 'conscious incompetence'. You've become conscious of the fact that full competence in flying is still a long way away. Or as one instructor put it: you've learned to launch, land and not hit anything. But there is so much more to learn when it comes to flying. Where to start?

Porosity is one of the main properties that should be checked when your glider gets its periodic inspection. But we may be measuring it wrong, experts say. "We should be measuring flow, not time."

Met onder andere: Hike&fly naar de top van de Mt. Blanc | Parakites in opmars | Mount Manganui (Nieuw Zeeland) | Red Bull X-Alps 2025 - interview met Nederlandse deelnemer Sebrand Warren | Harnassen en protectie deel 2 | Vliegdagen voor paramotor, delta en ballonnen | Recensie: Moyes Gecko | Paramotorvliegen over Lelystad Airport | Afsluiting Acroseizoen 2024 | Liftlat: Doseah Morriën

Met onder andere: Vliegstekken: Mons Klint (Denemarken) | Sospel (Frankrijk) | Gran Paradiso (Italië) | Harnassen en protectie deel 1 | Dutch Open deltavliegen | Chabre Open paragliding | Delta Free Air festival | Liftlat: Marcin Krawczyk

"Welcome to the Harness Files – where science writer Bastienne Wentzel explores what we need to know about paragliding back protection and why. If you’re thinking of changing, going lightweight, or upgrading your harness, then this is eye-opening stuff. Essential reading."

Met onder andere: Reizen - Wilder Kaiser in Oostenrijk, soaren op Lanzarote, De Portugese Algarve | Technora zeil voor delta's | EN-C tweelijners | Liftlat: Anne-Jan Roeleveld

Met in dit nummer: Stubai Cup 2024 | Hike&fly in Stubai | Tenerife | Welk scherm vlieg jij? | Recensie Airdesign Vivo 2 en LiVi | Interview Fatemeh Eftekhari | Zelfbouwcockpit voor paramotortrike

Where there is not even a hillock in sight a winch is the only way for paragliders to get airborne. All that is needed is a long open space roughly in the direction of the current wind. "Towing opens up a completely new range of flying areas," says Michael Gebert, a guide with the Swiss company Fly with Andy organising trips to fly from tow in Uruguay, Argentina, Brasil and the Balkans. "And it's a supersafe kind of flying," he adds.

"I'm Fatemeh Eftekhari, one of the most well-known pilots in Iran. I'm one of the owners of Xagros Clouds air sports club in Iran. I am an active XC and competition pilot. My best flight so far was 241 km on a Skywalk Chili 5 in 2022. But my goal is to bring more ladies to the women's sport community."

As free flyers, we are exempt from quite a number of rules and regulations that apply to larger and motorised aircraft. A lot of our sport is self-regulated which makes it such a beautiful and free sport.
An example of this self-regulation we find in the certification process of paragliders and their maintenance. When you think all the norms, checks, inspections and repairs must comply with laws, rules and regulations, you could be disappointed. But the lack of a legal framework doesn't mean these things aren't important. It just means we can't hide behind a law but have to take responsibility ourselves.
(Foto: Nova)

Met onder andere: Coupe Icare 2023 | Lofoten, Noorwegen | Luke de Weert wereldkampioen acro 2023 | X-Swiss | Hike&fly: Grindelwald | Climb&fly | NK Berg paragliding | WK deltavliegen | Recensie: Gin Evora

This year's acro competition scene was more exciting than ever. There was a change of competition rules for the better, a neck-and-neck battle between the two top pilots of the year: veteran Théo de Blic and upcoming star Luke de Weert and there was a good effort to make it all more accessible to the public. Here's an overview of the year through Luke's eyes.
(...)

This article was published in Cross Country magazine #246, December 2023.

Being a lightweight pilot in paragliding is a disadvantage. It's no myth that the smallest paragliders fly worse than larger ones. Some competitions such as the BGD Weightless even have a separate ranking for light pilots for this reason.
But recreational pilots struggle as well. Reader Angela Bonato ("considered lightweight by most wing manufacturers") emailed us: "I unfortunately only fly with much heavier guys and at almost every flight I have the feeling we flew in a very different air from what they say to me."
Lightweight competition- and ex-test pilot Joanna diGrigoli can fully relate. Among other wings, she flies an XS EN-B glider below mid-weight range. "I feel light against the wind. It has no bite." On a lightly loaded glider it can be harder to enter thermals, Joanna says. "But the main problem is into wind."

This article was published in Cross Country magazine #246, December 2023.

"I am Lorenzo, aka Energy Papi, entertainer, content creator and MC for paragliding events. I live in Eindhoven in The Netherlands. This year I traveled through the Alps with my small campervan, flying as much as I can. As a kid we went to the Austrian mountains for holidays. That's where my love for mountains was born."

This interview was published in Cross Country Magazine #245, November 2023.

Hike&fly is hot and with it comes our urge to slim down our equipment. A lighter wing, harness and reserve and yes, also a lighter helmet. Recently we have seen the number of pilots choosing a climbing helmet for hike&fly rise significantly, in competitions and recreational flights alike.

This article was published in Cross Country Magazine #245, November 2023.

Met onder andere: Red Bull X-Alps 2023 - interviews met de winnaars | Aerothlon 2023 | Paragliden op Sicilië | Deltavliegen in Denemarken | Dragonfly | Recensie: Apco F3 en Minimot | NK Delta 2023 | EHBO op het veld

Chrigel, congratulations! You said you didn't quite have the feeling before the race. What did you mean by this?
"Before the race, many things are unclear. This gives me the feeling of not being comfortable. It is always the same. The last experience is so far away, this feeling of insecurity starts to appear and I have to start to get into the next adventure to become comfortable and to focus on the race. And when it feels really good you can start pushing."
(...)

Bastienne Wentzel talked to Chrigel and some of the others who made it in, including Damien Lacaze, Maxime Pinot and the first woman to finish the race, Eli Egger. The final 10-page feature makes for essential reading for X-Alps race-watchers.
Cross Country Magazine #242, August 2023.

Met onder andere: paramotorvliegen in Saoedi-Arabië | Fish&chips en vliegen in het VK | Ellipse deltavliegers | Dolomieten | Hoe plan je een bijzondere overlandvlucht?

Met in dit nummer: Sneeuwschoen-hike&fly | Stubai Cup 2023 | Vlieggebied Achensee | Fabrikant: Aeros | Recensie Swing Nyos 2 RS | De reservebridle | Vliegstek Col du Sapenay | Skywings wintermeeting 2023.

Vanaf februari 2023 is de nieuwe editie van ‘Vrij Vliegen’ leverbaar, het nieuwste Nederlandstalige handboek voor paragliding.

Over de vierde editie
De vierde editie van Vrij Vliegen is compleet vernieuwd! Om te beginnen is het boek veel rijker geïllustreerd. Vrijwel al het beeldmateriaal is vernieuwd. We maakten tientallen nieuwe foto’s, mooiere illustraties en betere grafi eken. De vormgeving is onder handen genomen en gemoderniseerd. De hoofdstukken hebben onderscheidende kleuren en de omslag is een luxe gebonden soft cover.
Het boek is met 216 pagina’s bijna een kwart dikker geworden. De tekst is eveneens flink uitgebreid en geactualiseerd. Het zal zich met deze update kunnen meten met het mooie Engelstalige boek ‘Paragliding - The Beginner’s Guide’ dat op Vrij Vliegen is gebaseerd.

Met in dit nummer: Vlieggebied Molveno | Kies voor A-kwaliteit | Coupe Icare 2022 | Operatie Market Garden met de paramotor | NK Delta en deltadagen 2022 | Eerste indruk elektrische paramotor

In dit nummer: Flare Moustache, een parakite | Ferrata&Fly | X-Alps Academy | Red Bull X-Alps 2023 | Acro World Tour 2022 | Paragliding NK Berg 2022 | Recensie Nova Mentor 7 Light | Microavonturen met de paraglider deel 2

Just announced as the new race director of the Red Bull X-Alps we talk to Ferdinand Vogel. “I’m going to watch and learn in 2023,” he says.

Bastienne Wentzel joined a beginner's XC course organised by Parafly and guided by Ferdinand Vogel. Here is what we learnt.

Bastienne Wentzel took Skywalk’s new reversible harness for a spin during a week of XC flying in Bassano.

In dit nummer: Vliegen in Zuid-Portugal | Paramotorvliegen met een beperking deel 2 | The Single Skin Squad in Norma | Tien manieren om je paramotorvlucht te verknoeien | 'Safe Start' | Nooit uitgeleerd | Recensie: Skywalk Cruise harnas | Microavonturen met je paraglider deel 1

An acro wing suitable to learn your first tricks and have fun, says Erwin Voogt.

In dit nummer: Kunnen vogels beter vliegen dan wij? | Stubai Cup 2022 | Interview: keurmeester Bart Adriaens | Nieuwe weersite voor piloten |

Women's World Champion Yael Margelisch on chasing records, doing the X-Alps and winning the Worlds,

"I am a retired Airforce fighter pilot from Cologne. You sign up with the Airforce for twenty years and when you turn 41 you stop flying. I did a tour in Afghanistan which was really hard. Four of my friends didn't make it. So it was time to leave."

In dit nummer: Deltavliegen over de Aletsch-gletsjer | Paramotorvliegen in IJsland | The Single Skin Squad | Vliegsimulator wordt volwassen | Historie: Flanders Fields | Recensie: Skywalk Chili 5 | Ölüdeniz Teleferik | NK deltavliegen

Recensie: Skywalk Chili 5. De nieuwe high-end intermediate van Skywalk is een genot om mee te vliegen, zegt Erwin Voogt, die het scherm twee weken meenam naar Zuid-Frankrijk in de late zomer.

Acro World Champion Victor 'Bicho' Carrera about his dreams, the mental game, fast air and new tricks.

In dit nummer: Acro-kampioenschappen | Paramotor slalomvliegen | Hike&fly special | Recensie: Insta 360 one X2

In dit nummer: Red Bull X-Alps 2021 achter de schermen | De vliegende fotograaf | Paramotorvliegen met een beperking | Delta-soaren in Nederland | Reserves deel 3 | Wat is een reflexprofiel? | App: SafeSky | .... en veel meer.

In dit nummer: Red Bull X-Alps special | Serie reserves deel 2 | Paramotorvliegen met een singleskin | Reis: Marokko | Deltavliegen seizoen 2020

In dit nummer: Hike&fly Lechtal | Eigertour 2020 | Skymonkey trikes | Serie: Reserves deel 1 | Deltadag 2020 | Paramotor weetjes | Paramotor: Brandstoftank inbouwen | Recensies

Afgelopen maart maakte ik een testvluchtje met de Rook 3 tijdens het Stubai Cup testival. De thermiek was licht maar aanwezig, en binnen de kortste keren klom ik iedereen eruit. Ik keek verbaasd om me heen: thermieken is niet mijn sterkste kant. Meestal vlieg ik ergens onderaan. Kan het zijn dat het scherm toch verschil maakt? Enkele maanden later mocht ik het scherm twee weken meenemen naar de bekende vliegplek Kössen in de Oostenrijkse Alpen om dat uit te vinden.

In dit nummer: 100 km op zicht | De paramotor mee op vakantie | Hike&Fly Wildstrubel | Fotoreportage Castelluccio, Italië | Recensie Triple Seven Rook 3 | Nieuwe rubriek: Fifty shades of paragliding

Vera: "In '85 a hang glider pilot invited me to fly with him. I had never seen a hang glider flying, I was stunned. I didn't know you could fly like that. The flight was a mind-blowing experience and changed my whole life. I left my job and became an instructor in paragliding and hang gliding, I met Wolfgang in 1995, we moved to Bavaria and we started Icaro paragliders.

Met in dit nummer onder andere: Schiphol in coronatijd | Welkom paramotors: reis naar de VS, overland naar Texel, trikeproblematiek | Recensie BGD Cure 2 Groundhandlen voor dummies | Luchtsport goed verzekerd?

"I always knew I wanted to fly. My parents are both hang glider and paraglider pilots. We lived in Frankfurt in Germany and all our holidays were flying holidays. I first flew when I was six but my mother did not really want me to fly. She told me if I wanted to fly I would have to make my own money, so I delivered newspapers until I had enough. At 13 years old I did my first course in Wildschönau in Austria."