Tandem Paragliding Flying Lesson 1: Run

One of the most points to remember when taking a tandem flight is to stay on your feet and be ready to run when launching and landing.  I often see passengers when they get lifted off the ground on launch immediately want to sit in their harness.  This can be a big mistake.  Launching a paragliding tandem is like a three legged race, both the passenger and the pilot need to run together to produce enough ground speed to efficiently fly the wing off the launch.  When a passenger sits in their harness after being lifted off launch, if they touch the ground again, the pilot who is behind the passenger no longer has the ability to run forward.  Likewise, after a long flight, sometimes the passenger wants to just plant their feet when coming in for a landing.  A paraglider's typical ground speed is 20MPH with no head wind so suddenly trying to stop upon touching the ground is impossible.  What will happen in this instance is all the forward momentum will push the passenger to the ground and they will become a skid plate.  The best thing a passenger can do to have a safe flight is to remain on their feet, running until safely away from launch and when landing, be ready to run until the pilot can safely bring the wing to a complete stop.