Site Etiquette & Paragliding Groups

Video Transcript

"My name is Patrick Eaves with Wingenvy Paragliding. In this clip, we're going to be talking about site etiquette. There's a few things you need to know whether you're in your home site or your in visiting sites. The first is to always check the regulations, especially if you're going into a visiting site. You want to call ahead to pilots that normally fly that site. Check with the locals, see what the regulations are, what rating you need to fly that site, where they can and can't fly. A lot of sites are really protected and almost endangered because they have certain rules. Maybe you're not allowed to fly over certain houses or you're not allowed in certain areas. You want to know those things before you go to a site. When you arrive at the site, you want to try to setup away from the launch area, then gather your gear once you're setup and take into the launch area. That way you're not taking up a lot of time and blocking a lot of people that can launch. The same thing happens when you land. You want to grab your gear up right away and you want to get out of the landing area so other people can come in and land. You're going to want to check with the locals when you arrive at a site to see what their rules of the area are. There are some standard rules. For example, on a ridge, the pilot with the ridge to the right has the right of way. So if you're passing, you need to pass on the outside away from the ridge. Also, the lower pilot has the right of way. So if someone's scratching low, give them the right of way so they can get up high. In a thermal, the person who arrives at the thermal first gets to determine the direction of the turn and anyone below you has the right of way if they're coming up. So if someone is coming up from below you, you need to move out of the way so they can thermal up past you. Again, check with the locals at the site so you know what their rules are. Some things may be different."