Uncommon Sense

Comment Out

Perhaps this is worth putting front and center since the TSA-goon-guy comment it responds to is from a way old post.

Well, Tim, you TSA guys are like the proverbial day-late-and-dollar-short types. You aren't protecting anyone from anything much. You're protecting against methods already well known because they were innovative when they were tried, which is why you didn't catch them.

Your purpose is none other (...other than that of creating a mountain of fake jobs for people to feel falsely important) than fooling a bunch of sheeple into thinking they're extraordinarily safe.

But they already are about as safe as natural reality affords, along with that afforded by the competence of aircraft manufacturers, pilots, mechanics and the others who make the whole thing go like it does. You're just trying to piggyback off the real people who keep us as safe as we can be in an aluminum tube at 30,000 feet.

I'm not falling for your con. And, I don't need you or any of the others. I'm perfectly happy taking my chances, which I don't think you do a damn thing to improve.

Onward.

 

Betting the Farm

There's so many elements that make aviation a big appeal to me. First, of course, is the cruel reality that we can't just flap or spread something of ourselves and fly unassisted -- like birds. And then again, had we evolved as flying creatures there'd be nothing particularly special about it, I suppose; and so we're left with a far sweeter obstacle in that we did evolve the means of flight but had to develop it and train it, and ultimately risk smashing it into a puddle of mush. I'm talking about man's mind.

So that's the second appeal. Pioneering aviation was a terribly risky thing to do and countless people paid the ultimate price. They bet more than the farm. They bet their lives; and many ended up short.

And then you stop and think that some guys -- obviously warped mentally as they risked their lives to do this -- all while watching friends and other pioneers perish in the kinds of mishaps that require a case of ziplock baggies to properly clean up -- were even dumb enough to think they could turn this whole delusion into a profitable business. "Yea, hey, I'm gonna get whole generations to cram their families into aluminum tubes and sail the skies at 30,000 feet. Wanna invest?"

Some guys just don't take no for an answer. I just loved reading this article about the big comeback of Boeing with their B787 roll out next month, due at your local airport sometime next year. The article leads off with an amazing perspective. The 787 is back ordered to 2013 with 500 orders placed. The most successful long-range aircraft in history, the 747, has sold 1,500 units in its 39-year history. But of course the 787 hasn't even been airborne yet, so it's got quite a lot of work to do before it can even begin to challenge the great 747. Boeing has a lot riding on this -- like the farm.

I don't imagine anyone will take real notice that a company like Airbus doesn't stand a chance in a marketplace where, at very least, many of the players are free to choose something produced by a company rather than a committee of nations (imagine our Congress designing and building an airplane to compete in the marketplace). You know, I recall seeing a Discovery show about the A380, which is an impressive aircraft to be sure (in spite of Airbus). But here they were carting huge pieces of it (like wing sections and whatnot) all over Europe through small villages and such because everyone has to have their hand in it: not for business reasons; for political reasons. And I said to myself: no wonder they require subsidy.

The thing is, with the sort of financing EU nations can bring to bear on something like that, it's no surprise they got a jump on Boeing for a few years. But Boeing had the "luxury" (the right) to design whatever they wanted. They timed it right and I have no doubt that the end result will be the failure of the A380 in the marketplace. That's really too bad, because there are a lot of good aviation people behind that and they just don't deserve anything but respect for what they do. I'd say that's the only reason Airbus has aircraft worth a crap at all (and I've flown on a lot of 'em). It's because of the good people who design, build, fly and maintain them. They're of a breed, you see, and even a grotesque monstrosity like the EU can't completely nullify them. We'll see what Airbus and the EU find they have to do to out-compete Boeing when the next round comes along. Maybe that'll count for something like progress -- I don't know -- but it won't matter so long as Boeing can still design and build whatever they want.

To Live is to Fly

There are several remarkable things about this 30 minute film. First of all, it's probably the best quality production for something on the web I've ever seen (calling Sabotta). It uses a format called DivX and I was just blown away by both the video and sound quality. Near HD, I'd say.

Second, it's about hang gliding and thus dear to my heart. There's some really good footage which is a combination of action and serene. Hang gliding, for the most part, is not an "xtreme sport," and my assessment is that most of those guys wouldn't last long in hang gliding.

It gives you the best sense I've yet seen in any short film of who these people are who do this. Not daredevils. Not rich guys; in fact, totally unlike your typical general aviation sort of guy (though I like and get along with those guys too). In my years in the sport, I've met more guys from the construction trades than anything else. Here in Silicon Valley, you've got your share of techies too, but that's the exception. More likely you are to find a down-to-earth carpenter, plumber, drywall or painting contractor. I grew up around those kind of guys and I think I understand completely why they are drawn to this.

The film also highlights a controversy with -- you guessed it -- the state. But it's so well done that you're already hooked on the love of the sport before you even get to that part and they seem honest and sincere in the way they describe the events that led up to the dispute. In a nutshell, it's a flying site in Missoula, Montana that has been used consistently for 30 years. The local pilots, since the '70s, have maintained a good rapport and reasonable working relationship with the tower for the local regional airport. The tower function then gets contracted out (privatized: the great panacea of so many libertarians) and the new guy proceeds to whip up fear about the safety of hang gliding operations (which had been going on for 30 years) and then gets no real public resistance to banning flying from the particular site. This is why I've never really cared about the privatization movement. Privatizing the functions of the state, it seems to me, just makes for more efficient thugs. Perhaps some of the more outlandish thuggery will go the wayside as being just "too extravagant" (after all, the private "enterprises" do have to competitively bid for a contract), but privatization in no way deals with the essential problem of the state, which is: the presumption of authority (backed by main force) on no objectively moral basis.

Here's where you can watch it, which includes a link to download the player. Although... if you're smart enough to be using Firefox, which I sincerely hope you are, and you don't already have the plug-in installed, you should see a little puzzle piece to install it (which happens in a jiffy). Don't be alarmed when the rest of your screen darkens after the film starts. It's supposed to do that. I think you'll enjoy it.

Oh, and if you think it's just "too risky" to have hang gliders with experienced qualified pilots (with human brains) in the vicinity of approach patterns for airports, then consider what happens when you have creatures milling about that don't understand aircraft, aren't briefed or qualified in safety, and possess bird brains.

(link via Davis)

Weekend Virtual Hang Gliding

Someone just turned me on to the Vils Brothers out of Rio. The Brazilians are nuts about HG. I always love being around them. At any rate, check out this one minute collection of bits. Don't miss the 1-second shot of a gaggle of dozens of hang gliders sharing the same thermal. I've been in those. So long as everyone's turning the same direction (as dictated by our own safety procedures), it's not as wild as it looks.

The Birds and the Devils

Via Ted, who emailed me a bunch of interesting stuff relating to integrating my video toy and flying hang-gliders comes this short and funny clip worth tossing up here for your weekend enjoyment.

When birds attack.

...And Dust Devils. After the views out across the flats, the site is the top of Chelan Butte in Washington. I've flown there lots of times, and I've seen these dusties lots of times.

Then, and Now

Then:

Now:

In the second one, that guy is holding a spin, which is what you have to do in a flex wing. Hold it. Relax, and they will auto-recover. The rest is a series of "wangs."

Freeflight Overview

A pretty-well-done BBC piece on hang-gliding, along with some decent flying clips.

When Ears Deceive

In this day and age, I could just see someone putting something like this together with a dubbed soundtrack to create a humorous fiction. In this case, however, the truth is stranger.

That's a DoobleBug harness with its Radne engine replaced with a small jet. It's just a demonstration, and not something that will ever be for sale anytime soon. Powered hang-gliders have been conceived and produced for a while, in various configurations, but I've never been attracted to the idea of a prone harness like the Mosquito and others. Even though I'm quite used to flying prone (Superman) and have endured for up to nearly four hours, there's an uncomfortable aspect to it. Of course, we fly that way only partly because it offers a unique viewing perspective; mostly it's to greatly diminish drag. But if you're under power, that much drag is simply not a concern, so flying upright is the way to go.

I've sat in that harness in a static display and it feels just right. I happen to have a large-surface-area hang-glider with a low aspect ratio that would be perfectly suited to a DoodleBug, so I've definitely thought about it.

(Straub)

Update: Ah, here's a video of someone launching in a Mosquito harness:

Four Easy Steps

Step One:

Step Two:

Step Three:

Step Four:

It's the Aeros AL-12M, from the Ukranian company that's been making excellent and very price-competitive hang-gliders for better than a decade, now.

(Straub)

"Kip Hawley is an Idiot"

Seems like a plan to me, although you ought to understand the risk you may be taking. Harbor no illusions -- especially if you're a male -- and even moreso if you're Black or Hispanic. Remember, you're dealing with the sorts of people who seek out employment where they get to bark orders and push regular people around while carrying a gun. I dunno; perhaps it gives them bulges in their pants, or moisture in their panties.

Nonetheless, if they take a dislike to you, they might suddenly "believe" that they saw a gun, or even a bomb, y'know, for even bigger bulges and gushing moisture.

I think a better, safer policy is to patiently wait until you encounter a TSA-goon in a non-airport situation, where they're not armed, and then look at them as though you just stepped in a fresh, steaming pile of dogshit.

(Wendy)

Getting High

Over 50,000 feet high. No engine. World Record.

Oshkosh 2006

With little opportunity to blog, lately, and even less enthusiasm for it, this is something I just must pass along. Enjoy.

(via Davis)

Flying Videos

Here's a couple of videos of me flying hang-gliders that I've posted before. Now I've uploaded them to YouTube.

I'll give you the links to watch them over at the Tube, in case you want to watch other HG videos it's going to list for you. And because I really think embedding is cool, see below.

See here for an ATOS flight at Ed Levin county park and then here for bits from two flights last year at Hat Creek Rim. We'll be heading to Hat Creek next week for our umpteenth annual camp & fly, so this has all been on my mind lately.

Ed Levin

Hat Creek Rim

World Record

Austrian Manfred Ruhmer has again set a world record in freeflight. For years, he was the unbeatable world champion in hang-gliding cross-country competitions (shortest time to goal, often in excess of 100 miles per round, 4-6 daily rounds in a row). Since he thoroughly and indisputably dominated and conquered that world, he turned his attentions a couple of years ago to foot-launched light sailplanes.

He flies a Swift Light, a lighter design variation of the Swift, designed by Steve Morris, a hang-glider pilot and aeronautical engineer right here in the Bay Area whom I run into from time-to-time.

483.1 miles, from morning launch at Zapata, TX to an evening landing at Lovington, NM. This breaks Robin Hamilton's record of 425 miles, set from Zapata last year. His only power was the thermal-generating power of the sun, and in fact, where normally they only decide to go if they've got a decent tail wind, Manfred needed to leave in a couple of days, so it was make or break and he flew the distance with a significant cross-wind component. Noteworthy is that Manfred also holds the flex-wing hang-glider world record of 432 miles, which he set from Zapata in 2001 and hasn't even remotely come close to being touched since.

You can read about the events of the day beginning from this bookmark on down the page, or hit this, this, and this. For wrap-up and analysis, start here on down, or hit the bookmarks here, here (with cockpit video), here (pics). Here's some YouTube videos.

My friend and one of my beginner instructors, Don Burns, writes Davis:

I just got back from 10 days of flying in the Owens Valley.  I also just got finished viewing Manfred's videos in his Swift referenced on your web site.  Man, he's kicking back, relaxed, moving a stick around and speaking in a calm voice.  He might as well have been watching TV and drinking a beer from the looks of it.

My best flight in the Owens this year was 150 miles.  I realize that this is the distance where you boys in Zapata are just gettin' started.  However, when we fly the Owens, we freakin' work for our miles: we get hypoxic, we get cold, we get the crap knocked out of us, and we get fear of God beat into us each time the air threatens to flip us over.  We fly into territory unretrievable, we risk long dehydrated walks in the desert, and by god we land on our FEET!

Then I read your report where Manfred claims he doesn't fly flex wings any more because "flying a flex wing is hard work".

Distance Shmistance.  200 miles in the Owens Valley is more respectable than a thousand in Texas!

Ha! Yea, it's a different sort of flying altogether. As Davis replies, "Been there, done that. I'm much more interested in enjoying the air in a intellectually challenging flight competing or going for a record."

Don is the guy I shared a thermal with to 11,000 feet a couple of years ago.

Democracy Now!

I got this link to an article about John Travolta's "little place" the other day--the one with the B-707 parked out front. It's a little laborious to get through. It violates my "no horizontal scrolling" rule and the person who put it up needs to be beat about the head & shoulders for that one.

That said, surely the couple must be gobsmacked by what they have pulled off? Do they ever look around...at possibly the world's most elegant private airport...the two planes parked in their front yard and just...giggle?

"Oh yea," they laugh in unison. "Every single day."

Well. "Chortle" might be a better description, don't you think?

I'd just like to know where Travolta and Preston get off. Who do they think they are, taking for themselves such a very large slice of our social pie? Huh? 6,700 square feet of residence, 9 acre estate, and a tarmac large enough for a 707 and a Gulfstream II.

It boggles the mind, such useless and excessive consumption. Disgusting. The thousands of gallons of fuel--for a single trip. The pollution. Yuk!

They need two jets? How many people are living in poverty around the world, going hungry because John and Kelly need two multi-million-dollar jets? And how many people are traveling in that 707 at any one time--four or five?--when it could be efficiently hauling a couple of hundred people who probably have travel needs far in excess of the Travolta's. Besides...they have two jets. People are in buses, taking days to make a trip that John and Kelly make in hours. What gives them the right? And not only that, what about security? I don't think the TSA is checking them out out each time they fly so that we can be safe and protected. What about that? How can we trust John Travolta with a fuel-laden jet that weighs several tons and can go 500 mph? Can you imagine what could happen?

I had thought, gladly, that the awful displays of old-money wealth were a thing of the past. At least that other gaudy display, Vanderbilt's old place, is now a museum for us, the people. We can only hope for as much with Travolta, eventually.

Power to the people! Some glorious day, we'll be able to take back what's ours from those who have stolen it from us, democratic society. Democracy demands it!

The Morning Glory

Ever heard of The Morning Glory cloud (arcus cloud, commonly referred to as a roll cloud)? Perhaps not, unless you're way into meteorology, or you fly hang-gliders or sailplanes.

Here's a pretty good photo of some guy soaring The Morning Glory. When it forms over northern Queensland, Australia, it can stretch for as long as 600 miles, continuous, and a hang-glider or sailplane can soar along its windward side just as if it was a beach cliff or mountain ridge.

Here's another cool photo of a roll cloud that formed over Missouri this last January. And here's more info on The Morning Glory.

Worth a Look

It's just the company I keep, but I see good photos and videos of hang-gliding activities from around the world on almost a daily basis. Every now and then, some photos come along, the quality and subject matter of which demand that I share.

This and about a dozen others right over here. These are taken in France; I believe during the recent 32nd Coupe Icare (Icarus Cup) at St. Hilaire du Touvet. The guy is soaring the ridge lift, of course, flying the latest version of A-I-R's ATOS, the VR. I had an older model of the ATOS, but sold it last fall.

Of course, never forget the best thing of all. These wings all fold up (this one weights in at about 95 lbs.) and pop right on the top of your car or truck for easy transport to almost anywhere, like this.

Don't Try This At Home

As regular readers know, I fly hang-gliders. I like knowing that my Dacron wing is being held in shape with some plumbing; namely, aircraft-grade aluminum tubing.

But others aren't so particular. They fly paragliders. Same basic principle, but rather than tubing to maintain form, they employ a ram air inflated airfoil. Here's how they work. And, as frequent commenter Doug Wolf will tell you: no, these are nothing like parachutes, and, no, you didn't "do that" on your last vacation to Cabo (you went parasailing; different universe entirely).

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to show you the extreme end of this sport. Hold on to your stomach. If Doug catches this, I'm hoping he'll give us a little explanation of the aerobatics involved. Check the comments for that.

Non-Sequitur Heaven

Once upon a time, Nice Guy decided to buy a new hang-glider from a German designer and manufacturer, and at the time, it was the best hang-glider in the whole wide world. But Nice Guy didn't follow the proper and prudent shipping procedures, and the beautiful wing was severely damaged in shipment.

And so the story goes. But it doesn't end there. It turns out that Nice Guy was really the poor victim of the Big Bad Company. So says Saint Marc. Even worse, Evil lurks in the form of a free hang-gliding e-zine editor, Davis, who published opinions on the subject that tend to favor the position of Big Bad Company. But that's not all. Oh, no. Evil Davis is guilty of many, many sins, which surely make Nice Guy more right, and Big Bad Company more wrong.

So says Saint Marc; so say we all. Behold; my grave condemnation of Evil Davis via email!

Davis:

You wrote:

> Mark writes that he didn't inspect the shipping box for
> damage and didn't enforce his rights not to accept
> the box due to damage (just as I have stated, based
> on his previous statements).

Completely true, so far as I can tell.

> Therefore, it is my understanding that the insurance
> lapsed and he was responsible for the accepting the
> damaged goods as is.
>
> Pretty straight forward.

But you're ignoring the fact that Mark P is such a nice guy, and his email was so heart felt, and his feelings were hurt, and he was upset, and most importantly, meant no harm to anyone and didn't understand all the procedures.

Also, Davis, you're bad. A real asshole. And evil. Evil Davis. So that has to factor in there, somewhere.

Marc W sticks up for people, especially victims (when he's not too busy necessarily tending his own victimization), and that's good. A real saint. Saint Marc. Nothing like wailing and crying over the victimized and downtrodden. It's ultimately where all investments of time, money, and effort ought to go, and so that has to factor into this too. So says Saint Marc; so say we all.

> The lesson that we can all learn from this is that you
> the shippee, no matter if you live in a trailer or a
> mansion, or have no shipping address, or work in a
> nuclear power plant, or at Joe's dinner, have a
> personal responsibility to inspect goods that are
> shipped to you and if they are obviously damaged to
> refuse to accept them.
>
> Pretty simple really.

Oh, Evil Davis, you're such an ASSHOLE. Do you mean to tell me that you're insisting that people understand the terms of purchase for a $15,000 transaction, and then follow them? When you yourself get discounts for gliders? When Hollywood broke his wing, crashed and died, and someone else (a Nice Guy too--not an asshole, like you) covered up the reason the reserve wasn't deployed for two years? When Brightstar went out of business, and there's no more alternative to the ATOS?

How can you, Evil Davis, expect people to go through the trouble and labor and bother of transacting with Big Bad Company when their Cursed ATOS isn't anybody's first choice to fly, anyway? The fact that everyone does fly them is only proof that you, Evil Davis, have conspired with Big Bad Company to vanquish all competition. And, since you did vanquish such competition, this be proof that the ATOS is the most inferior wing. Naturally (So says Saint Marc; so say we all.).  Everyone really wants to fly Millenniums and Exxtacies and Axxesses and Top Secrets and Stalkers and Phantoms and Goblins and what have you--anything, ANYTHING but an ATOS...and A.I.R <curse>. If ONLY you had not cast your powerful spell on everyone, making them all unable to detect your many LIES LIES LIES, these other companies with superior wings would not have gone out of business and nobody would have to deal with A.I.R.

We would once again be blessed by the Holy Grail that is CHOICE. So says Saint Marc; so say we all.

Evil Davis: you're an asshole!

Flying By Hand (Video)

We returned earlier this week from Hat Creek Rim, an annual camping and flying trip near Mt. Lassen, in California. Something like a hundred thousand years ago, give or take, the volcano erupted and the massive belching of lava from the cinder cones in the area caused part of the valley floor to collapse about 1,000 feet, leaving a rim.

The volcanic rock fields absorb tremendous heat during the hot summer days, and in the late afternoon, between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. the rim begins to "glass off." That is, a steady band of lift forms across the entire length of the rim (miles and miles). On good days, the band goes out better than a mile, and extends up several thousand feet. It can last until after sundown. I've landed in twilight many times over the years.

It's our eighth consecutive year, 2nd weekend in August. It has become our premier family camping outing of the year, with mom, dad, brothers and their families, a cousin or two, and the odd guest(s) now and then.

So, thanks to my brother and dad, I have some video this year. I'm flying a perfectly docile intermediate wing. About as forgiving as you can get, very much unlike the high-aspect-ratio ATOS, which I recently sold. I've settled into country-club style flying.

The launch is at about 4,200 ft. MSL, and the LZ is about a mile upwind at 3,200 ft., so a 5-to-1 glide. This glider, at about 12-1, would make it easily, except for the headwind. If you don't gain at least a few hundred feet over launch, it could be tough. The 2-1 bailout LZ is a lot smaller, with more trees, and lots of brush. In eight years and dozens of flights, I've yet to have to land there. I always get up. One time, a few years ago, I climbed to 8,500, a 4,300 ft. gain.

The video begins with me preflighting my harness, then launching and doing some crowd pleasing maneuvers near launch. Then, when the video crew leaves, I head out and spend some time trying to get high. I manage about a 1,300 ft. gain. Once everyone is set up down in the LZ, about 45 minutes later I head out so they can catch the approach and landing on video.

At 3,200 ft. MSL, 90 degrees, and a monster wind gradient (notorious for eating downtubes), flair timing is critical. I show you how it's done here, though this is a pretty easy glider to flair properly.

Click here to watch.

Enjoy

Check out this short hang-gliding action video with cool background music. Filmed in Norway.

"Only" 365

That's miles, not days in the year.

It's how many miles my friend Davis Straub (author of the "Windows [...] Secrets" series of books) flew in a hang-glider on Tuesday--half way across the state of Texas. This isn't him (another friend), but it's the same wing (ATOS VR) and how he'd be looking in flight gear.

It's "only" 365 because he flew 427 miles in 2001 from the same place.

Go read his flight report.

Lesson #2 / 1.1 hrs. logged / 2.0 hrs. total

Well, it didn’t work out with Lori as instructor because she lives about 1 ½ hrs. away and so mainly teaches on the weekends. I’m doing my instruction on the weekdays, so things work out better with Jim Grant as my instructor. He’s also the aerobatics instructor, so once I get licensed, I’ll be able to take that course in order to really bolster my overall skills.

I actually did find my logbook from 1984. I’d thought I had five hours or more, but I only have 3 logged. Oh, well. With my 100 hrs. in hang-gliders and a few hours stick time in sailplanes, I’m far better prepared for all of this.

So, lesson #1 being a cross between introduction and an actual lesson, #2 is getting down to business. Problem. The weather sucked in San Jose, yesterday. Very unstable conditions, towering cumulus, low ceiling, and winds at 15 kts. (but only about 10-15 degrees off runway centerline, though). In fact, it was a far better day for hang-gliding than for taking lesson #2, just trying to do some air work, getting the feel for the airplane, honing my precision at coordinating turns. Hang-glider pilots live for unstable conditions that don’t overdevelop, which is just what we had yesterday.

So, because of the low ceiling, Jim says it makes air work a little iffy, ‘cause we need to remain a minimum distance below cloud base, which doesn’t give us a lot of room to work. So, even though it’s their practice not to put students into the pattern with takeoffs and landings until the 10-hr. point, or so, he asks if I’m game; and I say “sure.”

Tail wheeled aircraft are difficult because once the rear wheel is off the ground, the airplane wants to pivot around the main gear. So, when you begin the takeoff roll, you actually have the stick forward. Not all the way; ‘bout right under the edge of the dashboard. It doesn’t take long and the tail comes off the ground. Then, you back off the stick a bit, but not all the way. Just exactly like in hang-gliding, you want to maintain negative pitch on the wing until you’ve got not only enough airspeed to fly, but enough to have authoritative control of the aircraft. So, in hang-gliders, as soon as the wing lifts off your shoulders and tugs on the hang-strap, you pull in on the control frame to keep it on the ground as you take a few more steps down the slope. By doing this, you can add a good 5 mph or more of airspeed.

However, once that tail wheel is off, you’re into a real rat’s nest, as it wants to weave this way and that, all over the place. As a student, you always over-correct with the rudder pedals, so it gets to be pretty embarrassing. However, after three take-offs, here’s what I figured out; and again, it’s directly from hang-gliding. In HG, there’s a phenomena that afflicts new pilots that we call ‘pilot-induced oscillation’, or PIO. This is when the wing banks and begins to turn one way, the pilot corrects to bring it back to straight & level, over does it, and the cycle continues, as well as does the amplitude between each cycle. Once it begins, there is only one way to stop it: let the control bar out to trim speed, i.e., slow down. And there’s the key to the cause. PIO only happens when HGs are moving fast, and that’s most typically on approach to landing, which makes PIO dangerous if a new pilot has not been properly briefed in what to do.

What causes this phenomena is the same thing that makes it difficult to handle the tail wheel: as the aircraft increases airspeed down the runway, the rudder becomes increasingly responsive and effective with respect to any given input. For instance, at 20 mph, a full deflection in the rudder might be needed, but once you’re at 50 mph, just a bit of an inch might be required.

So, what I have to do with this theory is test it. In HGs, the way to prevent PIO is to do what we call “bumping.” When movin’ along fast and you make a control input, it’s a quick bump and right back to center. If not enough, then you do it again. Or, if too much, it’s only going to be a bit, so a teensy bump the other way will get you back on track.

K, so I’m not anywhere near satisfied with all this, but I think I’ve got a few things figured out, so now it’s a matter of applying one sort of muscle memory to a different set of muscles moving on a different plane of motion.

I’m very pleased with how my skills in judging an approach and feel for glide slope have transferred over, which is to say: it’s about 100% applicable. With HGs and sailplanes, you only get one shot at a good approach, and this is sometimes landing in some field or clearing you’ve never seen before and have only gotten a few brief moments while in the air to scout out obstructions such as fences, tree lines, boulders, power lines, etc; and to judge the wind speed and direction by looking at trees, grass, water, etc. It’s a lot to do, and if you’re not sweating bullets, you’ve no business being there. In HGs and sailplanes, approaches and glide slope are practiced more than anything.

So, it’s just perfectly natural for me to keep the nose down, turn onto base, then to final, and see just about where I’m going to be rounding out. I don’t really need to look at the VASI, and the one time I sensed I needed to add power, I checked the VASI right as I bumped in a little power (and backed right off, of course), and sure enough, just barely red over red.

Right now, the instructor is fine with me coming in hot, which is what I’m accustomed to. In HGs, I bring it in hot right to ground effect, but my instructor wants me to round out a bit higher. We’ll I was surprised, because once in ground effect, it was the most natural thing in the world to keep my eyes up and out of the cockpit, straight forward. It’s just a matter of trying to maintain the same horizontal position. To do that, you have to gradually bring the stick back, so you’re trading staying on that horizontal plane for airspeed, which slowly bleeds off, and just then, you’ll sense the incipient stall, bring the stick all the way back, and settle fairly gently onto the runway.

All in all, the take-offs are going to be the toughest for me to learn. I’m probably far to confident on the landings, just yet, and I’m going to have to get that in check before tomorrow’s lesson; but for now, after 2 hrs., I’m feelin’ pretty good.

They Don't Call it FREE Flight for Nuthin'

We often refer to hang gliding as "free flight" because of the fact that we can fly for hours and go for many miles without any power source other than the heating provided by the sun beating against the ground and the gravity that creates our glide.

But lots of us like the term for other reasons. Hang gliding--unlike just about every other facet of everyone's life--is unregulated by government. That's right. The FAA does not get involved in our pilot certification (which is quite rigorous, nonetheless). The FAA does not get involved in the certification of gliders and other equipment (rigorous, and expensive, for manufacturers--and there aren't even any "uncertified" gliders for sale (see HGMA)). The FAA does not get involved in the locations we fly. Our association, the United States Hang-Gliding Association (USHGA) coordinates with landowners to provide insurance for our flying activities. In short, you, dear citizen, don't pay a single penny for our activities. I wouldn't trade such rational and natural anarchy for anything, and most of those I know in the sport wouldn't either.

Proof?

Well, it pains me to prove it in such a heartbreaking way, but here it is. There was a tragic death; a great young pilot who's been flying both hang-gliders and para-gliders since he was a boy. Chris Muller, age 29, died the other day.

He was flying in an international-level competition in Florida. Here's the description of the crash. And here's the reportage of his death a short time later. He died as a result of his own risk taking and error. No one, anywhere, should be held responsible or should in any way be restrained in their future actions as a result.

Even still, there are always those who speak from different viewpoints, who call for this measure or that, in hopes of curtailing future risk-taking of a sort that might lead to a similar tragedy. But you know what? In the absence of politics, bullshit, and government force (I repeat myself), such viewpoints gain little audience, if any.

This tragedy was no different. There are always those who speak with authority and sense. Read the sanity from those who knew Chris Muller.

Flytec Championship

...going on in Florida, right now. Vince Endter, a fellow San Jose resident, does well on this 65.9 mile out-and-return task.

Update: Davis Straub also makes goal and has a good writeup about it.

New World Record

Australian Jon Durand sets a new world record for distance in a hang glider, beginning with a foot launch from a hillside or mountain top. This was accomplished in Australia, where it's currently summertime, of course (you're going to need plenty of thermals).

Try 496 kilometers in eight hours. That article is in the pilot's own words, so is quite interesting.

The absolute distance record is 437.8 miles (704.6 km), and I believe was almost 12 hours in duration. That was done in Texas, but the launch method is by aerotow from an ultralight. That has some advantages in that the tug can search around for lift and drop you off in it, and you can begin already at several thousand feet agl. When launching from a mountain, you've got to hang out along the ridge until the right ride comes along, then take it.

Fly Away

The men's world hang gliding championship (flex wing) is currently taking place in Hay, New South Wales, Australia. You can read all you want to about it and more in The Oz Report.

Here below is a great photo of Alex Ploner of the French team during a 180 kilometer task. I'd say he's at least 2,000 ft. AGL. That protrusion from the right corner of the control frame is a GPS, altimeter, variometer, and flight computer all in one.

Next is a photo of a typical "gaggle." Gaggles are normal in cross country competitions for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that when someone finds lift, others are quick to join. If you look at this photo carefully, you'll see the tow paddock below, with all the hang gliders lined up waiting for their turn for a tow. So, in this case the gaggle is for pilots waiting to take an appropriate start time to head out on the 180 Km task, which should take those who complete it about 3.5-4 hours.

Yes, we carry emergency parachutes when we fly. It's rare to have to deploy one, and there are plenty of people I know who have several thousand hours logged over the last 30+ years and have never deployed. Still, they are there if needed. Here's what they look like. As you can see, they bring down both glider and pilot (though you can cut away the glider if you need to).

Here's Davis Straub's description of a 188 Km task:

With the winds still strong after five days it is blowing out of the south south west at the tow paddock.  This makes for exciting towing.  Two pilots smack in right off the dollies and one throws his chute just behind the tow paddock after locking out on tow and tumbling.  I almost tumble at 400' when I release from tow too high.  I climb out to 1,600' and come back to land as I'm moving too quickly down wind.  Numerous dust devils race through the tow lines.  Everyone ends up okay.

The air is ratty again like the day before.  It's just as cool.  We've got the same task as the previous day but with an extra turnpoint at One Tree on the way to Booligal to keep us on the road and extend the task to 188 kilometers.

The main gaggle starts at 3 PM and pilots are quickly scattered into smaller gaggles.  I'm making one low save after another but catching up with folks ahead of me.  We're lucky if we get to 6,000'.  The thermals are tight little cores until 5 PM.

Four US Pilots will land at goal along with over fifty other pilots.  I'll be twenty five kilometers short not showing enough patience in a light thermal. Dean will land near the first turnpoint.

Oleg wins the day with Gerolf 12 seconds behind him.

Curt, Dustin and Kevin are doing well and keeping the US in the race for a team medal.  Oleg is a one man Ukrainian team.

You can see his flight data, downloaded from his flight computer, here. The green graph is the geographical data from the GPS. The blue one is altitude plotted over time. Each peak in the graph is where he had found lift and stopped to circle in it and gain more altitude. Begin to factor in climb rates (some thermals go up at 50 feet per minute, some 1500 or even 2000 or more) and you can begin to see what a chess match a cross country hang gliding competition can be.

Ever been to the top of a windy mountain?

As you’ll see in the video clips below, some of us have our own way of getting down—and in this case—getting down eventually.

My wife’s niece, who recently graduated Stanford University with honors, had the opportunity to take her first tandem hang glider flight with an experienced instructor. Typically, these flights are only of a 5-10 minute duration launching at 2,000 ft. over the landing zone. Tandem hang gliders are built for strength and stability, not efficient glide or sink rate. What’s more, this particular flying site (Monument Peak, Ed Levin County Park, overlooking Milpitas, California) is not normally known for its soaring opportunities, which is why it’s a good student, beginner, and tandem site. So I had decided that rather than hump my wing onto the H2 and go through all the hassle for what would most certainly be a short flight, even on my super-performance ATOS, I was just going to assist with Jennifer getting her tandem flight, roll some video, etc.

But I had neglected to check the weather carefully. I had called the “wind talker” in the morning—an automated anemometer that sits atop the peak—and verified that the wind was not coming out of the east, which would have shut us down for the day. But I didn’t check online, where I’d have found that we were in pre-frontal conditions. A storm was moving in and rain was predicted for the next day (today—and yes—it’s raining). In these conditions, a good strong laminar flow sets up from the south and you can soar above the peak for hours in relatively smooth air.

So shortly after we arrive at the park, guys start launching from the peak and they’re staying up. Then lots of more experienced pilots, friends of mine, begin showing up—people who rarely fly here. I begin to realize what’s up. I jump in the rig; and I’m off to retrieve my equipment. Takes an hour to get back—record time. I get back just as Ben Dunn has finished his first tandem lesson of the day where this student got a 30 minute flight. I told Jen that she was in for a real treat, because this just doesn’t happen. "Nobody gets this lucky."

As it turned out, Jennifer got a 55 minute flight and I flew for about an hour, landing shortly after her. We could easily have flown for several more hours. Here are a couple of video clips; one of selected portions of Jennifer’s experience, and one of mine. Some things to notice are the wind noise, and in one section of Jennifer’s video, you can see the windsock straight out horizontal in the lower right of the frame. Notice the other hang gliders in the air. In total, there were in excess of 20 pilots at different times. The strength of the wind made for easy launches. You don’t particularly see it, but with that sort of wind, it takes a lot of effort to keep the glider on the ground until you're ready for launch. They want to fly. It’s much different from a no-wind situation where you must create all of your airspeed necessary to ‘commit aviation’ by running aggressively, with unwavering commitment, down the slope. Oh, notice that with the tandem launch, it takes a while for them to rig for flight and get fully prone after launch. This is normal.

And, yes, you’ll see me bonk in my landing. The approach was difficult because with the strong wind, we were getting rotor (mechanical turbulence) off some hills where the landing zone is on the lee side of the hill. As such, I ended up lower on approach than I would normally be, so I did not comfortably clear an irrigation ditch in the field. As it first came into my field of view, I wasn't too concerned. I knew about it from before, but remembered it to be pretty small. Then I realized that it’s 3 ft. wide and about 2 ft. deep. Everything happens very fast and this caused me too long a period of indecision. At any rate, on examining the video, I see clearly that with a bit more arm extension and arch in the back, I’d have gotten the wing vertical and stopped a foot or so short of the ditch. Well, no damage to myself or the wing.

On to the videos. These files are about 4-5 megabytes each, so if you have a slow connection (like dialup), or the server is bogged down, streaming play may be choppy. If that happens, then one at a time, right click on the link, then click on “save target as…” from the pop-up menu, give it a name and save it somewhere. The file will be downloaded, and once complete, you can view it from your local machine.

Watch Jennifer's tandem hang glider flight.

Watch Richard's flight on the ATOS.

Then, and Now

Here's a look at what the sport of hang gliding looked like back in the mid-70s, and now, 30 years later. I'll leave it to readers to guess which photos go in which era.

Air Ballet

My wife and I spent the Labor Day weekend in Indian Valley on a hang gliding trip.

Bea & I reconnected with friends and acquaintances we had not seen in months and years. Running a growing company, flying has been a rare luxury over the last few years. I’m trying to change that through recognition of the fact that I’m at my best when taking the time to do some of the things that most touch my spirit. Hang gliding is near the top of that list. Nothing so terrifies and delights me at the same time than taking a 70 lb. structure (1/3 of my own weight) of aluminum and Dacron, launching it by foot, and sniffing out rising air currents to heights thousands of feet over my point of launch.

Some people take advantage of those climbs to travel cross country, often over hundreds of miles: climb, glide; climb, glide; etc. It’s the Holy Grail of hang gliding, and though I’ve had a few short cross country fights and I yearn for the satisfaction that surely must come from accomplishing something that only a handful of billions could accomplish in their lifetimes in this particular regard, the all-consuming desire to actually do it eludes me. Most mysterious to me is that I still can’t discern in my own self whether my reluctance is through trepidation or a real lack of opportunity—though I tend to think the latter, since I believe that successful cross country flight is at least half about support. One really needs a support team, even of one person at one’s disposal, and such is very difficult to come by. Please don’t take that to be an indictment of my wife. I’m eternally grateful for every second of her life she’s chosen to share with me in the world of hang gliding—and it’s a substantial contribution already. I know she’d agree that she’s gotten a lot in return. Beatrice ceaselessly marvels at how the folks she meets on hang gliding trips are the most intelligent and interesting people she’s ever encountered.

I tell her, tongue-in-cheek, it’s because hang-glider pilots are eternally looking for drivers and always honor them with good and witty conversation, dinner when applicable, and shotgun on the ride up to launch. She thinks they’re deeper than that, and I concede the point.

We’re geeks—only our geekishness doesn’t reside in capacitors, resistors, transistors or software code (except for the already geeks who fly hang gliders, which is no small percentage). Rather, it resides in pitch, angle-of attack, bar pressure, speed-to-fly, climb-and-glide, rotor, wind gradient, and a host of other specialties that would cause the most inquisitive wuffo* to become glassy-eyed.

So, on day one of the adventure, we were disappointed to find the weather predictions ringing true. The wind was blowing down slope. We took the opportunity to 4-wheel around the ridge at 6,000 ft. MSL and explore. Day two offered a different opportunity. The thermal cycles were very long, creating upslope drafts of 5-10 MPH, with moderate gusts to 15-20. Perfect.

We all set up. Don Burns, a 30 yr. pilot and one of my early instructors was first to launch. I was next and followed suit. A turn to the left to the spine off the burn yielded the lift that would take me from 6,000 ft. at launch to 8,000 ft.

So, I tool around over the ridge for a good while. I loose some altitude, and then gain it back. Don was already out of sight. This time I would have to rely on a local—a hawk—wings spread out and turning in circles. I maneuvered over to him (or her—I’ve not a clue how to tell the difference) and sure enough, the strong bump was accompanied by a steadily chirping variometer. 400 feet per minute up. I’ll take it.

After such an encounter with nature which I can’t begin, nor will I fumble at trying to put into words, I was satisfied. I decided to work my way down the spine, off the ridge, toward one of the landing zones in the valley below. I arrived at the large brown field with 2,000 feet to spare. As I remained in sinking air to descend, I watched the American Flag in the field go from a west wind at 10 MPH to an east wind at 10 MPH. I watched this through three cycles as I’m getting lower and lower. The field is such that you effectively have to take it on approach either east or west, so in this instance, I have a 50/50 chance of landing into the wind, decreasing my speed over ground by 10 MPH, or landing downwind, increasing my speed over ground by 10 MPH. Not great odds. On the one hand, a perfect situation awaits; on the other, sure pain.

At 4,000 feet MSL, mere hundreds of feet above the LZ, I decide to take the first elevator out, if I can find it. Just then, the several horses below begin to scatter. This can be caused by a variety of things, but one of them is a gust of wind (a thermal kicking off). I happened to be just downwind of them and sure enough, within seconds, WHAM! I rode that from 4,000 feet to 6,500—just enough to jump back to the ridge where I’d launched from.

Behold—Don Burns is now back down to just over launch level, from wherever he’d been. Then, he’s caught a whopper—I can tell. Within seconds, I’m just under him and gaining “ground.” My vario registers 1,000 feet per minute up and is screaming a chirp that focuses attention like no other sound you can imagine. Before long, we’re climbing on opposing sides of a circle defined by the nature of the thing that has our full and complete focus. We ride it from 6,500 feet to nearly 11,000 feet in under 5 minutes. At that altitude, the cold begins to bite, traveling through the air at 25 MPH. But you try not to think about it.

Don moves on and I do as well. I meander about, losing altitude slowly over the next hour. By the time I next arrive over the LZ, it is late in the day and the thermal activity had subsided. I land into a nice and steady 10 MPH from the west.

An hour and forty-five minutes of solar-powered flight. I’ll call it a day—a great day.

*("Wuffo" denotes a term coined by hang-glider pilots to describe everyone else. It's a contraction for "what for," denoting those curious spectators at launch and in the LZ who continuously point out various things and ask what amounts to "what for?")

Politicized and Tribalized

A friend alerts me in email that Alan Bromley gets No Holiday From Hate.

"Screw you!" someone shouted from across the porch. My daughter's head swerved to the yelling miscreant, then back to me, somewhat fearful of my reaction.

I said: "And to you sir, may I ask, don't you see the irony of the Democrats using 'restore trust' as their slogan. Did you not see their lineup of speakers?

"Let's count: we had Ted Kennedy, who lied about trying to save Mary Jo Kopechne. We had Hillary Clinton, who lied about her billing records, about her commodities trading prowess, about kissing Arafat's wife right after Arafat accused the Israelis of poisoning Palestinian children. We had Al Sharpton, of Tawana Brawley fame, who later incited an anti-Semitic riot in Harlem with fatal consequences--funny how you blindly embrace these leaders of liberty, isn't it?

"And then we had your sweetheart, President Clinton, who never saw a big hairdo or a little lie he couldn't resist. We had John Edwards, who made his fortune convincing juries of the evils of doctors, and finally, Kerry himself, who is living the biggest lie of all--marrying rich, then richer, and feigning empathy for the downtrodden as he jets from home to home to home. Are those the men and women in who's hands and hearts you want to place, if not restore, trust?"

...

"Let me ask you something," I said to those with grimaces. "Are you happy the employment figures were dismal? Are you happy that we are having more troubles than anticipated in Iraq?"

"Speaking for myself," the Philly wife declared, "any news that helps defeat Bush makes me happy." Hubby nodded, as did a couple of others swinging on the veranda.

"So let me get this straight: Without offering a remedy for perceived economic woes, or a plan to win the war in Iraq, it's OK with you if a couple hundred thousand additional Americans are unemployed, let's say for a year or so. Your liberal 'scales of justice, of humanity' say that's a beneficial scenario--presumably because it's their sacrifice, not yours. And if we continue to move slowly in Iraq, costing additional American lives, not to mention the lives and freedom of Iraqi's, you will be satisfied as long as President Bush isn't re-elected?"

"You're a fascist! We're leaving!" the husband shouted.

"Your freedom of speech, to preach hatred of President Bush and to hope for American setbacks, even if it costs Americans their lives and livelihoods, is fine," I said to their backs, "but my questioning of your shallowness is offensive, right? Enjoy your trip back to the City of Brotherly Love. I'm sure your neighbors will be happy to see you return."

It's a bit of a coincidence, but a quote from an email I wrote just this morning applies here. It was written to a hang-gliding discussion list about a long-time acquaintance of mine who publishes a hang-gliding-related daily e-zine, the Oz Report and gets blamed for just about every bad thing that happens in hang gliding, the world over.

One possible conclusion is that you get blamed for everything negative that happens in the market (the demise of the Millennium; the lackluster market performance of other CBRWs; etc.), but get zero credit for any good things that happen in the market, such as the tail on the ATOS and other developments. How about the continually improving software in some of the comp varios you've tested and reported on? Also, haven't heard of any spins on RWs in a long time. I wonder if your reporting drove home the notion that you can't just throw the bar anywhere you like on a rigid as you can on most flex wings.

Such is the politicized, tribalized world in which we live now. Everyone has a side, a team, an agenda. And when you're not of the correct tribe, everything you do is suspect, and you can certainly do no good. No lie, no deception, no out-of-context manipulation is beyond use against you, for you are the embodiment of evil.

Les Vacances

Well, the wife & I are outta here for a few days. Off to relax, camp, and "fly the rim." This is like our seventh consecutuve year, so you gotta know how much we enjoy it.

Back sometime Monday.

Umpteenth Annual Festival of Freeflight

Well, this is about 2 weeks late. I’d wanted to post something about my 4th of July weekend up in the high desert of Lakeview, Oregon. Out of the last six years, I’ve made it to the Festival five times and my wife has been with me four of those times.

It’s truly a very enjoyable time. Never have we pre-arranged with anyone to be there at the same time, and yet, each year, we’ll always run into lots of old friends in the hang gliding world, some of whom we might have not crossed paths with in months or years.

I don’t get to fly anywhere near as much as I used to, so I was both really looking forward to this, and apprehensive as well. As anyone who pilots any type of aircraft will tell you, frequent flying keeps you proficient. It had been about 8 months since my last flight. Foot launching a hang glider down the slope of a mountain is a very precise and completely unnatural skill to master. You must judge when the time is right, ensure that your wings are properly balanced with lift (assuming a wind up the slope), and commit. When you commit, that means you begin an aggressive run and you do not back off for any reason. If something does go wrong, you are far more likely to pull off a badly executed launch (while everyone back on the hill breathes a sigh of relief and curses your stupidity) than you are to escape an aborted, blown launch without serious injury, or even death. The photo at right of someone launching off Sugar, south of Lakeview should illustrate. (click to enlarge)

Anyway, I did get to fly a couple of times and managed to make extended flights of both of them—meaning—I found lift and got well up above the altitude I launched from and stayed there. July 2nd was a particularly good day and some pilots who went cross country turned in flights in excess of 100 miles to the east of Lakeview, all the way into Nevada. I’m not much of a cross country pilot, myself. I’ve had a few flights in the 15 mile range, but the logistics are a real pain in the ass so you really have to have the time and commitment to go XC very often, and there’s no use in doing it unless you intend to go far.

This Festival has a number of fun contests with modest prizes. In the past four years of attendance, I’ve always registered at the Chamber of Commerce, but have never participated in any of the contests. I registered more to contribute to the financial support than anything. This year, I didn’t bother with registering, which I’ll live to regret. Read on.

Sunday the 4th, I was on Black Cap, a small, 1,200 ft. AGL hill above Lakeview central that’s popular to fly because you can often get up and away from there. (the 100+ mile flights on 7/2 originated here). All the townspeople can see you because you’re right there soaring around on the hill with the big ‘L’ formed with white rocks across its face. Plus, they often have an evening “glass off” which is pretty much uniformly smooth rising air over a large area from about 5-6 p.m. to sundown. You can just boat around for a couple of hours or more and it’s so smooth. To the left, I'm just about to launch. (click to enlarge)

So, anyway, it just was not happening in the height of the afternoon when I’d intended to fly. Everyone was launching and bombing out right to the bailout landing zone below. Not a lot of fun in that. It must have been about 4 p.m. or so when it began showing signs of changing, so I launched and got up right away. Then, I hooked into a nice thermal for about a 2,000 ft. altitude gain. Nice. Plus, it’s a bit cooler up there after standing and "hang waiting" in the beating sun for hours. Here to the right, I'm in the process of circling up in good lift. (click to enlarge)

All of a sudden, I realize that a lot of guys are launching and going straight for Hunter’s LZ, which is a grass field in front of the Motel we’re staying at, complete with its own hot springs and geyser that goes off about every minute. Then, I remember: the spot landing contest. There’s a cone in the center of the field, and the one who lands closest without whacking or letting their control frame touch the ground wins.

I dismissed the thought of participating right then and there. Never have bothered with those things, so why start now? But, 40 minutes later, I was getting tired and the thought of a cold beer was becoming appealing.

There was a nice breeze as I set up my approach over the LZ, so figure-8s were called for. With a figure-8, each turn is made in the upwind direction, so that by adjusting just the time between turns, you can maintain the same relative position over a piece of real estate as you bleed off altitude. Then, it’s a standard aircraft approach, downwind, base, and final (DBF). So, my last section of figure-8 as I’m about 200 ft AGL becomes actually a 270 degree turn as I judge it’s time to start the downwind. My glide slope seems nicely uniform and the angle on the center of the field is looking good.

“What the hell,” so I go for it. I know that to pull it off, I’m going to be coming in pretty low over highway 395 on final, so I look both ways (had there been any traffic, I could have shortened the downwind and still landed no problem), no traffic, so I cross the highway. “Watch the angle. Watch the angle. Ok,” go to the base leg on the other side of 395. “Oops,” I executed that turn onto final just a bit late. Crab to starboard just a bit. Now, ground effect. “Patience…patience. Ok…flair!” Wow, 15 ft from the cone! That’s not a lot, I can tell you.

It was the top performance, actually. But, alas, I didn’t register, and them’s the rules. Lost out on 200 bucks, plus the trophy.

Carnage at the Worlds

Well, the world cross-country hang-gliding championship for the women’s flex wing class, rigid wing class, and ultra-light sailplane class is on. It's taking place in Bern, Austria and I can tell you--because I follow hang-gliding competitions all over the world--that this year is quite a bit different.

A little history is in order. Back in the early days of the 70s and 80s, most hang-gliders were launched by foot, from mountain tops. So, most flying was mountain flying. It's how I learned. In the mountains, weather can be unpredictable, gust fronts can come up in minutes, and the turbulence from higher-level winds passing over the contour of mountain ranges can create some very strange (and scary) conditions, even several thousand feet AGL (above ground level). But, in the last 10 years or so, everyone has discovered aero-tow. It's so much more convenient. You set up your glider, get towed up and dropped off in a thermal, fly around for a couple of hours, maybe do a small out-and-return X-C, land where you launched, pack it up, and go home. Now, most of the largest competition meets are aero-tow. With 4 to 6 tugs, they can get 300 hang-gliders to 2,000 - 3,000 ft AGL in a two-hour launch window. Also notable is that since they are towing, they are not constrained to mountain flying. Thus, most competitions now take place mostly over flatland, where the texture of the air is far friendlier. But this year's comp is in the mountains -- the Austrian Alps, I should say.

Here's a photo of an acquaintance of mine, Vince Endter, launching from the site of the Worlds on a practice day prior to the start.

Here's a first-hand account of day two of the competition. Just so you know, recovering from a tuck in a hang-glider is a big deal. Most tucks result in tumbles (imagine a falling leaf), followed by the break-up of the glider and tossing the laundry (hang-gliding lingo for throwing your reserve parachute).

OK, now that you've digested that, get a load of this carnage. Kari Castle, one of the world's very top women pilots tumbles at 11,000 ft MSL, patiently waits for her glider to break up, then throws her chute so as to avoid having the chute bridle get wound around the glider. That's presence of mind, I'll tell you right here.

I met Kari once when I was still a beginner on a flying trip to the Owens Valley. Kari's a celebrity in Bishop, CA. Glad she's OK.

Get High, Go Far

It's hard to put into words how much your world view changes as you climb out from 6,000' to 11,000' here over a narrow valley. How stunning it is to look out along the course line from 11,000' and see nothing but snow covered peaks for as far as you can see. To have the valleys disappear in front of you.

...There are two worlds here, the world of the valley floor and the world of the mountain peaks and within a few minutes you traverse between those worlds. It is because you go from one to the other so quickly that the contrast is so startling.

Davis Straub--who flies hang-gliders most of the year over the flats of Florida, Texas, and Australia--describing what it's like at the Alpen Open near Innsbruck, Austria. He's there, competing, in a prelude meet to the Worlds, to take place very soon.

Read his first hand description of the pilot task for day 2 of the competition, an out-and-return of 197 kilometers.

Hang-Glider Soars Mount Everest

The story and pictures. And here's the official page for the two guys who put it together.

Just Simply Beautiful

This is a brand new rigid-wing hang-glider designed and manufactured by Aeros, of, of all places, the Ukraine. Apparently, after the fall of the USSR, some ex-aeronautical engineers became entrepreneurs. In both the flex and rigid wing categories, it is quite well known the world over that Aeros delivers the best in performance for the money. Their wings are always near the top of the stack in all national and international X-C competitions, and they significantly under price the other 3 top manufacturers of the world (Wills Wing of the US; Moyes of Australia; Icaro of Italy).

To see a small side show of this beauty, christened the Phantom, go here.

Now, what's different about this rigid wing from the one I fly, and the other brands is that it has ailerons instead of spoilerons. Ailerons, basically, modify the twist of each wing in roughly opposite quantities (remember how the Wright Brothers controlled roll--through physically twisting the wings). This makes the wing roll one direction or another and is how a turn is typically initiated. With spoilerons, you simply have a panel on the top surface of each wing, and you cause the panel to be raised on the wing in the direction you wish to roll. This spoils the lift over that section, the wing drops, and you have initiated a roll.

But, here's the problem. Adverse yaw. This is a condition where your airplane wants to yaw away from the direction of your roll/turn. The reason is because when you modify the twist of your wing with the ailerons, you are decreasing lift on the inboard wing and increasing it on the outboard wing. More lift, more drag. Less lift, less drag. So, by using your ailerons, you set up disequilibrium in drag on the wings, and it happens to be exactly the opposite disequilibrium that you want. Now, when you have 3-axis control, like most airplanes have, you lead with a little rudder in the direction of your roll/turn, and this counters the adverse yaw. Of course, hang gliders are flying wings. They have no rudder, so adverse yaw is a major concern.

And so back to spoilerons. The reason all the other rigid-wing hang-gliders use them is because they create drag only on the inboard wing, so you get a beneficial yawing of the wing into the direction of your roll/turn.

If you look closely at the slide show of the Phantom, above, you’ll notice three separate sections of controllable surface on the wings. Most inboard are the flaps. Then you have the ailerons, and then a small section Aeros has dubbed the “spad.” This little gizmo actuates on the inboard wing a bit ahead of and more severely than the aileron in order to minimize the effect of adverse yaw. From what I hear, they have not eliminated it completely, but have reduced it a lot.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

A Photo I Wish I'd Taken

This was taken from a German-made rigid-wing hang glider called the ATOS (one of which sits in my garage at home) and is looking out toward the Dolomites in Italy. Spectacular. Notice the carbon-fiber D-cells making up the leading edge, as well as the ribs. This wing has a 42-ft. wingspan, yet weighs only about 83 lbs and can be transported on top of your EVIL SUV (The one shown here is a flex wing. Rigids are twice as wide, but the same length). A far cry from the lawn darts they used to pioneer this sport in the '70s. This model of glider has flown cross-country record distances in excess of 400 miles (I did mention that it has no engine?).

This photo was reminiscent of a spectacular flying day a few years ago near Dunlap, CA (40 miles or so east of Fresno). Launch was from a ridge at about 4,000 ft MSL. That day, lift was to about 10,000 ft. When topped out, I was virtually looking down on King's Canyon. Too bad I didn't have a camera.