Glider Nearly Hits Paraglider: Instructor Reacts!

Today we analyse a very short clip of a glider nearly hitting a paraglider. This leads to a discussion about how hard it is to see aircraft while flying, and goes through a few potential explanations of what might have happened.
How to Look Out (Australia):
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How to Look Out (UK):
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00:00 Intro
00:30 Pure Glide Store
00:41 Flying Deliberately Close to the Paraglider
01:53 Not seeing the Paraglider
02:39 Focusing on another aircraft example
03:03 How hard are aircraft to see?
03:23 Finding Gliders Example
03:38 How our eyes work
04:30 Apparent size of an aircraft
05:22 Technology that can help
06:12 Conclusion
06:45 A look at the Pure Glide Insulated Bottle
Cover photo Credit:
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[@XXStylewalkerXX]

Nice explanations! 👍 2 years ago, i saw a glider crashing into a paraglider very close to me. Probably the most horrific thing i've ever seen in the air. The paraglider was torn into pieces and the pilot managed to pull the rescue. The glider lost much altitude until he could get the full control back. Pieces of the paraglider also got stucked at the glider. It was a very close call, but both of them survived. Since there, i'm using FLARM to support the gliders to spot me 👍

[@PureGlide]

Wow, that would be horrific to witness. So pleased it turned out OK in the end, but I can imagine, you just wouldn't know until later. I think Flarm is a good way to add just one more layer of swiss cheese if you know what I mean. Thanks for sharing.

[@luxaly9510]

@@PureGlide flarm should be mandatory like TCAS for airliners

[@SkidzFPV]

I’m a paraglider pilot and I definitely get concerned about sailplanes getting close, you guys are just sooo fast.

[@PureGlide]

As long as the glider has spotted you, it should be all good!

[@SkidzFPV]

@@PureGlide yea I know, but what if he doesn’t...I’m still under 5 hours of mountain thermic flying so I’m still very cautious on where and when I fly, getting a little more aggressive but still a very tame flyer

[@Gianky640220]

Very interesting, as usual. Thanks! May I add another tip, from my personal experience of a near collision? Fancy and expensive instruments are a joy to look at, with all of their colours and information, but I think we fly to look at the sky, so please don't look IN, look OUT! Some years ago, I was thermalling in the club's K21 (still no Flarm on board), and I had to dive down abruptly to avoid a glider whose pilot told me later that he was looking at his brand new ... big screen device and was not aware of the traffic around him, relying on the Flarm. I managed to avoid a crash just because I was lucky to spot him a second before contact. Human eyes are not perfect in flight, but it's all we have so let's use them! Thanks again!

[@PureGlide]

Yip lookout is the most critical component!

[@Johan-ex5yj]

Good one Tim. Very important topic. 👍 Another item worth mentioning is: Glider pilot has blind spot below (and slightly behind) because of a low wing. Paraglider pilot has blind spot above because of his wing above. Now imagine a Paraglider below you in the same thermal, climbing faster, neither of you will see the other! (Same applies to a Glider vs Hang glider)

[@PureGlide]

Very good point Johan, cheers

[@snakedike]

@@PureGlide From a hang glider pilot's perspective, seeing above is even worse than in a paraglider. We are much closer to our wings so our view is much more occluded. However we are also flying with a prone body position in a hang glider vs the reclined sitting position of a paraglider pilot. So looking up is also anatomically more limited. In general, hang glider pilots try to avoid you fast movers when we can and are required to give you a wide birth if we are low.

[@resiggy13]

This has quickly become the most useful soaring channel on YT! Great job on finding these instructional moments and building informative and thought provoking videos around them that we can all learn from. And, the spectacular cross country fly-alongs are pretty special too. Thank you and keep up the great work. Now, off to the merch store to show some support (and get some cool gear).

[@PureGlide]

Ha yes get some merch! It’ll let me focus on making more videos and turning down other work! Thanks for your kind words, glad you like the channel

[@johnfoster1201]

Looking at that clip more closely, it almost looked like the glider dived down under the paraglider, suggesting they saw it at the last second or two. If that was the case, that was probably the best course to choose, as turning to either side would have required a sufficiently large and rapid course correction to avoid the extra 25ft of wing extending to either side that could have caught the paraglider. Pulling up may have worked, but would have depended on the energy of the glider and if there was time. Going under it to me seems like the most prudent course of action, if they did indeed see the paraglider at the last second.

[@PureGlide]

Yes hard to know until the report comes out. But that wouldn’t surprise me

[@SVSky]

That's the route I typically choose. Paragliders can't dive without spiraling.

[@Pilot_Marc]

It is like everytime: really good discussion about a difficult topic. Really nice.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah no harm talking about these things ever! Lookout is essential.

[@wackaircaftmechanic2312]

Well, It's good to be back. Starting my lessons this summer! I'll have to grab the Pure Glider bottle soon

[@PureGlide]

Awesome! haha no pressure to buy a bottle, but they are nice!

[@wackaircaftmechanic2312]

@@PureGlide Yes but I had to retire my old jug. It had a interesting life.

[@SoaringMidlo]

Great video! Thank you for being such a great ambassador for our sport!

[@PureGlide]

Thanks Chris

[@JeremyFath]

Definitely taking notes. Being new to flying I appreciate the knowledge

[@PureGlide]

Awesome, yeah no doubt you’ll cover it all in your training! Cheers

[@mikevermey]

Perfect in-depth analysis, thanks for your educational insights!

[@PureGlide]

My pleasure!

[@wiebebosman]

Very useful Tim! Thanks again

[@PureGlide]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@swisspilot7659]

Really well explained! Great video for me, as a gliderpilot-student, to prevent dangerous situations!

[@PureGlide]

Thanks! Glad i could help

[@Flying2ZC]

Nice merch. Good message. We share the Bowland hills with upwards of 40 para-danglers at a time and lookout and comms is key. As a CSO we keep the dialogue going between clubs which also helps.

[@PureGlide]

Hey that's great to hear you have a good relationship with them. Essentially we're all just trying to have fun.

[@FlowcastYT]

Great explanation very informative thank you!

[@PureGlide]

You're very welcome!

[@davidholmen]

Excellent video, once again! Thank you.

[@PureGlide]

My pleasure!

[@vortex_un]

I learned to fly a glider in a club that has all other courses like paragliding and hang gliding. We had one soaring course which was constantly busy. We have to be very careful and follow the traffic pattern all the time. That help me to improve my awareness for my surroundings and other aircraft. You have to fly with others when you have a chance. Thats really helping to avoid this kind of close encounters. Nice video as always. Thanks.

[@PureGlide]

Cheers for the comment. Yes it's important to realise you can still fly near other aircraft types, just keep a very good lookout etc

[@miksal26]

Don’t forget, the blindspot in your eye . I remember the test whereby a jumbo jet remains invisible if on collision course because the object does not move , it only gets bigger.and if the viewer doesn’t bother to move the eyeballs no avoidance is carried out. The test diagram was published back in the early 70s in the bi monthly crash comic. The point of the exercise was to teach pilots to get heads out of the office and keep looking around . Cheers from over the Pond.👍🇦🇺🇳🇿😷😷😷

[@PureGlide]

Cheers mate, exactly right!

[@paulfreer1302]

Good video. All new pilots need to view a compilation of incidents and situations such as this. Your first experience can so easily be the last. Keep up the good work

[@PureGlide]

Thanks Paul, cheers

[@louis.1928]

Great Video, as always!

[@PureGlide]

Thanks!

[@gentlemanner]

Great video idea. Really liked it.

[@PureGlide]

Thanks so much!

[@s1rmunchalot]

2:54 "Did you all see the glider?" - I was watching in 480p I didn't see a damn thing! LOL.

[@PureGlide]

Ha yeah I meant to say you need 1080 or 4K to play that game :)

[@dannyfar7989]

Watched on 1440p, didn't see it either. Watched it on my tiny old phone so... Understanding you you meant to be spotted isn't asked to much though, nice video, nice Channel you have there.

[@josefmannhiem5447]

Good discussion on safety.

[@PureGlide]

Thanks!

[@philippelambert329]

The video reminded me of a flight inthe Alps Mountains; while I was circling in a thermal above a ridge close to a paraglider launching site, I saw a paraglider coming under me and literally corkscrewing up inside my circle... As I realized he (or she) was so close that I could count all the buckles of the harness, I quickly left and went to look for the next thermal. One thing perhaps worth noting about FLARM : it will give reliable information if and only if the bipolar antenna is standing upright (relative to the wings plane) and properly centered on a spot as free as possible from electromagnetic interferences.

[@BruceDuncan]

BGA instructors manual: excellent source good choice sir. Some of the paragliders near our club are now carrying FLARM. No mention of ADS-B? Obviously it doesn't do collision avoidance directly but does do situational awareness.

[@PureGlide]

Thanks! Yes ADSB is a whole other topic :)

[@entelin]

The worst part of spotting an aircraft is that the one that is actually on a collision course is not moving across your vision, just growing in size, making it vastly harder to see.

[@PureGlide]

Exactly right!

[@cabanford]

Great video. I'm a paragliding pilot and have a bright pink + white glider as well as FLARM. I live in Wallis, Switzerland and occasionally have gliders go past - impossible to see if coming straight at me (flying razor blades!)

[@PureGlide]

They really are hard to spot! Yes in the mountains where gliders are flying straight lines a lot, a Flarm would be very reassuring!

[@dominicdiclemente8877]

Reminds me of the Hughes Airwest Flight 706 crash, an F4 phantom hit an airliner in mid-air. It was later determined that the fighter approached at an angle where it would be covered by a window divider from being seen by the airline pilots.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah we have so many blind spots in any aircraft. Paragliders can't see above or behind them for example. Gliders have wings in the way and can't see down in front of them. So we need multiple systems to help keep people safe, lookout is just part of it.

[@xjet]

Great vid and some very valid points. The only error (@1:44) is that gliders don't have to give way to all "slower and lighter" aircraft. CAR101 states that model aircraft (which are by definition "aircraft") must give way to *all* manned aircraft, including gliders. SA is a huge safety issue and as an FPV pilot who uses an Av-band radio and an ADSB alarm to improve my SA, I get really peeved that I can't legally fly my 100g drone under cover of a tree canopy on private property without the need for a separate "spotter/observer" to be standing next to me at all time -- apparently he's going to be looking out for manned aircraft that are also flying under the tree canopy -- WTF? This is the problem when you entrust the creation of regulations to those who have no practical experience with that they seek to regulate and it breeds a culture of non-compliance which is the *real* danger. Some folk think "these rules are clearly crap" so they ignore not only the ridiculous rules but also the ones that *are* essential to preserve safety.

[@PureGlide]

Are models really 'aircraft' though?! Just joking :P I'll still give way to models in my glider if there's one in front of me despite what the rules say... Big fan of your ADSB alarm BTW, unfortunately most gliders don't have ADSB yet, we're still waiting on regulations to allow us to install affordable ADSB gear in our gliders.

[@xjet]

@@PureGlide I am looking at adding support to the ADSB alarm for detecting OGN/FLARM equipped craft. It'd be quite handy because we can't even hear you buggers in your gliders :-)

[@PureGlide]

Flick me an email, I’m working glider tracking systems at the moment and have some ideas [e-mail]

[@grejen711]

@@PureGlide In Canada model airplanes under a specific weight were not legally defined as 'aircraft' until recently. This way they were excepted from the regs for 'aircraft'. There are now new rules for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles which includes model airplanes and quads/aka drones. They now require a license and some responsibility and insurance if they are over 250grams. There are now some ridiculous rules in place for UAV's which have been brought over from the regular aviation regulations.

[@toadamine]

I follow the rules that I believe are correct, and ignore or break the ones I feel are incorrect... if theres one thing I've learned in life,, its that you can't trust other people, you have to use your own judgememt... if you think something is wrong, dont do it that way!!! if you want things done right, do them yourself! 🤷‍♂️🤓😉👉

[@bobarmitage7981]

Good stuff as usual. Let's put competition glider gaggling to one side. Where there is one hanglider/paraglider there are likely to be more.( they do tend to chuck themselves off the same slope) It might be a good idea to use one's glider's superior performance to select a promising cloud a good distance away. Antisocial when aloft?

[@PureGlide]

Depends how desperate I am for the Paragliders thermal! Normally no reason not to fly with them, as long as you can both see each other.

[@frazerwilson1843]

All useful stuff Pure Glide, thank you. I had a similar experience near Laragne, France at a PG comp 5-6 years ago (I would have been the red wing in this clip). We were in a gaggle of ≈ 20-25 PGs all in the same thermal, over the middle of the valley floor at 3-4,000' AGL, probably topping up on a transition, with ≈ 700-1000' vertical separation in the stack - in other words a very, dense visible tall column of moving colour. A German pilot (above me) and I were the closest to the sailplane and reported the incident to our meet-director; other PGs noticed the glider but weren't as close, so couldn't say for sure if he'd "just done a fly past" or flown through our 'column', which he had imv - 'your' video above looks & feels *exactly* like my experience. First prize in the PG comp was a day's XC experience in a sailplane from the local club! So it was understandable (if disagreeable) to me, that the meet director did not want to kick up a fuss with the local gliding club, and as I couldn't recall the markings on the sailplane, nothing more was said. I was told that "to them (sailplanes) we (PGs) are moving so slowly, it's like flying through some stationary cones in the sky....". Nowadays, I would have the confidence to report the Airprox to the sailplane club and the French authorities myself, irrespective of consequences. The bottom line for me - safety is 90% about local culture and personal mindset, and very little to do with rules per se - not being able to see other objects in a sky until it's "too late" is a problem for both parties - but also reflects a culture that says, this is an acceptable risk (Big Skies etc.). It would be fascinating & hugely valuable to hear/see from the sailplane pilot's perspective in the video above - unless of course it was a deliberate "fly-by" choice, in which case, we will never likely hear anything... Keep up the good work.

[@PureGlide]

Hey thanks for sharing your story, yes flying anywhere near this close deliberately is just not acceptable, I would report it to. If it's a contest day for the gldier you can always find the tracks on soaringspot, and overlay them with your own to figure out who it was. Cheers!

[@frazerwilson1843]

Agreed, and I could have, but I was new to comps, new to navigating tasks, flying big air (for me), and somewhat cowed by the, "well this is the epicentre of gliding in France, they know what they're doing" ( : o) It was all a bit overwhelming and I wanted to focus on flying the rest of the comp, not get into a scrap with local aviation royalty - today, I am a different animal!

[@PureGlide]

@@frazerwilson1843 Haha fair enough :)

[@peterelliott2914]

If I see an aircraft coming towards me or converging I make a lot of turns. Like you said we're not big. So I make turns both for movement for their eyes to see and to show a different (bigger) profile. I also might get some sun glinting on my nice clean wing lol. We were taught this 30 years ago and probably still should be.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah doing some turns is one of the best things you can do to help. Any sideways movement can give you away, and just more canopy/wing in view too.

[@dzwings20]

Very good instruction, my instructor told me to watch each direction for a minimum 3 seconds.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah sounds about right

[@xistsixt]

normally I am surprised how well we are going along with each other. most of the sailplanes do really look out well and respect our presence. often we even wave to eachother. yesterday felt like every 5 minutes I had an encounter with a glider. always safe and clear. of course in Switzerland most of the glider and PG pilots use flarm, we PGs do not get alerts, but you get one from our presence. what do you personally think is the best reaction from us? I think if we are thermaling it's best to continue so you can see our intention. of course at the base we're forced to stop... 😊 if we are gliding straight and see a glider coming in we roll or pitch so you can see movement and more surface area...

[@PureGlide]

From a glider's point of view it is almost like you are completely stationary :) so I recommend just do what you're doing, you don't need to change anything. I try and wave if I can so the paraglider is aware I have seen them.

[@PureGlide]

Yes doing a roll or pitch if you don't think the glider has seen you can't hurt!

[@xistsixt]

that's good to know. I'll keep it that way. thanks for the reply 😊

[@Theworldofhanggliding]

Great to see that the "big boys" are aware of the situation. Last year, I circled in a thermal with 5 sailplanes with my Atos, and everything went smoothly, except when - on my way to the thermal - a sailplane probably didn't see me and came straight for me. Luckily, the pilot reacted at the last moment and dove underneath me and off to the side (while I pulled up and went off to the other side). At the time, I didn't have a FLARM-capable instrument - I do now. For me as a hang glider pilot, there are two key takeaways here: 1. When I can forsee a "close encounter" coming up, I try to "show my underbelly" to enable the sailplane pilot to spot me more easily 2. I now use a FLARM-capable instrument. Thanks for sharing this !

[@PureGlide]

Hey thanks for sharing, I had no idea so many paragliders do use FLARM, that is great.

[@ecclesheat]

As a kiwi Hang glider pilot now living in the Bavarian Alps. I have to say I feel my biggest risk in the air is a collision with a beginner paraglider pilot. Here in Germany before covid came along the PG schools were just pumping out new beginners as fast as possible. Without paying any attention to training them any air curiosity. I belive something around 3000 new pg pilots in Germany in 2019. In 2017 here I had one near miss with pgs. In 2020 even though the short season I had 5. The air just full up with pgs going in every direction flying straight into each others path. It can be bloody madness. At my local site counted 65 pgs in the air on the last day of last season. I managed as I usually do to get up and away from them. But landing I couldn't use the main field. Because I was descending with about 6 other pgs that were coming down together in different positions around the field. Rant but really it can't keep going the way it is.

[@Theworldofhanggliding]

@@ecclesheat You are so spot-on mate. I (and, dare I say, a large part of the HG community) very much share your viewpoint on novice (and undisciplined) PGs. It can be really nice flying with observant, experienced PG pilots, but this is, unfortunately, not the case - as often as one should hope for. That day I circled the thermal above Pass Thurn in the Pinzgau valley with 5 sailplanes (despite the "visibility hiccup" I described above), it was simply wonderful: obviously, we were all circling in the same direction, paying attention to each other's speed and distance, and generally being aware. I did abandon the "traditional approach" (PGs in the core, flex wing HGs outside those, rigid wing HGs outside those, sailplanes on the outermost trajectory) because I didn't managed to stay truly inside the core and kept interfering with the sailplanes, so I decided in the end to just abandon my "inner circling position", release flaps, and simply fly nearly full speed along with the sailplanes. An Atos can just about do it, perhaps some high performance flex HGs, but PGs certainly can't. But as you correctly said: air curiosity and, generally, spacial awareness is almost non-existant in most PG pilots I come in contact with in the alps. The responsibility of collision avoidance lies with the faster craft - but that doesn't mean everyone else can simply doze off. Perhaps the trouble is, that there are simply not enough HGs and sailplanes in the sky to constantly remind the PG pilots that we exist - and that we need to keep looking out for each other. Out of interest: do you consult your FLARM instrument regularly when you fly ?

[@SVSky]

@@ecclesheat Enabling people to fly who shouldn't be flying. Mentally checked out, unaware, tunnel visioned.

[@ecclesheat]

Actually I've never had that problem in NZ with PGs in fact you can even trust the beginners no problem. Probably because the community is smaller and a lot of the NZ curriculum is about sky courtesy. This season I've brought an electronic bicycle Bell. So its easier for them to know where I am.

[@justsnappy]

I’ve seen some LED position lights for gliders. What do you think of those?

[@PureGlide]

I want some! But then I'm a bit obsessed with LEDs...

[@SPQRTempus]

I went past a paramotor at the same altitude and they are very hard to spot. I saw him about 2 seconds before he went past and had we been on a collision course there would have been nothing I could have done to avoid hitting him. I hope budding aviators heed your tips on good lookout technique as they will save lives.

[@PureGlide]

Thanks mate!

[@BillPalmer]

Indeed! How many times have I been looking for a glider that I KNOW is there and can barely find them. Also of note when thermaling with paragliders, the glider’s wake can upset the paraglide canopy.

[@PureGlide]

I was wondering about whether the wake can be felt or not!

[@BillPalmer]

@@PureGlide I saw a video Where are the glider probably thought it was all fun to thermal with the paraglider with the paraglider was yelling at him because he was threatening the integrity of his chute!

[@Mike-01234]

From what I understand that historically glider collisions have happened mostly when in thermals just by the nature of difficulty to keep track of many gliders inside the same thermal.

[@PureGlide]

Yes quite likely

[@greghart6310]

I build condor landscapes and have put a bunch of paraglider objects on one of the main race-ridges ( it is a regular paragliding site) . Hehehe gotta have few obstacles to dodge! Paragliders should carry transponders

[@PureGlide]

Or FLARMs :)

[@Elliot-hz6wm]

If anyones curious the glider has said that he didn't see the paraglider. The glider in the video was an older gentleman which may have contributed. (Paraglider is my dad)

[@PureGlide]

Hi thanks for sharing. I thought that would be the most likely scenario. A bit scary, but also good it wasn’t a deliberate act.

[@Cirrus4000]

Thanks for the video. One of my biggest concerns as a new pilot is other aircraft and our instructors make sure you keep a good lookout. Also, can you say "evolved" instead of "designed"? 🙃

[@PureGlide]

Yeah it’s tricky for new pilots as it takes time to improve your lookout technique. And that’s on top of learning everything else! Just be careful not to fly off the end of the flat earth ;)

[@Cirrus4000]

@@PureGlide Yep, I've heard that there's nothing but sink out there.

[@Nokhaido]

Bonus Question: Where is the second Glider at 4:42?

[@PureGlide]

Haha I didn't even spot that, but I see it now!

[@davidl7328]

You gave some very valid information about collision avoidance but there is a problem for the ultralight guys. We don't have the luxury to carry all the electronics due to the added weight. We have a max weight limit that we have to comply with. Something we can do is to increase our visibility by using light weight strobe lights. The part 103 requirement is the strobe must be visible for 3 nautical miles. In the situation presented here a strobe may have minimized the interaction for the glider and the paraglider by making them more visible to each other.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah might have helped! We'll wait to hear if the glider flew under him deliberately or not...

[@MaritimeFox]

These paragliders were flying directly over camp hill which is the home of the Derbyshire and Lancashire gliding club in the English Peak district. I don't know what the rules are concerning paragliders over the airfield but they are pretty much in line with the launch area and well within the circuit. They should not have been surprised to see gliders at this spot. Whilst paragliders can be seen anywhere in the Peak District they do tend to fly in an area North of this location. goo.gl/maps/FY5FCX4wnDDP2M9B8

[@PureGlide]

Yeah although generally there's no reason paragliders can't fly over airfields and around other aircraft, as long as everyone can see each other. Radio calls might be required too, we have a mandatory broadcast zone around our airfield for example, as it is a busy airfield. So unless the paraglider has a radio, they can't fly around our field. I'd suggest a paraglider is easier to spot generally than another glider or even most small planes. The only real problem is only the fast moving aircraft can do anything if there's an impending collision, so it relies on the glider/plane pilot seeing and avoiding. If it's two planes, both pilots can do something, so there's double the chance of that happening.

[@edwardconover4728]

Question: In your experience thermaling with paragliders, when it goes well, what are you doing and what is the PG pilot doing? Is the difference in turn rate such that the PG pilot should core tightly and the glider work the outside? It would seem that, given the large difference in speed, it would likely not be possible to stay 180 across. In general, what is your air speed when thermaling (PGs are only traveling at about 17-18 knots). Thank you for the vids. I love the scenery and find that your narrative on how you are processing the sky conditions and potential triggers very applicable to paragliding.

[@PureGlide]

Hi glad you like the videos! Yeah I haven't done a lot, but I wouldn't try and thermal with one at the same level. Only when I'm above or below them, so it's not a problem. Yes they are very tight and in the middle of the thermal, and almost 'not moving' relatively to the glider, but I tend to thermal pretty tight too, about 45-50 knots airspeed (about 200m diameter thermal from memory). Too close I'd say.

[@edwardconover4728]

@@PureGlide Thank you for the engagement. I rewatched the video, particularly the portion where you are thermailing with a PG; the PG pilot appears to be on a higher aspect ratio wing (for a PG ... I can hear you scoffing right now ... stop it LOL) so is likely a more skilled pilot. In your experience, do PGs normally climb faster, slower, or the same as a glider?

[@PureGlide]

Well that one out climbed me much to my despair! I bet it depends on the day as well, those thermals were narrow and probably suited the paragliders more. At least that’s my excuse…

[@momentannamenlos9130]

I go over seen last year, too. I did my pre fight check properly, checked if the runway, looked if there is any plane in the area where i'm gonna be when I leave the winch. Everything was clear and good nobody was there! Then when I able to see whats infront of me (and about to leave the winch) the was an "Eco-class" plane, right next to me just a wingspan to the right of me half a plane size above me. I mean how can you not see a plane (in which I was) with a bright orange red belly!

[@PureGlide]

I'll do a video later on that talks about aircraft colours and how they help with visibility

[@momentannamenlos9130]

@@PureGlide Our Club got a yellow Schleicher Ka 6 which will be ready to fly next season, probably!

[@PureGlide]

@@momentannamenlos9130 Excellent!

[@kirkmason7079]

“See and be Seen.” It’s easy to second guess a situation in a split second, as in this video, When the paraglide or the sailplane pilot first spotted the other, radio communications is imperative. I never paraglide and not sure if they have radios. Just a thought. Nice lesson

[@PureGlide]

Yes usually Paragliders are not using aviation radios, but I don't know about this specific case.

[@Johan-ex5yj]

It will be different in each country, but in Australia Gliders and ATC is on VHF around 122 to 130MHz. Paragliders (in Australia) use CB radios on UHF around 477MHz. *So not at all compatible.* ( I can remember that Paragliders in South Africa used a frequency in the 2m HAM radio band around 144MHz. )

[@LSVFlachkurbler]

I was invited by Paragliders to have a talk about gliding here and we also discussed the problem sailplane and paragliders in one thermal. As a sailplane we should keep in mind, that in turbulent thermals it happens quite frequently, that a paraglider can have a front or back stall and needs 50 or more Meter to recover. So it might be safe to thermal above them, but its very unsafe (for both) to thermal below them. So never do that. It is quite safe in my opinion to thermal around them because our radius is larger anyway. But also check constanlty if they want to exit. In Germany, luckly the majority of the paragliders now uses Flarm.

[@PureGlide]

Hey thanks for sharing. Good to hear more paragliders are using FLARM around the world.

[@markmcgoveran6811]

There seems to be an assumption that you can look out and see something from an airplane. Airplanes are not designed for looking in general. The windows are small and shaped to be the most aerodynamic not the most visual function. I'm learning to fly a paraglider. I was going to line everything I have with tin foil so I show up on the radar better if someone is flying with radar near me.

[@geopwd]

Are there any rules similar to navigation at sea where each glider is supposed to take evasive action in predefined directions?

[@PureGlide]

Sure are! have to give way to the right :)

[@fastfreddy19641]

I'm not a pilot. Just wandering if a bright strobe light on the top of the tail would work?

[@PureGlide]

Yeah some gliders do have them. More useful on grey overcast days or early evenings due to the brightness

[@turkeyphant]

Few points. 1. It's not a GoPro, it's a 360 camera where the field of view can be changed but this does still look wide. 2. Balloons are a different class of aircraft and have different priorities when it comes to right of way. 3. It happened in the peaks and I think the glider pilot has said he didn't see the paraglider.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah could be a 360 camera. In New Zealand gliders have to give way to balloons. I look forward to seeing the report! Cheers

[@turkeyphant]

@@PureGlide Not could be, is. And this was in the UK.

[@petergarrone8242]

Wonder how close to cloudbase the paraglider was?

[@russella7263]

The rules of the air assign priority based largely on manoeuvrability. So heavier than air powered aircraft give way to airships, gliders and balloons. Airships give way to gliders and balloons and gliders just give way to balloons. The size of the aircraft, the weight of the aircraft and the speed of the aircraft are immaterial as far as the rules are concerned. Gliders, Hang gliders, and Paragliders are all in the same glider category so none have priority over the other.

[@PureGlide]

True, although it goes without saying really that a glider should give way to paragliders and hang gliders. Relatively they're almost standing still. But yes there's no rule in NZ for it, I assume most other countries are similar. www.aviation.govt.nz/assets/rules/amendments/part-091-amendment-23.pdf Pg 7, 91.229

[@HelloWorldETX]

Last year I had ATC point out a primary target just outside KPDX airspace. It was primary so no ADS-B, Mode-C or reporting of any kind and not in communication with ATC. ATC is trying hard to keep me updated with his position and giving me headings but he was just too erratic to keep up. I am straight and level and he is all over the sky not sure if he is being careless or intentionally playing chicken just outside this reasonably busy airspace. I did not get a visual until about 1/2 mile and he suddenly does a climbing turn into my path and I had to maneuver to avoid. It is insanity that this guy was completely within his legal right to operate in this area w/o ADS-B. I do not know if he was just anti-authority or what, but considering the government heavily subsidized installation it is absolutely crazy everyone does not have ADS-B.

[@PureGlide]

That's weird, in New Zealand you generally can't enter controlled airspace without a transponder. So most gliders have one. Of course we are slowly moving to ADSB but it's not mandatory until the end of 2022.

[@HelloWorldETX]

@@PureGlide he was just *outside* of PDX Charlie airspace and being non-engine powered gliders are exempt from transponder requirements in class E. Insane. He may have had FLARM so he knew I was there, but without ADS-B out he will not show up on ADS-B in. Even if unconfirmed and W/O altitude information, it would be useful if ADS-B indicated primary radar targets

[@russellharris5072]

High power positionally alternating strobes would help because they have that movement,but I wouldn't expect them to be much use in bright sunny weather............................

[@PureGlide]

Yes during normal daylight strobes would have to be very powerful to help. But anything that can draw the eye could help.

[@russellharris5072]

@@PureGlide Paramotor pilots use high intensity LED strips around the periphery of the propeller guard/hoop to great effect.These flashing hoops can be seen a mile away just prior to sunset........................

[@pstrzel]

A friend and I had an encounter with a paraglider once, not quite as close, but we were coming in for landing and he and another were hanging out near the end of the runway and clearly not monitoring the radio. We hopped over them and landed safely. He seemed to have been coming in for landing on or next to the runway at the same time, but saw us and turned away eventually. Probably had to change his pants. This was on final, so no chance for us to do a go around. This was the same flight as the "monster thermal" video on my channel, but I'm not sure if I filmed that landing.

[@PureGlide]

Eek not ideal

[@Johan-ex5yj]

Paragliders, can land on the smallest of open field, so don’t need to be, and DEFINITELY, should NOT be anywhere near an airfield or airport. It is just too dangerous! (Common sense?!) (To qualify my point of view: I used to be a Paraglider, and never flew near any airfield)

[@PureGlide]

@@Johan-ex5yj we have a number of paraglider or hang glider pilots land at airfields around NZ occasionally. No real dramas. Even paramotors take off from our field occasionally. I suspect an aircraft has more chance of spotting a paraglider over a glider!

[@Johan-ex5yj]

@@PureGlide True, but ask yourself, do you really want an aircraft in your landing pattern that does not have an aviation radio and therefore has no clue of what the traffic is doing around them? Also a PG flies at about one third of your speed and cannot get out of your way (in time) even if they wanted to. Sorry to disagree with you on this one, but I just don’t think it’s a good mix, and that’s why I stayed away from airfields when I was paragliding.

[@PureGlide]

@@Johan-ex5yj Yeah if you were doing it a lot, a radio would be highly recommended. Of course that means knowing how to use it too :)

[@alianjohnson6035]

some sound advice which applies equally to powered aircraft and gliders

[@PureGlide]

Cheers!

[@siliconebobsqpts]

Curious to know what color the Paraglider was? Possibly blended in with the sky?

[@PureGlide]

No idea sorry!

[@paragliding2347]

@@PureGlide Red and yellow. I am that paraglider pilot. I have extensive footage leading up to this time and am in contact with the sailplane pilot. We aim to review the situation with our respective CFIs and share the lessons with the entire gliding community.

[@PureGlide]

@@paragliding2347 Hi Paragliding, thanks for commenting. We'll let the investigation play out and see what the results are. I removed the location and date for privacy reasons, for both the other pilot and the clubs involved. Glad it was just a near miss and nothing more serious. That's just pure luck I chose the same colour canopy for the thumbnail!

[@zendesigner]

@@PureGlide i had a near miss with another glider plane that was in my blind spot. Luckely flarm alerted me just in time and i dove under the other glider with only 8 meter height difference. i looked the other pilot in the eyes...he never saw me

[@ashleybarnes3444]

I'm sure the said paragliding pilot as an xalps glider which is mainly white.. though on this day I was with both pilots at one point and was buzzed purposely by two pilots or least twice.. both times I had eye contact and a wave, also a very competent pilot that we shared a climb with safely. So I do wonder if it was accidental or actually a bit of showing off. Edit I wasn't in the same climb as these pilots.

[@brushitoff503]

Good STuff Tim would be interesting to find out more of what happened in that situation! Do you know where it happened? Fisrt time I've seen it. Nice Bottle mate!

[@PureGlide]

Thanks! No I don’t know anything more about it, or even where it is.

[@tomagge]

im leaving thermal lift when we are more than 2 gliders inside

[@PureGlide]

Fair enough!

[@ericoschmitt]

The worst to see are hang gliders with technora sails! Those transparent-grey ones. I fly HG and most other pilots have those sails. I CANNOT see them if they are below me or in front of a dark forest mountain background. They completely disappear. I’ve lost ALL other HG while in the air, like, other 5, and looked around for at least one minute before spotting them below/away. I think these sails are simply UNSAFE. My glider is orange on the bottom and white on top. My previous had orange contour and white in the middle (single surface). All leading edges should be bright colored. Oh, and yes, once I turned into another HG while at hill lift, the guy had technora sail and we were flying at the shadowed side of the hill...

[@PureGlide]

Interestingly studies of sailplanes have show that only solid white or solid black will have the best visibility in a majority of conditions, any other colour can have a negative impact depending on conditions. Obviously if you're in snowy conditions a lot, white isn't the best! Transparent grey sounds terrible!

[@ericoschmitt]

@@PureGlide when theres dark tropical rainforest below, transparent-grey is definitely terrible!

[@PureGlide]

@@ericoschmitt I bet!

[@SVSky]

The Sailplane pilot def dived below. That's the choice I make with paras too. The fact the para didn't see the sailplane speaks to the typically deficient tactical awareness of paragliders.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah could have done, cheers

[@Mike-01234]

Have you seen this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5S6pqSupsqBZrM Very good example of not being able to see a glider when it's on a head to head approach to another aircraft. You really have to pause the video to see it almost invisible until it turns away. Also wanted to know what the wings flapping is that bad thing? I don't know if this video is a near miss or they were trying to make the video.

[@PureGlide]

Hi that looks like the glider flew past deliberately. They dived to build up speed, which makes the wings bounce more as they hit turbulence, and then pulled up and away. The wings are designed to flex a lot, so no problem. If wings are flexible, it makes the ride smoother, much like suspension absorbing the bumps. Cheers!

[@suesun7072]

Sadly there is only one company (Skytraxx) I know of, providing GPS Varios with FLARM for paraglider. Should be mandatory for all light sport aircrafts. Years ago I had a very close call with a paramotor trike while flying a Cessna 172. It scared the hell out of me! I started paragliding last year and this is my greatest fear. Not being seen... Do Gliders always use FLARM?

[@PureGlide]

Hi Sue, most gliders in contests use FLARMs at least. And some contests it's mandatory. But definitely not all non-contest gliders, in our country we are getting there, and it will be different in different regions. Thanks for watching!

[@ColinWatters]

I once had a massive two seat glider make a descending turn with full air brake right in front of me. Claims he never saw me.

[@PureGlide]

It's scary just how often you hear stories like this

[@CLdriver1960]

That was scary. I’m not about to speculate on the sailplane pilot’s intensions, however, in my humble opinion, I believe that a paraglider wing is much easier to see and avoid because of its shape, size, colour contrast and closure speed.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah agreed, I never have too much trouble spotting them when flying around our local area.

[@12vibaba]

@@PureGlide the problem is that you never know which one you did not see.

[@waynerussell6401]

Passive measures are cheap - strobes and coloured/reflective stripes.

[@PureGlide]

Yes although reflective stripes are an interesting one as I suspect they would reduce visibility in a large number of cases, despite it being unintuitive. Only if you’re flying in snowy mountains a lot would I recommend fluorescent stripes or colours. Google “dazzle camouflage” to learn why stripes of any colour aren’t a good idea.

[@PureGlide]

I would like to make a video about this topic, it’s very interesting!

[@mf3599]

@@PureGlide How about painting the whole glider one color of fluorescent paint? I think strobes could help a lot as well.

[@BillPalmer]

@@mf3599 There are some LED strobes for gliders coming on the market in red and white. There’s a streamlined one that fits on the fuselage and one that shines forward from within the forward canopy.

[@zendesigner]

@@BillPalmer i made one myself with a 3d printer and a led flasher for emergency vehicles.. much cheaper same result

[@diytwoincollege7079]

The glider pilot was "Communicating"

[@PureGlide]

How do you mean?

[@johnfoster1201]

@@PureGlide I suspect that was a Top Gun reference, but I could be wrong.

[@SchattenPV]

I think we have to think about another problem. Knowing that there is another aircraft is only the half of the solution. We need to modify our aircrafts that they can be seen better, this is the second half. I guess ACLs like the ones from Sotecc and so on are a good piece of the puzzle for better see and avoid!

[@PureGlide]

Yeah it all helps! But it really is a combination of everything that is required. There is no single solution.

[@SchattenPV]

@@PureGlide yes that is why a spoke of a piece of the puzzle. Looking out, flarm, acl, perhaps we need more things. And I have to admit, that I dont have a answer what is the best visualization for flarm. There are several differt displays on the Market and I dont know which is best?

[@PureGlide]

​@@SchattenPV My personal favourite is the simple LED circle displays if you're actually in a near collision alert, and position it right up the top of the glare shield. From a usability point of view they are the simplest and most reliable displays when under a high pressure situation. And simplest to look at and understand. Optionally combine that with a PDA or LX9000 style device that shows where everything is on a map for general situational awareness.

[@SchattenPV]

@@PureGlide this is true as long only one glider is dangerous to you in this moment. My homebase is very near to one of the areas with the highest amount of glider traffic in germany. Especially when you have convergence lines its often the case that many gliders are passing at the same time.

[@zendesigner]

@@SchattenPV I just built in this year a LED flasher in the nose just to improve visibility. any technique you can do should be used.

[@Chris-NZ]

This is the exact same reason that motorcycles are not “seen” by motor vehicles turning out of side roads. It’s got a good thing considering the result, its just a fact.

[@PureGlide]

I was thinking about that when I was editing the video. Yeah exactly the same in a number of ways.

[@bouncingbrooker1]

I was ridge soaring a paraglider a few years ago , i was around 500ft above the ridge ( a ridge of around 1km in length) and a sail plane passed under me from behind between 30 to 50ft i had no idea it was coming. The first thing was I heard the whistle of the wing and zoom it was passed. It did cause a small deflation on my wing and a large deflation from stomach . Yep fairplay it did frighten me. But it was still cool afterwards to share the ridge with the sailplane .

[@PureGlide]

yeah not good if it's that close! I'll keep that in mind next time I'm flying around the paragliders not to sneak up on anyone.

[@JamesHurd]

Flask + T shirt+ sticker.. 46 bucks postage to Ireland please fix.. I would love to support you and buy some merch! But there must be cheaper shipping option!

[@PureGlide]

Yeah that sounds too high, I'll figure out what's going wrong and will flick you an email.

[@JamesHurd]

@@PureGlide Thanks mate hope to here from you soon.. Loving the videos I keep thinking I need to get up there and try full scale gliding.. Looks great up there!

[@toadamine]

Second glider? Where? In the red circle? I got nothing still... 🤷‍♂️🤣

[@PureGlide]

Told you they're hard to see! You'll need to watch in 1080p or 4k :)

[@toadamine]

@@PureGlide I'm on a small cell phone currently... with a cracked screen... lol

[@K1W1fly]

"This is small... This is far away..."

[@PureGlide]

They’re all small until they’re not far away :)

[@andrerovigatti9997]

What is the doubt ? What a heck are gliders flying near paragliders ? This is crime !

[@PureGlide]

Depends if it was deliberate or not!

[@jzak613]

Go'od video. Unfortunately, gliders and paragliders sharing the same ridge is an accident waiting to happen. I've been on a gliding site in the UK that shared a ridge and been unnerving close to paraglider's. The speeds, turning radius, climb rates and shared ridge are part of the issue. This video is such a short clip you can't see the whole scope of the incident. There may have been 20 paragliders in this area, tracking all the traffic is not easy. Another hazard for the paraglider is the winch line which is invisible to a paraglider pilot. A paraglider hitting a line shouldn't happen since you would never intentionally launch with a paraglider in your launch area. But doesn't take long for someone to start thermaling near your launch site or popup over the ridge. As suggested flarm, LED flashing lights and a good lookout all help.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah be careful out there!

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

In the UK, the winch will have a flashing orange beacon when in operation… I'm not sure if that's a rule, a convention at my old clubs, or just standard equipment on a Skylaunch winch. A glider on the runway with wings level is also a bit of a clue.

[@ronaldgadget]

Unfortunately (in Switzerland) the majority of Paragliders do not have Flarm...

[@PureGlide]

No, I suspect that's normal around the world. It would be a hard sell if you can't use it to alert you to aircraft, but only to broadcast your position.

[@zendesigner]

@@PureGlide why would they not be able to use it themselves ? they have a board usually with a Vario, Seeyou oudie also. should not be to hard to integrate ;-). It should be mandatory

[@PureGlide]

@@zendesigner True, maybe it is easy enough

[@andrewjcraig]

@@PureGlide A lot of us paraglider pilots in Britain are getting Flarm or Fanet devices that show our position to sailplanes (the Civil Aviation Authority has been subsidising purchases). It makes me feel safer, because, given the vastly higher speed of a sailplane, its pilot can do far more to avoid a collision than I can.

[@zeberdee1972]

I think the glider pilot just wanted to tickle his feet ....i would call that unwanted touching ....naughty pilot .

[@PureGlide]

😬

[@stejer211]

I can't count the number of times I had midair collisions. Luckily I fly RC airplanes. The problem we model airplane pilots have is that we target fixate right in front of our plane and forget to look around for others, which are usually all over the place. In RC flying clubs there's always a pattern you have to follow to prevent crashes, but hey, where's the fun in that?

[@PureGlide]

We all make mistakes, the trick is they should be caught while we still have an instructor in the back! Cheers for commenting

[@maxflight777]

3:12, that head on view is the problem. I had a near miss with a glider whilst flying a PA28 with 3 pax. The other aircraft was a modern single seat glider. A frightening and dangerous event. Your video is spot on. You have a huge talent for this.

[@PureGlide]

Hey thanks mate, yeah gotta be careful out there!

[@Dingmiester]

Why are gliders not a bright colour so they can be seen easily?.

[@PureGlide]

Great question, they have to be white to keep the temperature down. I’ll make a video about this sometime!

[@Dingmiester]

@@PureGlide I always watch Gliders at our local flying site and have always wondered why they are white, I would have thought the wing tips and elevator and rudder tips could be colored, I will look forwards to that video (:

[@alsmith20000]

Hello, at 4:40, you start to talk about apparent sizes of aircraft at different distances. You talk about cm though, but this isn't meaningful without qualification; If you're talking about length instead of angular size then it is equivalent to being projected onto some surface a specified distance away. A glider with a wingspan of 15m that is 1500m away would have an angular size of 0.57° (arctan(15/1500)). For it to have an apparent size of 1.5cm, you'd have to be talking about a projection onto something that is 1.5m away (arctan(0.015/1.5 also gives 0.57). If the same glider was 1000m away, it would have an angular size of 0.86° (arctan(15/1000)), which with the same projected range of 1.5m would be equivalent to 2.25cm. For fairly small angular sizes (much less than 180°), the angular size is approximately inversely proportional to distance rather than an exponential relationship. The same glider at 500m would have an angular size of 1.72° and be equivalent to 4.5cm when projected on a 1.5m away screen. I can make mistakes with my trig, but if after reading this, you think that you're right, do you think you could show your working?

[@PureGlide]

You should make a video on it! Very interesting. My measurements were very rough ones that I obtained online somewhere.

[@janholland2224]

Great analysis. Love your video examples/illustrations. On limits of human vision and the limits see and avoid paradigm I found the recent NTSB reconstruction on a Beaver and Otter mid-air quite educational/humbling. [ kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4WUoKClas91p9U ] Cheers from the Old World/Old Zealand.

[@PureGlide]

Thanks Jan

[@typxxilps]

Well, watching this it sounds strange to talk about drone regulations considering this amount of gliders and para gliders on one spot chasing the same goal. Too dangerous and too less security systems in place that could prevent these incidennts

[@PureGlide]

You can imagine how hard it is to see drones, if we can’t even see full size aircraft

[@typxxilps]

@@PureGlide Yes, that is for sure, but I meant how crowdy these places were in some of your footage even though they were in a far better "organisation" or at least it was not looking so dangerous.

[@typxxilps]

@@PureGlide I did not thought that these places were so crowded even though the later footage that there was a better order or safer flying. I could not have dreamed that this is so close and all in the same area. I live close to a glider port and model RC club next to each other but there is much more space and they do not try to climb the same path. But in your footage collection had been a lot of aircraft gliders etc. in a pretty close environment. And of cause I got your explanation that the glider pilot was not in wild west mode but most likely had overlooked this paraglider, but still so many "flying" objects you had pointed at with the red circles I coult not see on my laptop until I switched to a 4 K Monitor or TV Screen of 85 inch .

[@zendesigner]

@@typxxilps Although the sky is vastly and wide, we tend to join in thermals or under cloud streets which are fairly small , and thus concentrate the traffic in the same area. now the naked eye is still better then a camera so that effect you mention was a bit less harsh. A competition gaggle however is really dense and you need eyes everywhere

[@interstellarconundrum4774]

Why not simply have flashing lights?

[@PureGlide]

There are flashing lights, even for gliders, however the distances and speeds, plus a lot of sun, mean they don’t always help. If it’s evening or a dark day, they help a lot more.

[@interstellarconundrum4774]

@@PureGlide Thanks!

[@Dave-kq7gv]

if only the pilots had some sort of machine that would make lots of noise & give the ability to raise altitude on command

[@PureGlide]

Haha exactly!

[@markmcgoveran6811]

Like all human beings we think we can see. We can't see well enough to drive without a big red. That lights up on the back of the car in front of us. The vision that a hawk has is about a hundred times as accurate as yours. That's why I talk and sit on top of a telephone pole and see a mouse 75 yards away swoop down catch it. There's simply no way that you were going to see another aircraft in the sky in time to avoid running into it. Proximity flying kills every kind of pilot from a hang glider pilot all the way up to a jet pilot every time the guy hit something because he doesn't see it in time to miss it. By the time you see something it's too late to avoid it. Anything else other than declaring a human being to blind to fly compared to a bird is inaccurate.

[@cownenl252]

Here from daily dose of aviation

[@PureGlide]

Hi welcome thanks for checking out the channel!

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Paragliders and parachutists should have to use flashing beacons, or ADS-B out.

[@PureGlide]

Ideally! ADSB Transponders are pretty big for paragliders, but I'm sure some would have them

[@safetyinstructor]

Or get a FLARM

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

@@safetyinstructor why, only unpowered use it?

[@safetyinstructor]

@@DumbledoreMcCracken it's lighter and arguably cheaper.

[@sylvester.2842]

Why gliders are all white? Should have some colours like paragliders it's easier to see them.

[@PureGlide]

I feel like that topic should be a whole video in itself :) stay tuned! (Long answer short is they are white for temperature reasons for fibreglass/carbon fibre)

[@sylvester.2842]

@@PureGlide so, maybe stroboscope on the wing tips?

[@u2mister17]

Well do what all kite flyers do, ban the regulated gliders from the slop.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah maybe

[@90secondsofaviation86]

Glider pilots hate paragliders ngl. We see them as wingless rebels without radio or flarm ;) jk

[@PureGlide]

That’s a bit harsh! I like them because they help me find thermals. The more things flying in the air the better…

[@90secondsofaviation86]

@@PureGlide Thats why i written just kidding bellow it

[@stefanastley1176]

@@90secondsofaviation86 Paragliders are cyclists of the sky right? Haha... The kit on board point draws a parallel to how powered GA in the UK sees gliding without transponders mandated to be on board. The fact that most expensive (and motorised) gliders tend to have transponders now rather reduces the weight of why we fought it in the first place... But there we are!

[@Breenild]

Last week here in Germany and Austria I saw a lot of paragliders with transponder! Which is really great! This should have to be mandatory!

[@90secondsofaviation86]

@@Breenild oh absolutely! It would make this sport so much safer!

[@jacekpiterow900]

Funny how things roll. That is what paramotorists do for balloonists (aeronauts). Payback is a .... :) Only joking. We all should play nice. The sky is big enough for us all.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah absolutely!

[@zendesigner]

gliders like to say hello to Balloons also ;)

[@e.a.p3174]

Was it really necessary to play the cursing. I find it very offensive.

[@ess7488]

oz and nz is worst to fly you cant fart in the air you get fined too many pathetic rules

[@PureGlide]

Yeah can't fly near the ground at all here for example, unless ridge soaring

[@garyhardman8369]

product placement - unsubscribed

[@PureGlide]

Unfortunately if you want me to keep making videos I need some way to pay for it!

[@industrieundtechnik1761]

I dont like this china bottle and I hate gliders they are a dangerous obstacle in the air. I would put them only in restricted airspace or configurate a little slot they can use.

[@PureGlide]

I dunno, there's plenty of sky