Buddy Flying
Flying with friends
Paragliding is best shared. With Buddy Flying you see your group's live positions right on the map – who's circling where, how high, how strongly they're climbing and how far away they are. Stay together in the air and find the best lift as a team.
Your group live on the map
Every pilot in your group shows up as their own marker on the map – with a name, heading and a line connecting them to you. One glance tells you where your friends are flying.
Each buddy carries the numbers that matter: current altitude, climb rate and distance to you. No radio, no scanning the sky – just look at the map.
Who's climbing best?
Buddy Flying is a thermalling aid too. The member list is sorted by climb rate, and the pilot in the strongest lift is marked with a ★ – just head that way.
Coloured rings tell you instantly who's climbing better relative to you: green climbs stronger than you, yellow about the same, red weaker. You find the thermals as a team.
- List sorted by climb – the strongest climber on top
- ★ marks the best lift in the group
- Green / yellow / red: climb relative to your own
Private and secure
Buddy Flying is not a public tracking platform. You create a group and share the code only with the friends you want flying with you. If you don't have the code, you're not in.
Positions are transmitted encrypted over a direct connection (AES-256). Leave the group or turn sharing off and it stops – no public flight history is created.
One team, all devices
Your group can be mixed: iPhone and Android share the same buddy group. Everyone flies with the device they have and still sees everyone else. The Android app is currently going through certification in the Play Store and is expected to be available within the next two weeks.
Buddy Flying is included in Vario One – all you need is a free Vario One account, no extra subscription. Thanks to compact transmission, data use is minimal and shown to you in the app.
Buddy Flying – frequently asked questions
How do I start a buddy group?
In the map view, tap the buddy icon and create a group. You get a short code to give your friends – they enter it and are in immediately.
Can strangers see my position?
No. Only people who know your group code see your position. The transmission is encrypted and no public flight trace is stored.
Does it work between iPhone and Android?
Yes. Buddy Flying is cross-platform. iPhone and Android can fly together in one group.
Does Buddy Flying cost extra?
No. Buddy Flying is included in Vario One. All you need is a free Vario One account.
How much mobile data does it use?
Very little. Positions are sent once a second over a compact, encrypted connection. Your current usage is shown right in the buddy panel.
Fly together now
Download Vario One and take your flying group into the air.