The action gets hotter today during the third annual Red Bull Wings Over Aspen, a high-flying paragliding and hang gliding event that has been filling the skies high above, and not so high above, town with some of the world’s best pilots.

The premier competition of its kind in the U.S., Wings Over Aspen serves as the national championships of cross-country paragliding. But it is a new event at this year’s competition that is making most of the news.

Hang Gliding Speed Run, a relatively young discipline, makes its competitive Aspen debut today after two days of practice runs down Aspen Mountain.

The run, through gates located on the mountain, roughly follows the World Cup downhill course. Pilots launch off a 40-foot-long ramp at the top of Ruthie’s Run and plummet down the mountain to a finish on Little Nell at speeds of up to 75 mph, all while negotiating the gates at no more than 20 feet off the ground.

The rules are simple: the fastest time down the course wins, and pilots are penalized for missing gates or flying too high.

“There’s absolutely no margin for error,” said pilot John Smith of New Zealand, the winner of a recent hang gliding speed run in Kitzbuhel, Austria. “If you crash you die. If you don’t you’ll wish you had.”

After Wednesday and Thursday’s practice sessions, the response to the Aspen course has been enthusiastic.

“It’s been very successful,” said event co-organizer and local pilot Chris Davenport. “Some of the pilots said it was the most fun hang gliding flight of their lives.”

The official competition runs start today at 7 a.m. and continue through Tuesday, Sept. 5. The event will also be featured on USA Network’s “Core Culture” television program later this fall.

In paragliding, the United States Hang Gliding Association National Championships continues today after being curtailed by adverse weather conditions on Wednesday and Thursday.

Plenty of pilots have been taking off in the mornings from the launch area atop Ruthie’s (about 70 pilots launched Thursday) but threatening skies in the afternoon have canceled each day’s “task.”

Tasks consist of flying to pre-designated points throughout the valley and photographing them from above. Whoever completes the course the fastest or reaches the most destinations wins.

With five days left of competition, event organizers had the utmost confidence that the event will go on as scheduled, despite the cancellations of the first two tasks. The competition begins at 11 a.m. every day through Sept. 5.

The third Wings Over Aspen competition, hang-gliding aerobatics, will take to the air on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, beginning at 5 p.m.

Pilots will launch from Ruthie’s and execute daring aerial maneuvers for style points before touching down at the Marolt property off Castle Creek Road, across from Aspen Valley Hospital. Judging will be done from the landing zone, which also serves as the finish point for the cross-country paragliding competition.

Extra-curricular activities include parties tonight at 8 p.m. at Club 426 and Saturday night at Whiskey Rocks at 9 p.m. Both parties are open to the public.

Sunday evening will feature a 5 p.m. barbecue at the Marolt property, and the event will wrap up with an awards ceremony at the St. Regis Hotel Tuesday night at 7 p.m.