At first, even a top-down flight from a 50-meter training hill delivers a sea of emotions.

The only thing that bothers you is to climb back every time. It is not necessary to make unnecessary movements on the winch, but the drag costs money, and the queue. Another thing is flying in dynamics! Started, and hang as much as you want, at least all day. The dynamic flight is good for everyone, it's a pity only, it does not require any effort. No sporting interest. Competitions in dynamics are not satisfied. Of course, not everyone is attracted to competitions, but still it’s a shame to feel attached to the hill - I want freedom of movement. I want to move in any direction at significant distances. Overcome earthly obstacles through the air. Traveling in the mountains, viewing familiar landscapes from new angles - from a great height, from under a cloud. All this gives XC flights.

XC paragliding consists of a start, a set, a transition, a few more sets, and, at the end, a landing, which will, we hope, be soft. You can start from the mountain or, in the flat terrain, with a winch. The start method does not play a role, but it greatly affects whether the flight passes over the plain or over the mountains. You can start from the mountain and fly over the plain. The reverse examples (starting from a winch and flying over the mountains) are not known to me - why a winch when there is a slope. Although theoretically I can imagine, for example, a winch on a tea field in Kurai. Flying over the mountains is more dangerous due to the low altitude over the terrain, the difficulty of evacuation in case of disaster. It’s more difficult to fly, as you always have to have a margin to get to a safe landing. We have to go around many potentially dangerous places.

The first step that a novice pilot must climb is the ability to handle flows. Without this, XC paragliding is impossible. Knowing only how to handle flows, you can already fly quite well. Especially in competitions, where there is the opportunity to do, like everyone else, to attach themselves to flow locomotives. However, it often happens that the pilot is able to process the starting stream, go through the wind, but there are problems with finding the second flow. With some wind, a base of 1000-1500 meters and light streams, you can move 10 kilometers from the start during the set, and then fly the same amount, decreasing. It turns out 20 kilometer routes in the wind. To overcome this milestone, you need to understand the tactics of finding the second and next flows, generally in the tactics of XC paragliding. Then it remains only to improve: learn to choose the moment so that each start ends with a departure on the route. Learning to sometimes throw stream, and sometimes sag at zeros, in order to develop maximum ground speed and not sit in areas of extensive sinks.

There are no limits to mastery. In this article I want to describe things known to all more or less experienced pilots - the very things that the beginner pilot lacks to fly his first 50 kilometers. Unfortunately, there are no schools of route flights at all, or very few, there aren’t enough at all. Take elementary education, learn to start, land, keep in motion - this is welcome. Almost no one teaches you how to handle thermals. Routing tactics - even more so. Only Shorokhov arranges track reviews, but this happens mainly in competitions, designed for fairly good flying pilots, and in the end, Shorokhov alone is not enough for everyone. I would like to give advice to those who have not yet reached the competition, but cannot reach Shorokhov’s body.