Thin fabric wins, briefly. A paraglider has no engine, yet beneath a sun-warmed field, uneven heating drives convection: buoyant air parcels detach and rise, forming thermals that a trained pilot can find, enter, and exchange for height. The fuel is sunlight. Dust, birds, and growing cumulus can betray the otherwise unseen lift.This is disciplined theft. Using a variometer, which turns changes in ...More