Fifty Ways to Fly Better: Techniques for Paraglider and Hang Glider Pilots

by Bruce Goldsmith

Do you know the difference between a 'sticky' and a 'fizzy' flying day? Want to learn to climb faster with the turn-reversal technique, or understand how to surf through the mountains, choosing the right lines rather than getting hammered by the valley wind? Fifty Ways to Fly Better is essential for all pilots who want to reach their potential. It is packed with the latest techniques and thinking from Bruce Goldsmith and some of the world's best pilots and instructors. The book draws on 20 years' worth of Icaristics, Bruce's well-regarded column in Cross Country magazine, and combines it with lots of completely new material - all revised and updated for today's pilots. Fifty Ways to Fly Better includes: Heaps of tips to help you climb fast and efficiently / Psychological techniques to help you perform at your best / In-depth guides to flying the flatlands and mountains / Advice to keep you safe while flying near clouds and terrain / Skills and tactics to help you fly bigger cross country distances / Straight-forward illustrations to help you maximize flying conditions / Simple explanations of diverse wind and thermal flow patterns and structures

230 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2013

About the author

Bruce Goldsmith was born in Hemel Hempstead, England in 1960 and trained as a civil engineer. He first saw hang gliding as a child and learnt to fly while at the University of London. In 1986 he became a member of the British Hang Gliding team and one year later turned professional when he landed a major sponsorship deal with Newsweek magazine. His successful hang gliding competition career culminated in winning the Hang Gliding World Cup in 1990. He designed Hang gliders for Airwave in 1990. He was a director and designer there until 1998. The following decade saw him help found Ozone, before working again as a paraglider designer for Airwave. In 2007 he won the Paragliding World Championships in Manilla, Australia on a paraglider that he had designed himself, the first pilot to do so. He has been multiple British Champion in both hang gliding and paragliding and flew at the hightest level in international competition for decates. In 2013 he founded BGD - Bruce Goldsmith Design GmbH. He lives in the south of France with his Icelandic wife Arna (also a pilot) and their three children Tyr, Freyja and Gunnar.

Reviews

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly not immediately relevant to me but interesting and motivating!

[Sergiu Bal · Rating 5 out of 5]

faina