A small percentage of the overall population participates in unpowered flight. But, when we're in the air, sometimes it can feel kind of crowded and a little hectic. On a good day at the coast you will find lots of paragliders, hanggliders and RCs soaring our favorite ridges along several miles of the coastline. The Dunes, Cheetah, the Dump, Westlake, the Stables and Funston are all strung together on a good straight-in day to make up one huge site.

My goal here is to discuss a few of the things that help make sharing the air more harmonious.

Remember when flying with other types of aircraft that they are flying under different conditions than you are. RCs can't see you coming because the RC pilot is watching his own plane, not scanning the horizon for other craft. That's why you often see RC midairs on a busy day at Cheetah. The planes are ripping along, each pilot watching his own plane and then, "Boom!", two planes collide in midair. Well, the same is true for RCs and paragliders. The RC pilot is primarily watching his plane (he has to or otherwise he will sink out, crash, lose control, lose his plane, etc.) when a paraglider flies into the same airspace. Boom! The next thing you know, the RC is in your lines or has hit your glider. You think the guy is a dope, but if you consider that he isn't flying IN his craft, you will realize that you have two completely different perspectives. You are sitting in your harness, surveying the air around you. The RC guy is standing on the ground many feet away from his plane, looking mostly at HIS plane, not at you. Assume that they don't see you. Give them some room. Try to fly significantly higher than the RCs or go around the perimeter of the airspace they are flying in.

When flying with hanggliders, remember that they are going a lot faster than you are. Give a hangglider room to pass you because you are going to feel like you're being tailgated if you don't let them go by. Also, if you are higher than them, don't assume they can see you. The pilot's view may be obstructed by his wing so it's your responsibility to move away if they start climbing in lift. Also, in general, don't park yourself in another pilot's blind spot. This is dangerous. When flying at the coast and visibility is not perfect, watch out for the low-profile of oncoming hanggliders. They can be difficult to see and they may be approaching rapidly. Also, remember that it's somewhat tragic for a hangglider to sink out to the beach given the weight of the glider to haul back up. Be considerate if the lift is light and a hangglider really needs the ridge in order to stay up whereas you can easily stay up without hugging the ridge.

In addition to the various forms of unpowered flight, you may also encounter low-flying planes and sometimes helicopters. Be ready to move to another area if they come close. Where you might want to put on Big Ears to get lower than a close flying small plane to avoid the wake, if a helicopter comes close, you would prefer to stay above them. When I hear the drone of a small plane or the noise of a helicopter, I try to immediately spot them and position myself where I want to be relative to them. It's surprising how low and close in some of these craft come.

When flying with your fellow paragliders, please note the following:

• Looking before you leap is important because on a busy day pilots are launching at various locations. Pilots who launch at Tomcat sometimes cross low in front of Lemmings if conditions are light. Pilots launching at Lemmings or Walkers need to scan the area to make sure they aren't launching into someone who is already in the air. Also, if two pilots are trying to launch at the same time - one at the Jungle and one at Walkers, the one at Walkers can see the one in the Jungle, but not vice versa because of the lay of the land. If you are the person in the Jungle, ask a bystander pilot to tell you what's going on at Walkers so that you will not try to launch at the same moment that the Walkers pilot does.
• Once in the air, keep track of where everyone is relative to you. Stay a safe, comfortable distance away from other gliders. This means three to four wingspans away at minimum. Leave room for changes in lift, turbulence, unexpected turns, pilots not clearing their turns, etc. Do not assume that you know exactly what flight path the other pilot wants to take. Perhaps he wants to put on Big Ears, do S-turns, do wingovers, top land, change course, etc.
• Follow the right of way rules. The pilot below has the right of way because the pilot above can see the pilot below but not vice versa. The pilot in front has the right of way. When flying on a ridge, do not overtake a pilot on the outside - either pass on the inside between the pilot and the ridge (but only if the pilot is aware you are there), OR turn back if you are overtaking the pilot and there is no room to pass. Oncoming gliders pass each other to the right, just like you do when you are driving a car in the United States.
• Clear your turns. This takes place BEFORE you turn, not AS you turn. To clear a turn, turn your head in the direction you want to go to make sure that there is no one in the way of your intended path. Once you know the path is clear, then start to turn your glider. If you don't clear the turn before initiating it, you may find yourself having close calls with other gliders who are following you closely. In addition, by turning your head, you indicate to other pilots your intention to change course in advance of actually doing so.
• When approaching another glider, don't fly directly AT them. Give a clear indication to which side (should be the right side!) you are going to pass them. If you approach another glider clearly intending to pass to the right with the your wing oriented slightly away from them, then they know what you are going to do. The slight orientation away does not mean you have to continue on that path once you have passed the other glider, it's just an indication that you intend to pass to the right so there is no question.
• Bear in mind that different gliders with different wing loadings fly at different speeds. If you are heavy on a fast wing and you launch right in back of a light person on a slow wing, you will have to deal with the consequences. If there is room to pass on the inside and the pilot in front is AWARE that you are there, then you can pass. If there is no room on the inside and/or if the pilot does not know you are there, you must turn back. You can turn back briefly to allow the other glider to get further ahead of you and then turn again to your original path. Passing on the outside or flying close by to the outside of a glider that is flying alongside a ridge is not safe. The pilot on the ridge may decide to make a turn and you will be right there, blocking their turn.
• Try not to wake other pilots. If you are flying slightly lower and upwind from another pilot, don't fly by really close because you will wake them. Also, let up on your brakes as you go by. This decreases the disruption of the air as you go by and makes your wakes less severe. Big wings which are heavily loaded tend to have big wakes. Pilots who are light on their wings tend to get most severely waked. These pilots should be prepared for the wake by keeping their wings pressurized.
• Refrain from doing lots of maneuvers in an area that is crowded. No need to wake and alarm pilots flying close by to you. Go to an uncrowded spot where you are not going to wake anyone or drift toward them as you do your spiral dive or whatever.
• Give your fellow pilots a break. By being aware of the whole flying scene, not just your little piece of it, you can fly more safely and more considerately. If you only focus on what you're doing without considering if it fits in the whole scheme, you can disrupt the smooth flow. On a crowded day if several gliders are flying a pattern and then one person decides to do a spiral dive through several layers of gliders at different altitudes, this can have a disruptive effect. A good example of flow is how six paragliders were able to share tiny Cheetah Ridge on a light day because the pilots flew the same pattern and were all paying attention to each other. This doesn't mean that you simply fly back and forth mindlessly, but that you time your top landings and other moves so that they do not interfere with others, either on the ground trying to launch, or already in the air.
• If you are in the air and other pilots are trying to launch, particularly if they are newer pilots, don't block the launch by cruising back and forth or zoom in on them as they try to get off the ground. I can recall one pilot who invariably would come down and buzz launch when I was trying to kite and launch. I could count on this person to do this as soon as I arrived and set up. No, it wasn't one of my friends being funny. I think this person wanted to test my skill at avoiding him and still getting off the ground when I wanted to. Don't give other pilots a hard time.
• When setting up and packing up, do this off to the side so other pilots have access to the launch/LZ area. If your harness is detached from your wing and you need to hook in and clear your lines, do this off to the side. And, when you land, move over to the side to pack up so you aren't blocking the launch/LZ area. Also, if you are kiting in a launch/LZ area, be considerate of pilots trying to land. Drop your wing if another pilot needs to come in close to where you are kiting.

So here's to harmonious flying. We spend so much time being jostled and harried on the freeway, no sense doing it in the air. The air is where you should be able to focus and flow.