Free Flight Resources at Home

A roundup of free flight-related resources offering entertainment, education, and inspiration for pilots at home.

If you have suggestions on resources for us to add, please contact us. Please see the coronavirus and free flight page for updates on the evolving situation.

USHPA Resources

USHPA Film Festivals
Previously available only for chapter events, the two film festivals combined offer nearly 3 hours of free flight magic. View the 2018 festival and the 2015 festival now.

USHPA Magazine Archive
Read issues of USHPA Pilot/Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine all the way back to February 2008 on Issuu. That's over 120 issues of beautiful photos, free flight adventures, flying tips, weather lessons, travel stories, and more!

Northern California Pilot Forum
The Northern California Pilot Forum was organized by Jugdeep Aggarwal and held on November 3, 2018 in Sunnyvale. It brought together about 100 hang glider and paraglider pilots for an evening focused on free flight. Presenters discussed topics from safety and decision making, to paragliding design, to effectively using flight instruments, and much more. USHPA recorded several of the presentations, which are available here.

USHPA Lecture Series
USHPA is excited to announce a new, free lecture series for members. We plan to present inspiring and educational topics with engaging speakers that will further your free flight career during quarantine and beyond.

Other Resources

There are a number of wonderful free flight resources providing entertainment, education, and inspiration. Here are a few:

At-Home Tips

Nothing compares to actually flying, but here are a few ideas on things you can do from home to stay in the game and even improve as a pilot:

  • Catch up on your flying technique or weather reading
  • Complete a thorough inspection of your gear
  • Practice with soaring flight simulator software
  • Learn to use all the functions on your vario
  • Do upper body exercises (push-ups, pull ups, weight lifting, etc.) that will get you in top shape for flying
  • Analyze your own flight videos from last season (Are you tending to cross-control? Did you miss any clear lift indicators?)

Don't forget to keep in touch with your pilot community! Reminisce about past adventures, ask questions of more experienced pilots, and plan an epic flying trip for when we're through this.