Competition and XC - friendly guide
Why compete?
Flying free doesn't require competition. Most pilots never sign up for a competition and are happy. But competition has something special: you learn in a year what on a loose flight would take 5. You share 5 days with the world's best pilots, you see their lines, you copy their decisions, and you fly the same sky on the same day with 100 people in the same thermal. It's the accelerated college of free flight.
What's a competition like?
Each morning the organizers draw a task: a line on the map with several points to touch in order, starting at a door (exit door) and ending at a goal (goal). It's usually 60-180 km.
All pilots leave at the same time, all compete in the same sky. Each one's GPS records the flight. At the end of the day the trail is analyzed and who made the fastest tour wins.
The main formats
- Carrera a meta: carrera classico. First in line wins.
- Past time: each one chooses when to leave; wins the fastest.
- Distance: if they do not reach the goal, they aim for km.
XContest - the permanent championship
A Czech website where millions of pilots fly up their XC flights every season. There are no fixed tasks: you take off, you blow up what you want, you go up the trail and the algorithm scores according to the form of the path:
- Simple distance: × 1.0
- Flat triangle: × 1.2
- Out-and-return: × 1.2
- FAI Triangle: × 1.4 (no side < 28% of the total)
That's why the pilots are obsessed with "closing triangles": a flight 100 km in FAI = 140 sts. In a straight line = 100 sts. 40% more for the same distance.
There are annual rankings by country, by club, by wing. Winning the national XContest is an honor for any pilot.
The great cups of the world
- PWC (Paragliding World Cup): 4-5 rounds a year in epic destinations: Valadares (Brazil), Macedonia, Spain, India. It ends in Superfinal with the best 125.
- FAI World: every 2 years. The 19th was in Castelo, Brazil (2025). He won France.
- Red Bull X-Alps: race through the Alps on foot and in paragliding. Every two years. 2025 won Aaron Durogati (Italy).
How comp pilots fly
The bandage: in a thermal can turn 50 paragliders at once. It seems chaos but it is not: everyone turns in the same sense (who first entered the center marks), respect heights, and learn to "read" the bandade - if everyone leaves, you go; if everyone stays, you stay.
Lead or follow: get out first (pushing the bandade) gives bonus points but risks falling. Follow the platoon (suck wheel) saves energy but does not earn tasks.
final plan: last plan to finish. Here are defined comps. The pilot calculates with GPS how much he needs to get there and decides whether to dispense with the last thermal.
Instruments in flight
GPS variables:
- Skytraxx 5 mini (€499, 60h battery, release 2025)
- Naviter Oudie N
- Flymaster Vector
Mobile Apps:
- XCTrack (Android, free, standard in comp)
- You Navigator
- Flyskyhy
They show: vary (ascent rate), altitude, ground speed, wind calculated by GPS, map with task, airspace, "thermal assistant" (core drawing), estimated time to target, planning ratio available.
Extra material
- Helmets (increasingly with side protection type moto)
- VHF radio in Comp frequency
- Reserve parachutes
- Flight suit with gloves and boots (4000 m ago -15 ° C)
- Garmin InReach / Spot for satellite SOS
- Light O2 bottle for flights over 4000 m
Records that impress
- Paragliding free distance: 564 km (Tacima, Brazil, 2016)
- hang glider distance: 764 km (Texas, 2012, 11 hours flight)
- Paragliding height: > 7,400 m (Himalaya)
How much does it cost to get in?
- License + insurance: 150-250 €/ year
- EN D wing: 4,500-6,000 €
- SCCI competition wing: 6,500-8,500 €
- Instrument for: €800-1,500
- PWC registration: 250-600 €/ round
It seems a lot, but the cost of a serious season in comp is similar to that of a medium-range bike - and leads you to fly in Brazil, Spain, Italy and Turkey every year.
If you want to start
- Fly at least 200 hours and make your first 50 + km XC.
- Make a XC course in Roldanillo, Colombia (the best XC learning in the world).
- Sign up for a local open as a first step, with no expectations of winning.
- Don't buy a competition wing (CCC) for the first 2-3 years. An EN D is used to get on the regional podium.
In the end, why compete?
Because flying XC is just meditation; flying in comp is 3D chess with 100 adversaries. Because you find out what you thought was skill was actually being in the right place. Because you know pilots who become friends for life. Because after your first job finished, even if you get last, you feel like you've flown better than ever.
The day you start to compete is the day you start to really fly.