How to choose a Parakite

A Parakite is chosen on a combination of factors, not on a number: the all-up weight, the pilot’s experience, the wing’s design and behaviour, the intended use, the conditions you usually fly in, and the manufacturer’s weight range and recommendations. The wing’s area says little on its own: two Parakites with the same area can behave very differently.

There is no formula that suits every pilot. This page helps you reach the choice with the right questions; it does not replace the weight range published by the manufacturer, nor the judgement of someone who knows the equipment and sees you fly.

What to consider before choosing a Parakite

The choice comes from several factors at once, and none of them decides on its own:

Two Parakites with the same area can behave very differently: the design, the geometry and the control system also influence how the wing behaves.

Which Parakite size to choose

There is no universal size. Area on its own is not enough to decide: what counts is the combination of pilot, wing and intended use.

Wing loading, the all-up weight divided by the area, influences how the wing behaves, its speed and the way energy builds up and is managed. The same pilot feels the same model differently in different sizes.

In Happy Soaring’s approach, we recommend a conservative transition for pilots coming from paragliding: a size that leaves room to learn the control system, before looking for more speed or more response.

A smaller size is not automatically better or more advanced. It is a choice for one pilot, one use and one set of conditions, and it only makes sense once the pilot already has the control to make the most of it.

That is why this page has no weight or wind tables. The weight range of each size is the one the manufacturer publishes, and it is on each wing’s page.

How many Parakite sizes should I own?

To start with, one well-chosen size can be enough. It is on that wing that you learn the wing itself, the control system and the way your body feels it.

Owning several sizes only makes sense when there are genuinely different uses or ranges of conditions that one size does not cover well.

More wings do not automatically mean more safety or better piloting. First you consolidate your technique and your knowledge of the equipment you have; only then does it become clear whether a second size adds anything.

From Happy Soaring’s experience

Paulo Pereira has been flying Parakites for 4 years, at the coastal sites of Almada and Sesimbra, with the Mullet 2, the MulletX and the AlbatroXX. On the Parakite Course we use the Mullet 2, a model that comes in six sizes, from 13 to 26; when you rent a parakite for the day, Happy Soaring picks each pilot’s setup, and it can change during the day, according to conditions. That practice is where this page comes from: the right size is not the same for everyone, and every Parakite design behaves in its own way.

Before you buy

Whenever possible, try before you buy and talk to someone who knows the equipment and sees you fly. At Happy Soaring that can go through the Demo Sessions, subject to equipment availability, conditions and suitability for the pilot. If you come from paragliding, the Parakite Course with the Coaches Pilot2Wing is flown on the Mullet 2; if you already fly parakite, you can rent a parakite and fly for a day on the equipment Happy Soaring picks. The choice is better when it starts from the pilot, and not only from the spec sheet.

In Happy Soaring’s approach, Pilot2Wing, the order is this: body first, feeling the wing through the body and the risers, looking to the low side without over-reacting to what you see, correcting early, and consolidating control on the ground before looking for more performance. It is not a rule of the sport: it is how we work, step by step, on the adaptation of paraglider pilots.

Where to go next