Wing Loading Calculator
Add up your pilot, gear, and glider weight, enter your wing's area, and get your all-up weight and wing loading in both kg/m² and lb/ft², plus a general read on where that loading sits.
Wing loading
How this calculator works
Wing loading is simple arithmetic — total weight divided by wing area — but the number it produces summarises a lot about how a glider will handle. This tool adds your pilot weight to your gear weight (harness, reserve, instruments, clothing) and your glider's own weight to get an all-up figure, then divides that by the wing area you enter to get kg/m², converting to lb/ft² alongside it.
The general category shown — light, standard, high-performance, or very high — reflects broad, commonly cited recreational ranges, not any single manufacturer's certified figures. Two gliders with identical wing loading can still fly very differently depending on their design, so treat this as a general orientation, not a substitute for the certified wing loading range published for your exact glider and size.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is wing loading and why does it matter?
Wing loading is your total flying weight — you, your harness, reserve, instruments, and the glider itself — divided by the wing's area. It is one of the biggest factors in how a paraglider actually flies: a lower loading floats and turns gently with a more forgiving stall, while a higher loading (within the certified range) is faster, penetrates wind better, and reacts more directly, but with less margin for error.
What counts as 'gear weight' in this calculator?
Everything you wear or carry that isn't the glider itself: the harness, the reserve parachute, flight instruments, radio, helmet, and clothing. Manufacturers publish a certified wing loading range for each size of a given glider model, based on exactly this kind of all-up weight.
Where do I find my wing's area?
The manufacturer's technical data sheet for your specific glider and size lists either the flat area or the projected area in square metres — use whichever figure the sheet gives, since the two aren't interchangeable, and stay consistent if you're comparing gliders.
Is a higher wing loading always better?
No — it's a trade-off, not a straight upgrade. Flying above a glider's certified range can push it outside its tested behaviour (a genuine safety concern), while flying well below it can make the glider feel sluggish and less resistant to collapse in turbulence. The manufacturer's certified range, not a general band like this tool's, is the number that actually applies to your specific glider.
General guidance only, not a substitute for certified instruction or your glider manufacturer's published wing loading range. Always confirm your all-up weight sits within the certified range for your specific glider and size, and get a check flight from a certified instructor before changing your gear or weight materially.