Reverse inflation

Bringing the wing up while you face it — when to choose it, how the risers cross, why the brakes feel back to front, and how to turn the right way every time.

In this lesson you will

The first time you face your wing in a steady breeze, you can watch every cell fill and spot a snag before it leaves the grass. Then you pull what feels like the right brake, and the wrong side moves.

The reverse inflation is easy to see, tricky to steer, and it ends with a turn you must get right every time: wrong turns keep appearing in accident reports¹.

When to use it

A forward inflation is the technique for nil to light wind. As the wind strengthens, the reverse inflation takes over: you face the wing, bring it up, and turn round once it flies overhead².

No single wind speed decides the switch. Ozone says the reverse works in surprisingly light winds², and the BHPA’s post-Club Pilot exercises split reverse practice at 19 km/h12 mph³. That organises practice; it is not a student rule. Your instructor sets the switch point.

Standards differ Reverse inflations in the syllabus

Common ground: Master the reverse on the ground first. No body sets one wind speed for the switch.

USHPA (USA): P2 pilots show 5 consecutive controlled reverse inflations with surge damping⁴.
BHPA (UK): Post-Club Pilot exercises cover reverse inflations and control below 19 km/h12 mph, and inflation, control and deflation above it⁵. Your school sets student limits.
APPI (international): Student ground-handling tasks are flown in wind of 15 km/h9 mph⁶, including building a wall with the A and rear risers⁷.

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

Turning in: how the risers cross

Clip in as for a forward launch, then turn to face the wing, passing one complete set of risers over your head⁸. The risers now cross in front of you. Turn in to your left and your right risers go over your head, so they lie on top. Turn in to your right and your left risers end up on top.

That crossing tells you the way back. Turned in to your left? Your right risers are on top, so you turn back to your right: your right shoulder goes back and the risers unwind. The BHPA’s “T” (turn direction) check and the DHV’s rule, turn towards the side where the top riser joins your harness, say the same¹. Say it out loud before you inflate: “Right risers on top, I turn right.”

A Swiss pilot clipped in uncrossed by mistake, for example by clipping in while already facing the wing, was lifted off facing the trailing edge and could not turn round in the air⁸.

Building a wall

Many instructors have you build a wall first: you raise the wing partly, so it stands along the ground with its cells filling while you check and clear the lines⁷. Use small inputs: a little lift on the A-risers raises it, and the rear risers hold it down. You want an open leading edge and nothing snagged.

Holding the risers

Schools teach different grips. One instructor-author writes that there is no standard international method, and the DHV argues that your body position and movement matter more than the grip⁹. Learn one method thoroughly; your instructor’s method takes precedence.

Grip	How you hold it	Facing the wing	At the turn
Cross-hands (“preset”)	Each hand holds the brake it will fly with; arms cross	Steering feels reversed	Nothing changes hands
Straight-handed	Each hand takes the brake on its own side	Steering feels natural	You swap the brakes
One-handed	A-risers in one hand, rear risers in the other	As taught	As taught

One school prefers cross-hands, accepting reversed steering in return for no brake swap at the turn¹⁰.

The mirror image

Facing the wing, you see it from the front: its left half is on your right. With cross-hands, your right hand holds the right brake, so pulling it slows the half on your left, and the wing turns towards your left. With a straight-handed grip, each hand moves the half on its own side¹⁰.

Footwork comes first: if the wing drifts, move under its low side, and while it is still rising use your feet only¹¹. Once it is overhead, many instructors add a touch of brake on the high side, away from the drift. With cross-hands that is the hand on the same side as the drift: drift left, step left, left hand. Straight-handed, it is your right hand. Check it with your instructor.

Figure: Pick a grip and a hand, and watch which half of the wing slows down. Not to scale.

Pick a grip and a hand, and watch which half of the wing slows down. Not to scale.

Bringing it up

A reverse inflation, step by step

Turn in to face the wing and say your turn direction.
Cue Turned in to your left: right risers on top, so your right shoulder will go back.
Why Decide it now, not with a wing over your head¹.
Take your school’s grip, back up until the lines are just tight, and centre yourself.
Cue Equal tension on both sides and an even arc of fabric.
Why Off-centre, the wing comes up crooked¹².
Build a wall and check the lines.
Cue An open leading edge along the span, nothing snagged.
Why A tangle is easy to fix now and dangerous later⁷.
Raise the wing with your body, knees bent and hips back, guiding the A-risers up.
Cue A steady pull through the harness; the wing climbs smoothly.
Why A yank, then hard braking, is how pilots get plucked off their feet¹³.
In a stronger breeze, step towards the wing as it rises.
Cue The pull eases as it nears the top.
Why It takes energy out, so the wing doesn’t overfly you⁷.
As it arrives overhead, release the A-risers smoothly and damp the surge with a measured brake input.
Cue The A-risers go light and the wing parks over your head.
Why A controlled reverse inflation includes damping the surge⁴.
Check the wing, then turn back the way you came.
Cue Turned in left, so turn right: the risers uncross as you go.
Why Never go with a wing that isn’t fully inflated and under control¹⁴.

Instructor's note Exceptions you will meet

However you clip in, check which riser is on top before every reverse inflation¹. Which risers count as “rear” depends on the wing, so learn yours from the manual. And on a steep launch, a reverse you are not yet confident with is a poor bet: ask whether a forward launch is wiser that day.

Turning the right way

Once the wing is overhead and checked, turn back the way you came: you turned in to your left, so your right risers are on top — turn to your right (that shoulder goes back) and the risers unwind¹⁵¹. Turn the other way and you add a second half-turn: you face forward with the risers twisted a full turn and the steering compromised¹⁵. Pilots who take off twisted often pull the wrong, crossed brake and turn towards the slope¹⁶.

Figure: Seen from behind you as you face the wing. Turned in to your left: right risers on top, so turn back to your right and they unwind. The other variant shows the wrong turn. Not to scale.

Seen from behind you as you face the wing. Turned in to your left: right risers on top, so turn back to your right and they unwind. The other variant shows the wrong turn. Not to scale.

Three of the four fatal launch accidents among German pilots in 2018–2022 were recorded as “turned out the wrong way”¹⁵, and the DHV’s 2024 report adds two serious ones, both on steep launches¹. Decide before you inflate, and never improvise.

If the wing lifts you early

In strong wind a reverse can pluck you off your feet before you have turned. The usual chain is a hard pull on the A-risers, an abrupt release, then heavy braking: the sudden rise in angle of attack makes a burst of lift¹³. The cure reverses each link: stand low, raise the wing through your hips, walk towards it as it climbs, keep your hands up near the pulleys, and only then turn¹³.

One school points out that with cross-hands, a pilot lifted mid-turn already holds the flying brakes and can finish the turn¹⁰. Better not to get there: the DHV advises training step by step on flat ground first¹⁷; do that with your instructor. Launching is in the reverse launch.

Common mistakes

Common mistake Turning the wrong way

Symptom: You face into wind, but the risers are wound together and the brakes feel crossed.
Cause: The direction was guessed under pressure instead of decided before the inflation.
Fix: Say it in full before you inflate: turned in left, right risers on top, I turn right. Twisted on the ground? Kill the wing and start again.

Common mistake Yanking the A-risers, then hammering the brakes

Symptom: The wing rockets up and overflies you; you brake hard and get pulled off your feet.
Cause: Arms doing the work instead of the body, then a big brake input.
Fix: Low stance, smooth risers, step towards the wing, and damp the surge with a measured brake input.

Common mistake Braking the low side out of habit

Symptom: The wing drifts to your left, you pull your right hand as you would facing forward, and it goes further left.
Cause: The mirror image: with cross-hands your right hand brakes the half you see on your left, the low side.
Fix: Step under the low side first. With cross-hands, the brake goes in the hand on the same side as the drift. Drill it on the ground with your instructor.

Questions students ask

Should I turn in to the left or to the right?

Either works, as long as you turn back the way you came: turned in to your left, turn back to your right. If your school has a habit, follow it¹.

Can I do a reverse in light wind?

Yes, it works in surprisingly light winds², but you must move back to give the wing energy.

Is the cobra the best method for strong wind?

It raises the wing from one side of the wind window to reduce the pull, but Flybubble says it needs steady, strong wind and a grassy site, warns that a cravatte on a windy launch can be very dangerous, and prefers a wall held with the rear risers¹⁸.

Key points

Forward for nil to light wind, reverse as the wind strengthens; your instructor sets the switch point.
Facing the wing, the risers are crossed and everything is mirror-image: the wing’s left half is on your right.
With cross-hands, your right hand moves the half you see on your left.
Build a wall, raise the wing with your body, step towards it in a breeze, damp the surge, check.
Turn back the way you came: turned in to your left, right risers on top, turn to your right and the risers unwind.
Twisted on the ground? Kill the wing and start again. Never launch twisted.

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.