Cross Country

Cross Country is the world’s leading voice for hang gliding, paragliding and paramotoring pilots. Ten times a year, our magazine content reflects our obsession with flying, and we express it by packing each issue with the most imaginative, inspirational photography and writing we can lay our hands on.

THE LEARNING CURVE

CONTRIBUTORS

Cross Country

OPENING SHOT

IN THE CORE • People, news and insight from around the free-flying world

WHAT’S ON

NEW YEAR, NEW COMP SEASON

SRS 2025

THE SWISS GIANTS

FLYING IN PARADISE • Ole Dalen meets Geoff Davison at his home site on the island of Koh Larn

ON LAUNCH WITH SERGE DURRANT

NZ’S 100 GREAT PEAKS CLIMB-AND-FLY CHALLENGE

‘PROGRESS HAS A PACE’

BACK IN THE DAY

FLYING IQ • Helping you fly better with expert advice and know-how

MATHILDE CHIVET THE FIVE SENSES OF THERMALLING

HOW TO LEARN THE ART OF VOL-BIVOUAC • Start small and the world of sky camping soon opens up, says Jake Holland

THÉO DE BLIC HOW TO BECOME A ‘GOOD PILOT’

NATALIA JAGIELSKA WHEN FLYING REPTILES RULED

SATELLITE EYE • Looking down on our ever-changing Earth

RICH DOLAN THE ‘100-HOUR PILOT’ SYNDROME

ALLEN WEYNBERG ‘MY HEART IS BEATING’

DESTINATION MADEIRA

PROGRESSION: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE • Getting your paragliding licence is one thing, learning to become an autonomous and safe pilot is another – and takes a lot longer. Bastienne Wentzel explores how to navigate those crucial first seasons as you start to progress and gain that all important experience

‘IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, ASK QUESTIONS’ • Greg Hamerton has been an instructor since the 1990s in South Africa and the UK and has clocked up thousands of hours on over 300 different wings. He runs the online learning community Fly With Greg

‘IT’S A TOOL TO START DISCUSSION’ • Todd Gray is a Colorado-based instructor and competition pilot who has been flying since the 1990s. He developed Paragliding Flashcards to promote “constructive conversations” between pilots and mentors

FLYING EXERCISES: ‘GO OUT THERE AND PRACTISE’ • Building skills is not random – you can work on different elements at different times in different ways

ONLINE LEARNING RESOURCES

TAKE A COURSE, GO ON A TRIP • Expand your horizons, learn loads and have a lot of fun with a dedicated week (or more) away

OFFLINE LEARNING RESOURCES

Where eagles dare • From adopting the right mindset to training your body to perfecting the stall, Till Gottbrath talks to paragliding maestro Chrigel Maurer about the regime of “progressive and systematic” training that helped Chrigel get (really) good

“IT’S A KNIFE FIGHT” • “Every flight is a knife fight” says veteran pilot and adventure athlete Will Gadd. A competition pilot, former world record holder and one of the original Red Bull mountain athletes, Will has been at the forefront of adventure sports for thirty years. He shares the “paragliding survival principles” he has learnt along the way

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE • Andy Busslinger heads to the Lötschental in Switzerland and discovers the unique Tschäggättä masked monsters and the valley they inhabit

KITLIST • All the latest reviews, gear and technology for free flying

IN BRIEF

New Gear

DESIGN INSIGHT A BETTER WAY TO MEASURE POROSITY • “We should be measuring flow, not time.” Bastienne Wentzel explains why

INSIGHT: ADVANCE LIGHTNESS 4 • Advance’s popular mid-weight pod has been updated – complete with brand new fairing. Marcus King clips in

INSIGHT: SUPAIR EVO LITE 2 • Perfect for progressing XC pilots, this works as a sit harness and a pod harness. Charlie King...