Controls and brake ranges

How the brakes, weight shift and speed bar control your wing, what each part of the brake travel does, and how brake pressure tells you what the wing is doing.

In this lesson you will

Before your first flight, your instructor may hang you in a harness under a frame and talk you through it: “Hands up. Now slowly to your shoulders. Stop. Back up.” Those few centimetres of brake are most of the language you will use to fly.

A paraglider has very few controls, but each one has a range where it helps and a range where it hurts. This lesson maps them so that, in the air, your hands already know where they are.

Four controls, two jobs

You fly with your hands on the brakes, your body in the harness (weight shift), your feet on the speed bar and, on some wings, trimmers. All of them do one of two jobs:

Change the wing’s speed, by changing its angle of attack, the angle at which it meets the air¹.
Make one side different from the other, so the wing turns.

Both brakes together, the speed bar and trimmers do the first job. One brake and weight shift do the second.

How the brakes work

Each brake line fans out to the trailing edge of one half of the wing. The fan joins into one main line per side, which runs through a pulley on the rear riser down to your brake handle. The brake lines do not hold you up²: what you feel in the handles is the air pushing on the trailing edge you have pulled down.

Pull both brakes and the trailing edge bends down like a flap. The wing becomes more curved and meets the air at a higher angle of attack, so it makes the lift it needs at a lower speed, with more drag³. Up to a point it still carries you happily; past that point it sinks faster, and near the bottom of the travel it stalls⁴.

The first part of the travel does nothing at all. Makers leave about 10 cm3.9 in of free play, so the trailing edge stays clean with your hands fully up and on full speed bar⁵. From where the brakes start to bite, school wings need about 60–80 cm24–31 in of travel to reach the stall, as makers quote it at maximum weight⁶. Your wing’s manual gives its own figure⁷.

Figure: The brake ranges, drawn on the pilot. Notice how much of the travel is normal flying, and where the stall zone begins. Positions are typical: your harness, arms and brake setting move them.

The brake ranges, drawn on the pilot. Notice how much of the travel is normal flying, and where the stall zone begins. Positions are typical: your harness, arms and brake setting move them.

The brake ranges

Hands	What the wing does	What you feel
Fully up	Trim speed, about best glide in still air⁸	No brake applied: hands at the pulleys, just feeling the lines
Light brake, hands about shoulder to eye height	Minimum sink: stays up longest⁹	Firmer pressure, a little less wind noise
Chest	Slow flight: slower, sinking more	Heavier pressure, less margin
Hips and below	The stall zone¹⁰	Heavy pressure, fading wind noise¹¹

Most flying happens in the top part of the travel: hands up by default, light brake for lift, for feel in bumps, or when your instructor asks for minimum sink. Below chest height you gain little except sink, and the stall gets close.

Figure: Move the control from hands up into the brakes, then onto the speed bar. Watch where the wing sits on its polar: the hand positions bunch up at the slow end, where the curve drops steeply, and the margin above the stall shrinks.

Move the control from hands up into the brakes, then onto the speed bar. Watch where the wing sits on its polar: the hand positions bunch up at the slow end, where the curve drops steeply, and the margin above the stall shrinks.

The polar lesson explains minimum sink and best glide; Stall, spin and parachutal stall covers the stall zone and each body’s brake limits.

Brake pressure: the wing talking to you

Brake pressure is the most important instrument you have. Firm, steady pressure means the wing is pressurised and flying well. School wings are built so the pressure rises all the way to the stall¹²: the deeper you pull, the harder they push back. That rising pressure is a warning, not a problem.

Learn four messages:

Pressure builds as you pull. Normal. You are slowing the wing.
Pressure rises while your hands stay still. A gust or a thermal has raised the angle of attack for you: ease up a little¹⁰.
One side goes soft. That side is losing pressure. In active flying you apply that brake promptly and let it up again as soon as normal pressure returns¹³.
Heavy, then suddenly light. The wing has stalled: hands straight up, held there for 2–3 s¹⁰, ready for the surge that follows¹¹.

You can only hear these messages if you keep in touch. In smooth air that means hands up, just feeling the lines. In bumpy air the manuals ask for a light, constant contact: about the weight of your arms (Gin) or about 20 cm7.9 in of brake (Ozone)¹³. On Ozone’s school wing, 20 cm7.9 in is already its minimum-sink setting⁹. For a bumpy approach Nova suggests about a fifth of the brake travel, while Ozone keeps hands up and flies the wing actively; neither says to fly slowly¹⁴.

Symmetric and asymmetric input

Both brakes together are your speed control. One brake is your steering: that side slows and drags, so the wing yaws and banks towards it and turns³.

Turning on the brake alone works, but it slows the wing and costs height; too much brake only adds sink¹⁵. The outside brake steadies the outer wingtip and controls how fast you turn, but too much of it slows the whole wing¹⁶. Easing the outside brake as the turn starts, with weight shift, is the DHV’s best prevention of a stall in a turn¹⁷.

Never start a turn with the brakes already deep. From minimum speed the inside wing can stall and spin¹⁶. Turns and load factor and Turning: look, lean, pull go further.

Weight shift

Lean towards one side and that side of the harness drops, putting more of your weight on that half of the wing. The wing turns that way with less brake, and the turn is smoother and wastes less height. That is why a coordinated turn starts with a look, then weight shift, then a smooth pull on the inside brake¹⁵.

Your chest strap changes how well weight shift works. A wider setting gives easier weight shift and more feedback; a tighter one feels more solid but steers less with your body¹⁸. Set it to your wing’s manual and your instructor’s advice.

Weight shift alone can steer a wing gently. It also helps you keep flying straight if one side of the wing ever collapses; Asymmetric collapse covers that.

Speed bar and trimmers

The speed bar works the other way from the brakes. Push it with your feet and it shortens the A risers most and the B risers less, through pulleys. The wing tilts forward, its angle of attack drops and it speeds up¹⁹. School wings go from about 37–38 km/h23–24 mph at trim to about 46–48 km/h29–30 mph on full bar²⁰.

The price is stability. A lower angle of attack makes the wing less resistant to collapse²¹, so you never brake while on the bar, release it first if anything goes wrong, come off it smoothly, and keep it off near the ground and in turbulence²². Think of the angle of attack as a road between two ditches: the brakes take you towards the stall, the bar towards collapses. The ram-air wing and lift shows both edges.

Trimmers are straps on the rear risers that change the hands-off speed, like a fixed amount of bar. Free-flight school wings normally have none; they appear on paramotor risers, and an EN-A rating then applies only with the trimmers in the slow setting²³²⁴.

Learn it with your instructor: see Speed bar and big ears.

Using your controls well

Using the controls well

Fly hands up between inputs in smooth air; in bumps, keep a light, constant contact.
Cue Hands at the pulleys, just feeling the lines; steady wind noise.
Why At trim the wing holds its own speed and glides about as far as it can²⁵; the contact lets you feel it¹³.
Move the brakes smoothly and progressively, never in a snatch.
Cue The wing answers after a short delay; the pressure builds gradually.
Why The wing and the pendulum under it need time; sudden inputs start swings.
For minimum sink, bring both hands to about shoulder height.
Cue Firmer pressure and slightly quieter wind.
Why Light brake gives the lowest sink rate⁹.
To turn, look, lean, then pull the inside brake, easing the outside brake.
Cue The wing banks smoothly and the brakes never get heavy.
Why Coordinated turns need less brake and keep you well away from the stall¹⁵¹⁷.
If the pressure gets heavy and the wind noise fades, ease the brakes up.
Cue Heavy and quiet.
Why Those are the warnings of the stall zone¹⁰.
After slow flight, let the brakes up smoothly, and be ready for the wing to surge.
Cue The wing moves ahead of you as it speeds up.
Why A quick release lets the light wing accelerate before you do; Pitch and roll explains the surge.

Common mistakes

Common mistake Creeping hands

Symptom: Without meaning to, you fly with your hands at chest height. The wing feels soft, the flight is short and the landing is hard.
Cause: Nerves. Holding the brakes feels like holding on, so the hands drift down.
Fix: Make hands up your resting position and check it often. If your instructor calls “hands up”, put them up smoothly at once.

Common mistake Both hands come down in a turn

Symptom: You meant to turn, but the turn is flat and slow and the wing feels sluggish.
Cause: The outside hand follows the inside one, so you are braking both sides.
Fix: Let the outside brake up as you pull the inside one, and lean into the turn¹⁶.

Common mistake Wrapping or shortening the brakes

Symptom: The wing feels slow even with your hands up, or the stall seems to come early.
Cause: A brake wrap around your hand, or shortened lines, uses up the free play and pulls the trailing edge down.
Fix: Fly with the handles as set. Never shorten the brakes yourself; any change is made by a qualified person, in small symmetric steps⁵.

Instructor's note Learn the positions by feel, not by eye

The hand heights here are typical, not exact. Your harness, arm length and brake setting move them, and brake lines can shrink with age and moisture⁵. Learn the ranges by pressure and sound with your instructor, and ask again after any change of wing or harness⁷.

Instructor's note Two ways into a turn

APPI teaches two ways to start a turn. From trim speed you look, lean and pull the inside brake. From minimum sink, with both brakes already down a little, you look, lean and let the outside brake up instead²⁶. Both keep you away from deep inside brake. In rough air keep a light contact, but do not hold deep brake for long: deep brake is where the stall zone begins¹⁰.

Standards differ Control skills for the first rating

Common ground: Every system wants smooth, coordinated use of the brakes and weight shift. SafePro, the international reference, adds speed-bar use at Stage 3²⁷.

USHPA (USA): P2 pilots show hands-off and one-handed flying, weight-shift and rear-riser turns, 180° turns at various speeds and banks, and speed-bar use²⁸.
BHPA (UK): Club Pilot training includes a phase on instability and emergencies, with active flying; the detailed task book is not public²⁹.
APPI (international): Turns are taught from trim and from minimum sink as two different techniques²⁶; Adventure students fly 360° turns and figure-eights at trim and at minimum sink³⁰.

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

Questions students ask

If I let go of the brakes, will the wing keep flying?

Yes. A school wing flies itself at trim speed, and class A wings are built for maximum passive safety and very forgiving handling³¹. Keep your hands on the handles anyway, so you can feel the wing.

What if a brake line breaks or I drop a handle?

Certified wings can be steered without the brakes; the test asks for a 180° turn within 20 s³². If a brake line fails, the manuals say to steer with the rear risers²: use small, gentle inputs and weight shift (rear-riser steering, which USHPA pilots practise for P2²⁸), fly away from terrain and land in the biggest space you can.

Should I use the speed bar on my first flights?

No. Learn it with your instructor, in smooth air and well away from the ground³³.

Key points

Both brakes control speed; one brake turns the wing. Weight shift makes turns smoother and needs less brake.
Hands up is trim speed and about best glide; light brake around shoulder height is minimum sink; around the hips is the stall zone.
The first 10 cm3.9 in or so of travel is free play; the travel to the stall is about 60–80 cm24–31 in. Check your manual.
Brake pressure is feedback: rising pressure is normal, one soft side is a warning, heavy then suddenly light means a stall.
The speed bar lowers the angle of attack: faster, but less resistant to collapse. Never brake while on it.
School wings normally have no trimmers.

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.