Hi AllI've only just installed FSX gold edition for the first time yesterday. Basically I want to know if there is any way to fly a paraglider in the sim (with reasonably accurate flight characteristics, ridge lift etc.). A step by step guide would be much appreciated!

Welcome to FSX!!I fly hang gliders and paragliders as well.So far, the only thing I've found for FSX is....The Aeriane Swift sailplane by David Rowberry: http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/187412.jpg Not quite a hang glider nor paraglider but I thought I would pass it on and see if it is of interest.

Welcome to FSX!!I fly hang gliders and paragliders as well.So far, the only thing I've found for FSX is....The Aeriane Swift sailplane by David Rowberry: http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/187412.jpg Not quite a hang glider nor paraglider but I thought I would pass it on and see if it is of interest.

Hi DougThanks for the prompt reply! I appreciate the tip, but I've already had quite a bit of fun with the sailplane that came with the game (I have the deluxe edition). It is quite fun, but I'm still gagging to recreate some of my summer paragliding in verbier!

The only way to get ridge lift is in a Mission, as there is none in Free Flight. Apart from the glider in FSX, there's the ultralight Trike, but I would not think that's what you are after either. You can adjust the intensity of the thermals, though, and there are plenty of those in Free Flight. You would have to make an adjustment in the config file, I think. I've never done it myself, but I remember the topic of adjusting the thermals being talked about in a much older thread. Most folks want to reduce the thermals, though.EDIT:Okay, I clipped this advice from a sim pilot named Alex:In the root folder of FSX is a XML file ThermalDescriptions.xml. There you can lower the values for the thermal core rate. You have to increase the core turbulence values since these depend on the core rate. I set my values as shown below: CoreRateMin: 0.5 CoreRateMax: 2.5 CoreTurbulenceMin: 0.14 CoreTurbulenceMax: 0.28 This way you still have the turbulence but the updrafts are gone. The values in this file are documented in the SDK. Don't go on a soaring mission after these changes ;-) Alex This is for lowering the intensity of the thermals. To increase the intensity, I imagine you would go the other way. MAKE A BACKUP OF THE ORIGINAL FILE!!! I cannot guarantee that this advice will help in any way and I present it only as a suggestion. The SDK (Software Developer's Kit) is buggy on the topic of thermals, or it was the last time I looked at it. Some people that made this modifcation found it unsatisfactory. As long as you have a backup of the default values, it is easy to revert the changes.Jeff ShylukSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

The only way to get ridge lift is in a Mission, as there is none in Free Flight.

My understanding, Jeff, is that the latest version of the freeware utility CumulusX! provides ridge lift.

I've yet to use either program but have seen others discuss these two options for developing ridge and cumulus lift...http://carrier.csi.cam.ac.uk/forsterlewis/.../dev/sim_probe/http://www.luerkens.homepage.t-online.de/peter/

cumulusX! works pretty well. You turn off the default "autogen" thermals and let CumulusX! handle it. I have not had time yet to test the new 1.5 version which no longer requires simprobe or other slope data to produce ridge lift. There's also a new cloud set which provides the visual indication of thermal activity (the default "birds" are about impossible to see). scott s..

Yes cumulus x 1.5 is all you need.

Good grief! I had no idea. Gonna have to look that one up, sounds like a great app. Creating ridge lift in Missions is a real bear. Jeff ShylukSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

David Rowberry has created numerous versions of a C4 hang glider (Airborne) as well as all the other glider models that he has made. The hang glider is lots of fun - here it is at the Hinterhornalm, just east of Innsbruck:Plus, there are a lot of eagles sharing the thermal lift:Best regards.Luis

David Rowberry has created numerous versions of a C4 hang glider (Airborne) as well as all the other glider models that he has made. The hang glider is lots of fun - here it is at the Hinterhornalm, just east of Innsbruck:Plus, there are a lot of eagles sharing the thermal lift:Best regards.Luis

Thanks Luis, this looks excellent! Would I download it from here? Thanks to the other responders as well, I think I'll give cumulusX a try

Just search in the library for David Rowberry.Also CumulusX can be found here:http://luerkens.homepage.t-online.de/peter/

Just search in the library for David Rowberry.Also CumulusX can be found here:http://luerkens.homepage.t-online.de/peter/

Thanks Opa! The downloads section doesn't seem to be working at the moment but I'll give it another try tomorrow

I do think, that ridge lift is also simulated in ASA, but not 100% sure.

You won't find David's hang glider in the Avsim library, but it should be in the FlightSim library and probably a few others. A Google search should turn it up.Best regards.Luis