Online Paragliding Resources

By Chris Amonson
Email lists, forums, and groups (updated 2018-03-04)

I have been collecting online resources for a number of years now.  Here is what I have been using recently.  This list is not comprehensive and online resources are continuously changing so I’m sure there will be updates to this post in the future.

Weather

Weather knowledge is very important to a successful and safe flight.  Not only being able to check the current conditions and make the call on a particular day but to recognize patterns and know the conditions that make those epic XC days possible.  Fortunately there are many online sources of weather information.

http://www.weather.gov/

http://www.xcskies.com/

Windgrams
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/mm5rt

http://i90.atmos.washington.edu/ferry/Ferryjs/mainframe1.htm

http://www.weatherspark.com/

http://www.outsideconnection.com/

http://www.soaringpredictor.info/wash/WashingtonCentralPredictor.htm/
http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/
http://www.intellicast.com/Local/WxMap.aspx
http://windhistory.com/map.html#9.00/47.4725/-117.2645
http://www.westcoastsoaringclub.com/links/weather.php
http://www.canadarasp.com/RASPtable.html
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/gmap.php?map=mtr
Tiger Mt North Launch
Tiger Mt LZ weather station
http://www.xcmeteo.net/

National Organizations

http://ushpa.aero/

http://www.fai.org/

http://www.hpac.ca/pub/

Local Clubs

www.nwparagliding.com

http://www.rainierparaglidingclub.org/

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/NCSC_group/

http://www.cloudbase.org/

http://www.desertsoaring.org/

http://www.centeroflift.org/

http://www.cascadeparaglidingclub.org/

http://www.desertairriders.org/

Vancouver and Fraser Valley

http://www.westcoastsoaringclub.com/

Vancouver Island schools

https://www.viparagliding.com

http://www.flyvictoria.com/

FaceBook
Gliders

Airspace

http://skyvector.com/?ll=47.46214148261591,-121.92645263884867&chart=301&zoom=1

http://soaringweb.org/Airspace/NA/HomePage.html

http://www.maddyhome.com/ctr/
http://chorlton.homeip.net/flighttools/dual.html
http://chorlton.homeip.net/flighttools/solo.html

http://www.flightradar24.com/47.69,-122.16/10

Organizations that do good
http://www.karmaflights.org/
http://thecloudbasefoundation.org/site/
http://www.ushgf.org/

Despite the rise of social media such as Facebook Twitter  and Google+, email lists and forums are still a primary way of communicating among the flying communities.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBCC/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CenterOFLift/

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/Desert_Soaring_Club/

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/NCSC_group/

http://groups.google.com/group/cpcl

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/desertairriders

http://www.westcoastsoaringclub.com/forum/

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/

Retrieve and Safety

This is particularly useful for pilots in the Northwest US.  Local luminary pilot Dave Wheeler has put many hours into developing this site that works with the Spot device to provide a safety net and aid to those long retrieves.

http://xcfind.paraglide.us/

www.findmespot.com
Inreach - Garmin

Earlier article about XC and Retrieve

Radio

Radio communication is important to our safety while flying.  Even if we don't use the ham frequencies very often I urge you to take a class and become licensed.  If nothing else the class provided information about using your radio and the rules surrounding its use.

http://www.hamradio.com/

http://www.mods.dk/index.php

http://www.mikeandkey.org/

http://www.qrz.com/
http://www.hamdepot.com/states/wa.asp
http://www.arrl.org/home

GPS

http://www.thegpsstore.com/

www.garmin.com

Maps
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/services/gis/maps/county/mpl/mplco.htm

Site and Wing research

http://www.paraglidingearth.com/pgearth/index.php

www.para2000.org
http://thermal.kk7.ch/
http://xcglobe.com/

The OZ report is hang gliding focused however the Google Earth flying site file is a great resource.

http://ozreport.com/

http://ozreport.com/sites.php

Equipment

There are many places to purchase paragliding gear online, these are just a few.  Your local instructors and dealers are also excellent sources and may have a better understanding of your personal requirements as well as firsthand experience with the gear.

http://www.paragliders.com/

http://www.crittermountainwear.com/

http://www.paragliding.com/

http://www.superflyinc.com/

Pargliding Tours and Competitions
300peaks
Wings over Applegate

Paragliding Worlds

This is competition is where national champions and teams compete.

http://www.fai.org/hang-gliding-and-paragliding

Paragliding World Cup

This is currently the field where all the best paraglider pilots compete.

http://www.pwca.org/

World Paragliding Series

Start by Mads Syndergaard this new international competition series will accept all wing types certified and non-certified.

http://www.race2goal.net/

Blogs and podcasts

https://www.blog.nwparagliding.com

http://thepreacherswing.blogspot.com/

http://www.judithmole.net/blog/

http://www.ojovolador.com/eng/flyingworld/
http://ziadbassil.blogspot.com/
http://www.paragliding-tales-and-reviews.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/WonderBoyyyyy?feature=watch

Hardcopy

http://ushpa.aero/magazine.asp

http://www.xcmag.com/

http://www.thermik.at/aktuell/berichte.html

Software

Logbook

http://home.comcast.net/~greglanz1/

GPS download

I use gpsdump but there are many other options out there.

http://www.gethome.no/stein.sorensen/body_gpsdump.htm

http://www.gpsbabel.org/

http://www.easygps.com/

http://software.garmin.com/en-US/gcp.html

Paragliding simulator

http://psge.atom-i.net/

Hardware

Often it is hard to find a source for Maillon Rapide quick links.  Here are a couple of places to purchase them.  Always check to make sure they have the require load certifications.  Maillon Rapide, Inox are good manufactures, beware of similar quick links made in China.

http://www.greenboatstuff.com/marasqqulist.html

http://www.westmarine.com

Conclusion

I hope this short list provides some resource and entertainment for those rainy stretches or boring work days sitting at your desk.

Chris Amonson