Ground Handling - 8/11/2025

I didn't feel like hitting the beach yesterday - so I loaded up the single skin parawings and went looking for a spot to do some ground handling.

I ended up at a spot near the Wai Kai lagoon.

I spent a lot of time with all three of the PWs - getting to know more what is different about each one.

Then I finally got around to adjusting the Maliko 5.1 bar to match the line positions on the Maliko 4.0 bar.

This lightened up the bar pressure somewhat, while still having a more direct feel (which I actually prefer to the "looser" feeling of the Ka'a on its shorter, 2 point connection bar).

You can also see how keeping the A and B lines closer helps improve the "stability" of the parawing (and depowering is collapsing the back of the PW - reducing the effective lift generating surface area) - none of this is new.  But I am definitely gaining a better understanding of the controlling principles. 

And thus the importance in my mind of ground handling. Make it second nature and when you are out on the water, everything will be easier (or at least you'll know what is going on and why).

Parawing Practice - 6/9/25

The pau hana session was split into two today.

First up was parawing practice.  I actually look forward to the times where the conditions are good for winging the parawings.  The more you handle this equipment, the more you develop the muscle memory to get the most out of them when you are on a board.

I put the Maliko 4.0 up first.  I wanted to make sure the new bar was tuned nicely and the wind was strong and steady enough to get it to fly nicely.

The bar was tuned well.  My front hand in between the A and B connection points actually felt really good.  The rigid harness line from BRM also worked perfectly.

I took the 4.0 down and went to the truck to grab the winging harness, and then I put up the Ka'a 4.8 

If I were to have gone out today, I would have used this PW.  I didn't PW today because the waves were bigger than I prefer while PWing (still a noobie).

Here's where the harness line balanced out - just in front of both the connection points.

Practicing flying the PWs on land is a good thing!