Go/no-go and personal minimums

Set your own limits before the day starts, check pilot, wing, weather and site honestly, and keep deciding, on launch and in the air.

In this lesson you will

On the training hill your instructor makes every go/no-go call. Watch how: a long look at the sky, the windsock, the pilots in the air and the students, and now and then a quiet “not today” on a day that looked fine to you. Once you have your rating and fly independently, nobody makes that call for you.

This lesson is about the decision itself: the limits you set before the day starts, an honest check of yourself, your wing, the weather and the site, and the habit of deciding again. Reading forecasts is covered in Forecasts and the go/no-go decision.

Personal minimums

Personal minimums are limits you set for your own experience and skill, often stricter than the published limits. The FAA gives three rules for them: tighten them at any time; loosen them only after a real step forward, such as more training; and never loosen them while planning a particular flight, because outside pressure would then decide for you¹.

Why start stricter than the rating limits? Published limits are maximums for a whole rating level, not targets for your first months. Accident reviews keep finding the same pattern: a little-trained or rarely flying pilot in conditions beyond their skill. The DHV calls over-confidence the greatest danger, and SafePro notes that accidents also happen when pilots step up to a new stage². Starting strict leaves you room to grow.

Write yours down with your instructor, as numbers where you can: the average wind, the gusts, the crosswind on launch, thermal strength, and how long since your last flight before you need a refresher. There is no standard number for that last one; agree it with your instructor (see Coming back after a break). Agree them all while your instructor still makes the call, and they will be ready on the day you fly without one.

Figure: Build your own card. Set each limit with your instructor, then compare it with USHPA’s published P2 limits or write in the limits your instructor gives you. Nothing is saved, so print the card or write your numbers down.

Build your own card. Set each limit with your instructor, then compare it with USHPA’s published P2 limits or write in the limits your instructor gives you. Nothing is saved, so print the card or write your numbers down.

Standards differ The published limits your minimums sit inside

Common ground: Published limits are upper bounds for a whole rating level. Your instructor’s limits come first, and your personal minimums sit inside both¹. SafePro gives student limits only in words: light, smooth winds roughly into wind, and no cross, down, strong or gusty wind³.

USHPA (USA): Recommended P2 operating limits: base wind 19 km/h12 mph, peak gusts 24 km/h15 mph, gusts building by no more than 8 km/h5 mph in 5 s, no thermals with peak climbs above 1 m/s200 ft/min, and launch slopes steeper than 4:1 with the wind within 25° of straight up⁴.
BHPA (UK): No numeric student wind limits are published; your school sets them⁵. Members must fly only when fit and within their qualifications, with no alcohol or intoxicating drugs within 8 h of flying⁶.
APPI (international): A maximum wind of 15 km/h9 mph for the ground-handling tasks at all three student levels, launches with at most 45° of crosswind at APPI 3, and no separate in-flight wind limit⁷.

Summarised from each body’s published material, which changes over time. Check the current official documents and follow your school.

Myth vs fact

Myth: If the wind is inside the published limit, it is fine for me.
Fact: Published limits are the most a whole rating level should fly in. Your instructor’s limits and your own are usually stricter.

Personal minimums fit your experience, not the rating’s ceiling¹.

Check yourself: IMSAFE

You are part of the aircraft. Before flying, run the IMSAFE check of yourself, for Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue and Emotion. The FAA’s version ends with E for emotion and the UK CAA’s with E for eating; the BHPA’s “I AM SAFE” covers both⁸.

Answer honestly. Fatigue builds through a flying day, from carrying kit back up, failed launches and hours in the sun, and a highly stressed pilot can literally fail to hear a radio call⁸. An item that isn’t clear can be reason enough to stay down, however good the sky looks.

Pilot, wing, weather, site

Then check four areas, adapted from the FAA’s personal-minimums checklist, which says that marginal items in two or more areas mean you don’t go⁹.

Area	Ask yourself
Pilot	Is IMSAFE clear? Am I current enough for today’s conditions¹⁰?
Wing	Inspected and dry? Reserve repacked within its manual’s interval¹¹¹²?
Weather	Inside my minimums, on the forecast and on site¹³?
Site	Have I been briefed? Is the landing field large and easy to reach with height to spare¹⁴¹⁵?

Watch for small things adding up: a launch slightly across the wind, a slightly tired pilot, a wind slightly stronger than expected. The BHPA’s review of serious incidents found exactly this pattern, and urges pilots to deal with each factor before launch, even if that means not flying⁹.

On site, signs of trouble overrule a good forecast: if the pilots launching before you need a lot of skill to keep their wings open, that is the real condition¹³. It never works the other way. A calm launch never overrules a forecast no-go for strong wind aloft, a front, storms or foehn¹⁶.

Deciding through the day

The evening before, compare the forecast with your written minimums.
Why Your minimums were set away from any particular flight; compare with them, don’t renegotiate them¹.
In the morning, run IMSAFE before you leave.
Cue You notice an “I’m a bit tired, but…” thought.
Why A tired or stressed pilot misses things⁸.
On site, check pilot, wing, weather and site, and count the marginal areas.
Cue Two areas feel marginal.
Why Two or more marginal areas mean no⁹.
On launch, decide again before you clip in, and run the pre-flight check without interruption.
Cue Someone talks to you mid-check, or you have just aborted.
Why After any interruption or abort, start the check again from the top¹⁷.
In the air, keep deciding, and land early when things change.
Cue The air turns rough, or the wind builds.
Why Flying out to the landing field is always a legitimate choice¹⁸.

The flight you don’t take

A no-go is a good decision, not a timid one. The DHV suggests sitting apart on launch to watch the wind, the clouds and the pilots in the air, and remembering that there will be many better flying days. The Swiss federation adds: if your gut says no, listen¹⁹.

Watching a doubtful day from the ground teaches you a lot. You see which pilots struggle, how the wind changes through the afternoon, and whether your call was right. Either way, you go home with your judgement trained and your body intact.

Pressure on launch

Pressure rarely feels like pressure. It feels like friends already in the air, a long drive, spectators, or a group chat buzzing about the day. The FAA calls managing outside pressure the single most important key to managing risk²⁰; Hazardous attitudes and human factors goes deeper.

On launch, let nothing and nobody interrupt your preparation; in a group, a buddy check helps²¹. And remember that an aborted launch shows good airmanship, not failure²².

Deciding again in the air

Your morning decision has a short shelf life, so keep deciding once you are up. SafePro tells early students to avoid lift and turbulence, or to fly straight through to calmer air and land in the normal landing field²³. If you can’t see how you would recover from a sudden collapse close to the slope, fly away from it at once, or land²⁴. When the wind builds, get out in front and down early (Blown back and cloud suck).

A short flight that ends with you standing in the landing field, wondering whether you were too careful, is a good flight.

Common mistake Loosening your minimums on the day

Symptom: On launch, you decide your wind limit can stretch a little, just this once.
Cause: Pressure and excitement at the moment of decision.
Fix: On the day you may only tighten them. Loosen them only after training, on the ground, with your instructor¹.

Common mistake Checking only the weather

Symptom: The sky is perfect, so you fly despite a bad night and a cold coming on.
Cause: Treating go/no-go as a weather question only.
Fix: Run IMSAFE and check the wing and site too. Two marginal areas mean no⁹.

Instructor's note I tighten mine too

New site, new wing, the first flight after a break, the end of a long day: I tighten my own minimums for each, after many years of flying. New sites, new wings and stronger conditions add risk even for current pilots¹⁰, and first flights on a new wing belong in calm, stable weather at a familiar site²⁵.

Questions students ask

What numbers should my personal minimums be?

Agree them with your instructor. They sit inside your school’s limits and your rating’s published limits, and they start stricter. The card builder above helps you write them down.

What counts as marginal?

Anything at or near the edge of your minimums, or anything that leaves you uneasy. Two or more marginal areas mean no⁹.

Everyone else is flying. Am I being too careful?

Their skill, wing and limits are not yours. A doubt is a no, and there will be many better days¹⁹.

Key points

Set personal minimums with your instructor before the day, stricter than the published limits. Tighten them any time; loosen them only after training.
Run IMSAFE honestly; one item that isn’t clear can be reason enough to stay down.
Check pilot, wing, weather and site. Two marginal areas mean no.
A doubt is a no, and a no-go is a good decision.
Pressure is a reason to slow down. After any interruption or abort, start the check again.
Keep deciding on launch and in the air; flying out to the landing field early is always fine.

Ground to Solo is a study aid. Paragliding is learned in person with a qualified instructor at a recognised school; nothing here certifies you to fly.