Strong Wind Depower: Rear Riser Control

Launching in strong wind is difficult to learn, because if you get it wrong you’re quickly overpowered. Here’s a technique that reduces the force generated by the paraglider, allowing you to stay in control. Well, for a little while anyway …
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UPM_KT332:7 LA Sunset [Driscoll, Adams)
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[@hekikuu]

Beginner pilot here. I absolutely LOVE this video!! It seems like you're weightless going up and down. And the demonstration is just great, it's easy to see the difference in glider response between C's and brakes.Can't wait to try this some day. I did learn to fly by using C's only to steer in the air, sort of learning what to do when a brake line has broken. I was amazed by how very little input is needed with C's to steer, maybe 1-2 centimeters only. I can image how easy it is to kill a glider with that group. So, it also need finesse compared to the toggles.

[@NelsonsWings]

Greg, we have now used the rear-riser inflation in strong conditions, and it's brilliant! Works like a charm. Feet stay planted, steering is easy. When ready to fly, just go to trim and voila! Off we go. And, it really doesn't require crossed hands. We turn left after inflation, so the left risers cross over the right. Just get brake toggles in hands as usual, but after that just grab the rear riser with the usual hand; left hand will be on top of the lines on the left side, right hand underneath the lines on the right. Usually rules for kiting apply, step toward the low side and pull with pull with that hand. It's super simple and foolproof!

[@barrywebber100]

That was a masterful display, thank you for posting.

[@madsloper]

By far the best high wind launch control technic I've seen, I'll definitely be adding this to my tool bag of tricks. Once I start flying that is. :/

[@forgermarkstucky2242]

How can anyone give this video a thumbs down? It's honest, well done, and accurate.

[@josephwill5944]

very well done, perfect explanation..i love how you show us so many variations, really leads to a complete understanding of the concepts. THANK YOU!

[@TimPentreath]

Really looking forward to trying this on my OXA instead of As and Cs. Thanks for a great vid!!

[@nachnamevorname5917]

Lovely, butterflying down with D's... makes my day. Ty Greg!

[@crimsonraen]

Thanks for the video, Greg! I need to try this while kiting.

[@JoshHolmstead]

Very well explained and well done. Thank you for these insightful tips!

[@mickbrett1608]

Great clip, thanks for posting.

[@SKYSETE]

Very good Greg!

[@StanBarankiewicz]

Another useful video, thanks!

[@dkumpula001]

Fantastic control. Thanks for the lesson!

[@tommiecharcoal]

Really enjoyed that, thank you, can't wait to have a practice

[@jonnbravo9804]

Excellent video. Will be giving this some practice.

[@yyyf6f6ff]

Nice one greg!

[@kyleorth2968]

With a glider with a BC system would you suggest having your hands near the mallions on the C's, or already on the bc interconnect/toggle? Otherwise if you bring the wing up with the Cs hands near the mallions should you transition to the BCs after bringing the wing up for better control? Can't wait to give it a go next time it starts to blow!

[@AndreBandarra1]

That's really cool Greg never thought about that. Will definitely try it on the Base next time it's windy and see if it likes it. I think it's particularly useful to be able to ease it up slowly in strong wind. Rosing up the glider seems a lot more time consuming and probably results not as consistent. Also to stay on the ground instead of flying C's vs brakes looks quite interesting. Shows that pulling on the rear risers probably kinks the wing somehow and spoils it, creating less lift than by pulling on the brakes

[@greghamerton4422]

The very first time you pullup you can get good results from opening just a few cells in the middle of a neat concertina pack, but once it's bunched I find it too risky in strong wind, 1 in 20 you get a cravatte. On some wings this technique might create too much of an explosive start - then rather tease it up with As and run. As always, I advise lots of playtime with your wing!

[@JacobCHolden]

very nice control, well done!

[@NelsonsWings]

We learned a lot from this video. Been using A's and C's, and the problem, as you mentioned, is the difficulty steering, and the transition to facing forward.... must to let go of the C's and go for the brakes. Must try the pure rear riser, first kiting and see how we like it.

[@viliamgazo8589]

I always use A and C risers for launching. I also hold the brakes with C's, so the transition is smooth. There's no swapping hands or grabbing brakes after the turn. This is how we do it here in Australia

[@kanchakancha1144]

I fly in B wing. Until now I have been using A & C to launch. As you mentioned, steering response during ground handling was not very good so I was doubtful of my skill, I now know that it is the case. I will try C controls in separate hands when I am out next time. Thank You.

[@danbruce4509]

Just subscribed to your channel, and love the advice! Could you give a definitive answer to the question about where your brakes are while using the rear riser control/launch technique?

[@wonderfulworldofWoody]

I’ve been shown to pull up using A and B risers to depower the wing in high wind. Basically a partial B line stall, makes a huge difference. Just hold all A and B lines together just above the mallions, with brakes on wrists you can then swap hands on the A/Bs and use the opp hand to brake if required for steering. Try it…you’ll never get dragged or plucked!

[@TierOneLandscapes]

That looks like magic, but I know it's simply physics!

[@DRD8CZ]

Love it!

[@livenusgordon8664]

Class video a. Pleasure to watch 😊👍class music also

[@TierOneLandscapes]

How much of a difference in control is there, using this technique, between a two liner or three liner?

[@chrisdervin5420]

Nice video Greg will give it a go. Just one thing I presume that you put your hands through the brakes then hold back risers to launch?

[@MrMagoo-pc6yn]

Hi Greg I was just wondering how come you don't mention the big ears launch...my friend showed me this from South Africa, I find it great for strong conditions.

[@Ordinary-Dad-MTB]

Hey Greg. How do you think this will work on the omega x alps 2, where the back risers also pull on the b’s? I’m wondering if it’ll be less effective as the profile is less disturbed?

[@lt.dansparamotoradventures2592]

Wow. He's got skills

[@uglyduckling81]

My wing is an old dinosaur from early 2000's. I was out all afternoon practicing this in about 20-25km wind but on mostly flat surface. Also I haven't flown in 10+ years. I need to put in A riser to bring it up on the flat surface. Tested both brake and D riser input for control. Brakes had be sprinting after the wing until I could grab the D and kill it. (I managed to get a pretty awesome rope burn when I was grabbing for a D riser and got a hand full of lines. Holding A's and D's allowed me to get the wing up and control it. I held the brakes at all times so there was no fussing about when i wanted to turn and practice the launch. Then I find your video demonstrating it tonight. Great vid.

[@CovertMessiah]

Also the wing loading should be done leaning back rather than forward, facing forward?

[@dougwjackson]

thanks

[@glennmann3907]

Awesome technic.question i did my pg2 on bolero 6 which wing should i choose to spend next few years learning to thermal on thx buddy 4 all your vids which got me in to this lovely pass time

[@greghamerton4422]

you gonna hate the answer, but Bolero 6. fly it till you're honestly bored with it, and you have mastered it.

[@laniik]

awesome video, thanks! never liked the As/Cs approach either!

[@greghamerton4422]

on some wings it works so well you wonder why everyone isn't doing it. Then on a lot of other wings, you get in a locked out position and wonder why anyone would do it :-)

[@RainerHattenhauer]

Very nice video. I'll try this on my own during the next windy groundhandling session. As Paul already asked, where do you place the brakes during rear riser control? Are they still in your hands? Or do you leave them completely untouched during the initial phase?

[@lodovicosmith9438]

This is one of the things I've been trying to figure out for a long time. You will always be advised to never ever let go of the brakes for any reason. I practice the front and back riser method often, but let go of the brakes to do so. BAD! Although the wing can be ground handled and depowered and flown with rear risers, I find; Brakes that are not in hand are difficult to find, despite always testing myself how to find and grab the correct lines quickly. Even worse - if they're not clipped in, they WILL tangle with every other line and riser. If you get plucked up for some reason and want to get to your brakes quickly, there is an awkward transition between letting go of the rear risers (losing lift/drag) and quickly getting onto the brakes to catch the surge. I ditch the brakes completely as I find myself inadvertently pulling almost quarter brakes when tugging the risers, but seriously need to find a way of keeping them in hand. Around my palms and I can easily lose the toggle, around my wrist and its more likely to activate braking.

[@adrianonea8174]

Does the back riser control work with the new 2/3 lines ACR like Delta/Alpina 4? What do you pull?

[@rolandwiberg1555]

I see no detailed view of what one should do with the hands in this technique ?

[@SkidzFPV]

Seems like the schools only teach the A’s and brakes method, or maybe just the school I went to, wondering why that is? I’ve since taught myself the A’s in one hand and C’s in the other and definitely prefer that method to A’s and brakes only, but I’m going to have to try this method out, would definitely have better directional control over A’s and C’s method.

[@krzysztofantczakpl]

Super, Super, Super

[@jesse2006]

question: can you be more specific about how you let the wing down? I think that actually is the most dangerous part. It appears you pull the 'd's to nearly a stall are you then pulling 'a's to slow the descent right before hitting the ground or just letting off the 'd's? also noted is that it appears really hard to stall that wing, you had brakes to your butt and it was still flying...

[@sza1985]

Now that's what I was talking about. This is THE WAY to launch in strong conditions. Greg, does this work well on 2 liners also? I wonder none of the pilots taking off at Quixada use this technique, except a few

[@greghamerton4422]

not so well on 2 liners, slow wings, old wings, wet wings, which is why I made the other video (strong wind depower) - some wings need As to get them up, or to get them to refly when they drop back slightly. Then its better to run at the wing before the pullup even begins to bite. It also depends on how your Cs are rigged, every wing is different.

[@mohdsaifulmohdsaid852]

hi what do u mean back risers? riser C?

[@lodovicosmith9438]

Yay, another excellent video! I'm a big fan of front risers in one hand and back risers in the other. Total authority of the speed and stalls of the wing. Agree with you about how physically demanding or impossible it can be to use one hand to depower both sides of the wing. Like you did in the video, I find that stalling one side of the wing so that it bends back helps with rolling the wing back above your head if it goes over to the side. If you're able to stall and dampen the surge with a lot of authority without creating lift/drag (rear risers), there any benefit to depowering the wing as it reaches the zenith vs starting the depower earlier? In other words, do you ever find the need to bang the wing up quickly in strong winds to get it out of the power zone faster? Invoking a slide and resisting the power rather than running towards the wing is basically doing this? At many of our launch sites, getting plucked into the air in reverse is way preferable to losing too much ground and finding yourself behind the takeoff. Getting plucked into the air aint so bad. I suppose my wing is a little out of trim and difficult to pull it up by stepping backwards. Any position 30-45 degrees from the ground requires A's to bring it back up :( When things get gusty (I think where front & back risers excels), having the A's in one hand keeps me from ever falling into the power zone.

[@lodovicosmith9438]

Crossing arms to have right side read risers in right hand, left side in left hand...not even for money! :P

[@Luke-vm6lo]

Hey Greg, sry may be a stupid quest but mentioned the "backrisers" you mean the "c-risers" ?

[@cwbkk]

Have you ever tried The cobra launch? Its way easier to take off on strong wind.

[@MrL22]

I am quite new to all this and only had a handful of powered paragliding flights in low winds. What scares me with wind is how I would collapse the wing if it dragged me up the hill? And when you are saying back risers, is that your C's+brake? I fly a Ozone Spyder 28

[@greghamerton4422]

back risers = Cs (but on some wings, it would be Bs, or Ds). If it's dragging you up the hill, that implies a low angle, where your back risers would kill the wing nicely. I'll make a video over the next few months on 'wing kill' techniques.

[@nachowind1683]

rear riser means Cs?

[@bigwildman116]

Do I need to keep the brake in my both hand or release the brake during using the Rear Riser control ?

[@greghamerton4422]

keep hold of the brakes, so you can retain control and switch over to flying without any hassles

[@bigwildman116]

Greg Hamerton Thx!

[@theshakuni7804]

Hi Greg, Thank you for the video. Will this technique work on a EN-A wing like the Ozone Mojo 5? Cheers!

[@greghamerton4422]

it will work on some EN A wings, but not all, because they tend to design them to have slowed pullups and this might mean it 'wallows' below 45 degrees and won't come up without using A's. I'm not sure about the Mojo5, take it to a gentle slope in strong wind and play around!

[@bryantuffnell3387]

Is this technique suitable for an EN-A wing (Koyot III)? I've been taught to launch off-centre with inner A's and one brake, and have been experimenting with A's and C's. Is there one universal best method?

[@Fabian1985]

Bryan Tuffnell there is no best method. It all depends on conditions and habits. C risers control should work without any problem on the koyot

[@CovertMessiah]

Greg, I have tried the C control kiting, and the SECOND I grab the lines I lose control. I am not getting the steering control. Should I pull the risers or can I use the lines, or does it matter? Any suggestions?

[@CovertMessiah]

Hook3 25m 50ish hours . I have tried it in 8-10 mph gusty switchy winds. Maybe the winds aren't strong enough for this technique? I'm trying to get a feel for the control, so I bring the wing up, and then go to risers to keep it over head. Here is a short video of the day I was kiting, so you can see the wind. kzbin.info/www/bejne/roamn5WFotSIn7c . Thanks, and love your channel!

[@CovertMessiah]

That video doesn't show me trying that technique, as I only tried it a few times, and every time it was super hard to control. That video is to show you the wind conditions.

[@greghamerton4422]

on the Hook, you'll need a bit of a slope, and more wind, to counteract the tendency of the hook to drop back from midway. It's not the easiest wing to use the technique on, it has a built-in lethargy (intended to help prevent the wing coming up too fast).

[@CovertMessiah]

Ok...thanks! Ill just keep trying to get MUCH more proficient at grabbing the different risers quickly, and accurately. Keep up the AWESOME videos!

[@jesse2006]

great topic! because getting dragged actually is not as fun as it sounds

[@Jmfufghf]

@@mikes6216 🤮 Kardashians control the media and the sheep it seems and now they are grooming our children. Hopefully sanity will return. Back to paragliding ;)

[@user-yj1dm9jd2j]

Что за крыло ???

[@PaulDowsettUK]

Interesting technique, and something I've never thought of doing. "Inner As + Ds" was a godsend when I finally learned it, and works every time for me. Like you say, though, maybe it won't work so well for other wings. Just to clarify, where are your brakes when you're on the rear risers? Have you completely dropped them, or do you have your hands through the toggles? (I guess it's the former)

[@garethcbayley]

Paul Dowsett Actually i think the latter. See how easy it is for Greg to move from holding riser to holding brakes.

[@camotobe]

What are rear risers? You are so far. I can t see. Month ago I learned A and C launch and now I dont understand what is wrong with it and what is rear riser control. A/C launch allows me to build the wall, set right direction and also wait for the right moment to launch. There shouldn't be a problem.

[@garethcbayley]

Čamo The rear riser is the same as you C riser. Greg’s point is to hold one C riser in each hand, not both risers in one hand.

[@idanghelber8282]

rear risers in strong wind is a terrible technique. To kill the wing it's good, but that is what the rears are there to do. to kill the wing, not to help you bring it up. there is no reason to use the rears to bring up your wing. you are disconnected from your wing and on launch being disconnected is dangerous. Watch maurer's takeoff video in insanely strong winds. All you need to do is pull up on the wing and run under it to dissipate the energy vimeo.com/136343414