Kiting

Keeping the wing flying overhead while you stay on the ground — feet first, brakes second, eyes on the horizon.

In this lesson you will

Watch an experienced pilot on a breezy evening and you will often see them kiting: the wing parked overhead, the pilot strolling about underneath, hands barely moving. It looks like a party trick. It is the skill that makes launches calm.

Good ground skills give you more time and space to check the wing and decide whether to go¹. Every hour of kiting buys you some of that time.

The calm spot overhead

While you stay on the ground, the wing can fly anywhere in the wind window downwind of you. Flybubble explains that the further the wing sits from the middle of the window, the less of it is in the power zone, so the less it pulls². Overhead the pull is mostly upwards and gentle, which is why instructors have you park the wing there to check it, and before you run.

A little more wind means a lot more pull: the force on the wing grows with the square of the wind speed, so twice the wind gives about four times the force³. A pleasant kiting breeze can become a fight surprisingly quickly.

Feet first

Think of the wing as a kite on very short strings. When it drifts off overhead, it is telling you where to stand: move your body under the low or lagging side, and it comes back to the centre⁴. Many schools teach kiting feet first — keep the wing up with mostly body movement, and only then add light brake⁵.

You feel the drift before you see it. The harness pulls you towards one side, one riser feels heavier, and the lines lean. In light wind you often need to move back as well as sideways, to keep air flowing over the wing⁴.

Figure: Seen from above, wind from the top. The wing drifts to one side; the pilot steps under it and it settles overhead again. In the second variant the pilot stays put and hauls on the brake of the dropping side, and the wing falls. Not to scale.

Seen from above, wind from the top. The wing drifts to one side; the pilot steps under it and it settles overhead again. In the second variant the pilot stays put and hauls on the brake of the dropping side, and the wing falls. Not to scale.

Myth vs fact

Myth: Kiting is about strong arms.
Fact: It is about your feet. The wing goes where you put your body; the brakes only fine-tune it.

Students who fight the wing with the brakes slow it down until it falls. Students who move their feet keep it flying⁵.

You can kite facing the wing or facing forward with the wing behind you. Facing it, you see everything but steer through the mirror image (see the reverse inflation). Facing forward, steering feels natural, but you read the wing through the harness and a glance over your shoulder.

Brakes: little, and one at a time

Brakes come second, and small. The classic beginner mistakes are standing still facing the wing and pulling against it, and pulling both brakes without noticing. One school teaches that when you use one brake, the other hand should be fully up⁵; follow your instructor’s version. Hands up, the wing flies freely; both hands down, it slows and sinks back.

Once the wing is overhead, a short brake input stops it overshooting⁴, and many instructors correct a drift with a touch of brake on the high side, away from the drift (facing the wing, mind the mirror image). In a stronger breeze, one school warns, too much brake makes the trailing edge flap and the wing bounce: ease off and let it fly⁶.

The brakes also talk to you. Firm, even pressure means a full wing; a side that suddenly goes soft is losing pressure. Pilots fly actively in the air on exactly this feel⁷.

Reading the wing without staring

Staring at the wing feels safe but makes you worse, because your feet stop moving. One manufacturer suggests a good exercise: hold the wing overhead without looking at it at all⁵. Look at the horizon and let the wing tell you what it is doing:

the harness pulls you towards the side it is drifting to;
a riser or brake goes heavy or light;
the sound changes, and a flapping trailing edge means too much brake;
the edge of your vision catches a tip dropping.

Then a quick look up confirms it. On launch your eyes belong ahead, and the look up is a brief check⁸, so build the habit now.

Drills

Your instructor sets the drills and decides when you have passed them. The syllabi measure kiting in different ways:

Standards differ Kiting tasks for the first rating

Common ground: Every system includes practical ground-handling tasks; only USHPA and APPI publish theirs.

USHPA (USA): P2 pilots show two minutes of controlled kiting overhead in a steady wind⁹.
BHPA (UK): Ground handling is phase 2 of Club Pilot training¹⁰. The task book is not public, so your school sets the drills.
APPI (international): On the flat, in wind of 15 km/h9 mph, students hold the wing overhead for 10 s, then 30 s, slalom with 30° then 45° turns, inflate with a 30° crosswind, and walk under the wing slowly and briskly¹¹.

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

Figure: Six classic kiting drills, roughly in the order you meet them. Your instructor will choose and adapt them.

Six classic kiting drills, roughly in the order you meet them. Your instructor will choose and adapt them.

A kiting session

Check the wind and the space before you lay out.
Cue A steady breeze within your limits, open ground, nobody downwind of you.
Why Gusts and obstacles turn a drill into an accident.
Inflate, stop the surge and centre the wing overhead.
Cue The risers go light and the wing parks above you.
Why A short brake input at the top stops the overshoot⁴.
Hold it there with your feet first.
Cue Small steps keep the lines vertical.
Why Footwork fixes the cause of a drift⁵.
Add small brake touches, one hand at a time.
Cue The wing answers without slowing or sinking back.
Why Two hands creeping down is a common beginner fault⁵.
Look at the horizon and fly it by feel.
Cue You notice a drift through the harness before you see it.
Why You will need your eyes ahead on launch⁸.
Bring it down under control, stepping towards it as it comes down.
Cue It settles on its back without slamming down.
Why Crash-landings on the leading edge wear the wing out¹².

Where and when

Kite in a steady, moderate breeze. One school suggests about 11–19 km/h7–12 mph suits learning on many wings, but you must stay within your student limits; APPI’s student ground-handling tasks stop at 15 km/h9 mph⁵¹³.

Choose open, even ground away from obstacles and other people. Never keep kiting in a landing field (LZ) when someone is approaching¹⁴: in one Swiss case a hang-glider pilot on final had to stall early because a paraglider was inflated in front of him¹⁵.

Stay out of the turbulent air behind trees and buildings. If rotor from an obstacle upwind is making the wing bounce, bring it down and move to cleaner air; Flybubble notes that a step to the side can take the wing out of it⁶. On hot days watch for dust devils: of three German pilots killed by them in 2018–2022, one was ground handling¹⁶.

Common mistakes

Common mistake Staring and standing still

Symptom: Your eyes are glued to the wing and your feet are planted; it drifts off and falls.
Cause: Trying to fix everything with your hands and eyes.
Fix: Eyes on the horizon, feet moving. Step under the low side the moment you feel the pull.

Common mistake Both hands creeping down

Symptom: The wing slows, sinks back and won’t stay up.
Cause: Pulling both brakes without realising it⁵.
Fix: One brake at a time, the other hand up, as your instructor teaches. Check your hands every few seconds at first.

Common mistake Crash-landing the wing

Symptom: The wing slams down on its leading edge again and again.
Cause: Letting it fall instead of bringing it down.
Fix: Bring it down deliberately and step towards it as it lands. Most wear on a wing comes from ground handling¹².

Instructor's note Where kiting goes wrong

Kiting is where wind limits creep. The better you get, the more you want to try it in a bit more wind, and that is how students get lofted or dragged. Stay inside the limit your instructor sets, and practise killing the wing as often as you practise holding it up (problems, strong wind and killing the wing).

Learn to kite with your instructor — SafePro says there is no reason today to learn alone¹⁷ — and practise on your own only when your instructor says you are ready.

Questions students ask

Should I kite facing the wing or facing forward?

Both, in time. Facing the wing is easier for seeing what happens; facing forward is what you do before a forward launch. Your instructor will mix them.

What if a gust lifts me off my feet?

While you are up, don’t haul on the brakes, because heavy brake makes more lift¹⁸. Get ready to land on your feet, then kill the wing; the wind is beyond your limits for the day. See if a gust lifts you.

How long until I can kite properly?

There is no fixed number of hours. Kiting keeps improving for years, and it is useful practice on any day you can’t fly.

Key points

Overhead is the calm spot; the middle of the wind window pulls hardest, and the pull rises steeply with the wind.
Feet first: move under the low or lagging side before you touch a brake.
Brakes small and one at a time; a flapping trailing edge means too much brake.
Fly by feel: harness pull, riser and brake pressure, sound. Look up briefly to confirm.
Kite in steady wind within your limits, in open ground, never in a landing field in use.
Bring the wing down under control; most wear comes from ground handling.

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.