Is my paragliding site flyable tomorrow? A checklist

To check whether a paragliding site is flyable tomorrow, match the forecast to the exact launch, your intended hours and your own limits, then check the wider atmosphere and restrictions. Wind direction, speed and gusts are the beginning. Winds aloft, developing clouds, foehn, NOTAMs and current observations can overturn a promising site forecast.

You can make a shortlist tonight; you cannot establish tomorrow's launch decision tonight. This checklist supports trained pilots' planning and does not replace instruction. When in doubt, do not launch.

Does the forecast match the launch orientation?

Start with the actual takeoff, not the nearest town's weather icon. A site can have several launches facing different directions and at different altitudes. Identify which one is open, suitable for your rating and intended for the forecast flow before comparing any numbers.

Meteorological wind direction normally describes where the wind comes from. Confirm the app's arrow convention and compare the direction with the site's published wind sectors. A northerly forecast is not automatically suitable for every launch on the north side of a mountain.

Ask the local club about terrain that channels or shelters the flow. A valley breeze at the landing and the wind on an exposed ridge can be different. Site orientation is a starting criterion, not a promise that the whole flight path is clear of lee or rotor.

Write down the expected window, including likely changes after your arrival. A suitable direction at 09:00 does not answer whether a 14:00 launch makes sense. If the only acceptable interval is narrow, the plan has less room for delay or forecast error.

What wind and gusts should I compare?

Compare average wind, gusts and the vertical wind profile throughout the planned window. Surface wind near the launch is not enough. Look at the ridge and expected flying altitude, then consider whether the landing area and route could be affected by a different flow.

Check	Why it matters	What remains uncertain
Direction at launch	Alignment and exposure	Local terrain effects
Mean wind	Background flow	Whether the model resolves the slope
Gusts	Variability beyond the average	Timing and local peaks
Wind above the ridge	Stronger flow and changes with height	Fine-scale shear and turbulence
Trend over the day	Whether a usable window closes	Exact timing of the change

Do not copy a universal launch limit from a table. Your instructor, wing documentation, rating and site briefing should inform conservative personal limits. A small average can conceal a large gust range, and a strong model wind above a sheltered launch deserves attention even when the windsock looks reassuring.

meteoblue's Air documentation explains how to read wind and cloud layers, including the difference between model terrain and actual elevation. Check whether the chart uses altitude above sea level, height above ground or pressure levels; they are not interchangeable.

Could thermals, storms or foehn change the answer?

A matching surface wind does not cancel convective or mountain-weather hazards. Look at cloud development, precipitation and official warnings over the surrounding area, not just the launch pixel. A plan for a gentle flight needs a different atmospheric setting from an experienced pilot's ambitious XC day.

The Met Office's SIGMET guidance identifies thunderstorms and severe turbulence as significant aviation hazards. A general sunshine symbol cannot rule them out. Avoid treating a single instability index or an attractive cloudbase number as a complete interpretation.

Foehn needs a regional check. MeteoSwiss's Sion aviation climatology describes how stronger foehn flow can remain above a stable lower layer and later reach lower levels. This is why a calm valley observation does not prove the air above the ridge is suitable.

This guide does not teach you to diagnose complex foehn or overdevelopment from one chart. If you cannot explain the situation, consult a qualified instructor or experienced local briefing and choose a simpler day. Driving there to “see what everyone else does” is not a substitute for understanding the concern.

Are airspace, NOTAMs and local rules clear?

Weather suitability and legal access are separate checks. Review current official airspace information, NOTAMs and temporary restrictions for the site and intended flight. Then confirm local access, permissions, seasonal closures, landing arrangements and any club briefing requirement.

The BHPA safety resources link to NOTAM and pilot-development guidance. Use the relevant official aviation briefing service for the country where you intend to fly. A site pin or an empty-looking app layer is not proof that the airspace is available.

Check validity times and their time zone. A restriction that ends before your planned flight and one that begins during it need different treatment. Do not assume yesterday's screenshot remains current, especially when travelling across borders.

For unfamiliar sites, get a proper local introduction rather than relying on an old comment. If permission, landing access or an airspace question remains unresolved, remove the site from the shortlist until it is clarified.

Can an app do the first filter for me?

OutDare gives a free personal flyable-or-not verdict and saved-site alerts using your wind range, gust tolerance and wing. It combines seven-day site forecasts with a database of 13,900+ launches; the recorder, 3D replay and live tracking are also free. Paragliding Map offers site forecasts and subscriber alerts the evening before; burnair includes today's launch forecast free and longer forecasts in paid tiers. These tools shorten the shortlist, not the final judgement.

Our free forecast comparison explains which tools add vertical or regional context. The OutDare and Paragliding Map comparison separates alert features and payment boundaries.

What does a useful evening plan look like?

A useful note identifies the exact site, the intended arrival window and the main uncertainty. For example: a familiar launch might have an apparently suitable morning direction, followed by a forecast turn later. The planning question is whether a realistic visit leaves enough margin before that change, not whether any hour on the daily card is green.

Add what would cause you to abandon the plan. A stronger observed trend, an earlier wind shift or uncertainty about restrictions can all change the answer. Decide how you will obtain the missing information and who can explain the local behaviour. If a critical question cannot be resolved, the shortlist should shrink rather than the assumptions grow.

Do not make the alternative automatically more ambitious. Driving farther to an unfamiliar mountain because the local window disappeared introduces new terrain and briefing questions. A walk, a visit to the club or a day devoted to weather study can be a complete fallback. You do not need to recover the effort spent planning by making a flight happen.

How can I learn from a day that was not flyable?

Keep the forecast run and the few observations that mattered to your decision. Record the reason you chose not to go or not to launch. Later, review whether the uncertainty was resolved and whether you understood the change. A no-flight day can teach useful weather interpretation without the extra pressure of making a flight work.

Avoid judging the decision only by whether another pilot flew. Their timing, equipment, experience or chosen launch may have been different, and seeing a track does not tell you their entire assessment. The useful question is whether your own plan and limits were sensible given the information available to you.

If you regularly struggle with the same issue, such as distinguishing valley wind from the regional flow, bring that question to a qualified instructor or club coach. Repeating the same search across more apps may not fix a gap in understanding. A worked explanation at a familiar site can be more useful than another forecast interface.

This approach keeps tomorrow's shortlist flexible. The aim is not to predict a perfect flying day every time, but to recognise when the information supports another check and when it does not support your intended flight. That distinction should remain clear even when an app makes the first filter fast.

What should I check again on the day?

Recheck the latest forecast and observations before travelling, then reassess at the site. Use current stations and webcams as observations with timestamps, not as a guarantee. A sensor may be at another altitude or in sheltered terrain; a camera may show yesterday's image.

Compare the observed trend with what the forecast expected by that hour. If the flow is already stronger, later, earlier or from a different direction, revisit the whole plan. Do not preserve the original decision merely because you have already paid for the lift or driven a long way.

Before the trip, agree a conservative fallback, including the option not to fly. Work through site assessments and weather interpretation with a qualified school or club coach. Tomorrow's useful answer is often “worth checking again”, not “definitely flyable”.