Instrument and App configuration for UK Paragliding

I'm a paragliding pilot in the southwest of the UK. With an ever increasing number of options for weather forecasting, flight instruments, navigation, airspace avoidance, live tracking, retrieve support and flight logging / analysis I thought I'd document my configuration here. I'm not saying that these instruments and apps are better than any alternatives, but it helps me remember what I've got set up and may be useful to other pilots.

Weather forecasting

XCWeather

XCWeather is great to get an overview of wind speed / direction and gust strength for the next few days to identify flyable days to drill down into with more detailed forecasting tools.

7-day forecast for a given site: https://xcweather.co.uk/forecast/westbury

Live observations (very useful on the day): https://xcweather.co.uk/GB/observations

Also available as an Android / iOS app.

RASP

RASP gives very detailed predictive modelling of thermal strength, wind gradient, risk of tall clouds etc and gives a "star-rating" for how good the thermals will be for cross-country flying.

Star-rating for the week ahead is easiest via LazyRASP: https://lazyrasp.com/?p=stars

The day before and on the morning view the Sounding / Tephigram / Skew-T for your location: https://rasp.stratus.org.uk/index.php/custom-soundings

Learning to interpret Soundings is key to staying safe - there's a great guide here.

The BlipSpot Maker gives an easy to understand interpretation which shows things like thermal height, cloudbase, wind strength/direction and star-rating throughout the day: https://rasp.stratus.org.uk/index.php/blipspot-maker

Met Office

You can't beat good old Met Office for what everyone else uses it for (chance of precipitation).

Also useful to view synoptic charts to understand the wider picture: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure

Windy

The Windy app is the best tool for wind speed / direction and gust strength as it lets you compare multiple forecasting models at a glance across the flying day. Click on the map, click "Forecast for this location" and then change "Display as" from Basic to Wind. If you pay for the Premium version you can see an hourly forecast rather than the default 3-hourly forecast.

Windy has many other layers you can add to the map and also lets you view the wind animation at any altitude using a slider, very useful for getting an impression of what the wind is doing a few hundred feet up before heading to the hills.

Also available via the website: https://www.windy.com/

Holfuy

Several clubs have set up Holfuy online weather stations at flying sites so you can see live wind direction and strength at hill height: https://holfuy.com/en/weather/1585

NOTAM Info

Before flying always check NOTAMs for the day here: https://notaminfo.com/nationalmap

If flying midweek also submit a CANP to notify the military. If submitted before 8pm the night before (for Tuesday to Friday) or before 3pm on Friday (for Monday or weekends), the RAF Low Flying Coord (LFC) will generally publish a NOTAM which also alerts non-military pilots to our presence.

CANPs are trivial to submit via this website: https://canp.logans.me.uk/

Instruments

XC Tracer Maxx (original)

I use the original XC Tracer Maxx as my vario (later model is the XC Tracer Maxx II). UK supplier is Tim Pentreath: https://www.xctraceruk.com/.

As well as being a decent vario the XC Tracer has an LCD display with current and averaged climb rate, altitude AMSL and AGL, calculated wind speed / direction, glide ratio and a graphical thermal finder. This device is FLARM enabled meaning you're visible to sailplane pilots. It also automatically detects launch and records a GPS track for every flight.

Vario tones

The vario tones are configurable. Tim has a set of tones he uses which he pre-loads onto all devices which are an improvement on the manufacturer default. I use a set of tones Ali Andrews devised which suit my preference for a nice quiet glide (although I appreciate I'm getting less info on glide than Tim).

Tim's tones: TimsTones.txt

Ali's tones: AlisTones.txt

FLARM

FLARM is a collision avoidance technology widely used in the sailplane community. As long as the FLARM license is up to date an XC Tracer will mean you're visible to many sailplane pilots who will be warned if on a collision course.

Check the RadioExpiryDate under Device Info on the XC Tracer and if nearing expiry download the latest XC Tracer Maxx firmware and FLARM Firmware from https://www.xctracer.com/en/downloads.

It is also worth registering your device on the Open Glider Network (OGN) database here: https://ddb.glidernet.org/

This allows you to influence how you show up on various websites when your FLARM device is in range of an OGN ground station. See https://www.gliderradar.com/ for example.

On the OGN database you need to specify your FLARM ID (RadioID under Device Info on the XC Tracer) and I specify my Aircraft Type as Paraglider and Aircraft Registration as my name with surname initial (MattY).

When visble from an OGN station, this increasingly makes you visible on other paragliding apps and websites such as the XC Guide app and puretrack.io livetracking without having to explicitly use the app or register an account on the website.

Note: Do not register your FLARM ID on LiveTrack24 as this then assumes you're a sailplane and prevents you showing up on key paragliding livetracking sites such as xcrt.aero.

Airspace

I tend to use the XCTrack app on my phone for airspace avoidance so leave the Airspace screen disabled on the XC Tracer, but airspace can be shown on the XC Tracer Maxx provided you download airspace updates using the "XC Tracer" option from https://airspace.xcontest.org/ and drag the resulting airspaces.bin file to the Airspace folder on your device.

Buddy

It's trivial to add buddies on the hill when their XC Tracer Maxx or Maxx II is in range and turned on who then show up as highlighted aircraft on a Buddy screen. The location of your buddies are also continuously saved while they are in range so your device can help support a search and rescue at their last recorded loocation.

I tend to leave the Buddy screen disabled unless planning a joint flight with other pilots to keep the screens simpler.

Other settings

Other settings I've changed from the default (some can only be changed in XC_Tracer_Maxx.txt on the device):

Fairhaven Micro Alti Plus

Always have a cheap backup vario. A vario is essential whether enjoying boating around locally or an XC and I wouldn't want my flying cut short if my main instrument failed or ran out of power.

The Fairhaven Micro Alti Plus is more than just a basic vario, also having an altimeter display with settings for QNE, QFE and QNH altimeter references. I probably couldn't justify this as a backup vario but as I already owned one before upgrading to my XC Tracer Maxx it fits the bill.

I also find it very useful to zero the QFE altitude before launching so that when flying I can tell at a glance my height above the ridge when pushing out looking for lift, something I can't do on the XC Tracer Maxx.

Android Phone

I just use my main phone (currently a Samsung Galaxy A42 5G) as my navigation and livetracking instrument.

I run the XCTrack app for airspace avoidance and XC navigation.

I also use the excellent XC Guide app for livetracking and for club waypoint challenges.

See below under Apps for how I configure these.

I connect my phone via bluetooth to my XC Tracer Maxx, giving the apps access to a barometric altitude.

I also use a 10000mAh Anker power bank continuously connected to the phone during flight to ensure the battery lasts the whole day.

If your main phone is an iPhone then Flyskyhy offers similar functionality to XCTrack.

GoPro Hero 5

I enjoy filming my flights, both for my own post-flight analysis to help learn from any mistakes and to share my flying experiences with other pilots and family and friends.

I picked up a GoPro Hero 5 for a good price second-hand and use it via a helmet mount. I have also mounted a small 5200 mAh Anker battery pack on my helmet which means the battery life on the GoPro is extended from aroound 90 mins to more than the 4 hours (which is the limit of how much footage will fit on my SD card).

This means I can start my GoPro recording just before take off and forget about it, and then edit the footage at home later.

I've played with settings and favour a "Medium" FOV with 1080 resolution and 60 fps (on this model 4K is only supported at 30 fps).

I would say that some of the footage is fairly jerky due to head movements, but I find I can edit out the worst bits. Later GoPro models come with better image stabilisation which would help but I can't currenty justify the cost of a new GoPro or a 360 camera.

Apps

XCTrack

TBD

XC Guide

TBD

Telegram

TBD

Livetracking and retrieves

XContest

TBD

LiveTrack24

TBD

PureTrack.io

TBD

xcrt.aero

TBD

Flight logging / analysis

XContest

TBD

XCLeague

TBD

SportsTrackLive

TBD

ParaglidingLogbook.com

TBD

HaFTrack

TBD

Youtube

TBD