[reluctantsparrow]

RS & Bill,

My original proposal was to have the restraint line attached to the control bar. As the pilot is attached to the keel by the main hang strap the trajectory of the pilot will follow the arc made by that strap so the chest/control bar restraint will not pull the pilot,s head into the ground as suggested. The control bar will absorb the deceleration loads progressively and if high enough the bar will bend and maybe fail but in a progressive manner. As most control bars have an internal cable this would then take up any residual energy.

The restraint line could be constructed using a tube tape with an internal bungee to keep it from getting caught up on any thing and depending on how much tension used could act as a hands off self centering mechanism for the pilot in flight.

Tony

P.s. RS you could make up a mockup of it without to much trouble as you did with your rear restraint line.

Tony, I will indeed test your idea and get it on video for us all to evaluate once I get my crash test zip line up and running (which may take some time, I am still looking for rope and some climbing spurs)
I will test the bermuda triangle safety system first though for the following reason.

a restraint system pulling from the rear utilizes the entire harness as a safety harness and spreads out the Gs of rapid deceleration being imposed on the pilots body.
a restraint mounted farther forward and BELOW the mass of the pilots body will not produce nearly the same results as a restraint that pulls on the harness in the manner it was designed to function. (from above and near the mains)
I used to be both a roofer and a high rise window washer....There is a reason modern five point safety harnesses designed for fall protection have the primary tether attached to the BACKSIDE of fall prevention harnesses.

[Bill Cummings]

Another consideration is, which of the two, front or rear restraint systems, will pose a greater risk to the structural integrity of the hang glider in the event of a tumble at altitude.

I can see a possibility of either restraint system being the Aluminum can opener that will open a can of worms. If that is the case which can opener will be the most effective? That is the one we should avoid.

We already know that having no restraint system will allow the pilots body to break Aluminum in a tumble.
However we have seen a greater chance of injury to pilots blowing a landing than we do tumbling.
Looking at just those two events I would pick protection on landing over a better tumbling outcome.
Where there is a chance of a water landing I would choose not hooking up to my restraint system.
I'm thinking that the thing to do is wait until after the test crashes and see if I have enough information to
decide on front restraint, rear restraint, or none of the above.
I don't do aerobatics but to a pilot that does that may change the selection.

[reluctantsparrow]

The bermuda Triangle is going to actively prevent a the rear of a pilots body from falling into the glider without any alteration of or stress upon key structural componants as far as I can see.
a tether to the basetube is also going to prevent a pilots body from falling but extreme stress would be placed on the basetube and basetube failure seems highly probable.

[Bill Cummings]

The bermuda Triangle is going to actively prevent a the rear of a pilots body from falling into the glider without any alteration of or stress upon key structural componants as far as I can see.
a tether to the basetube is also going to prevent a pilots body from falling but extreme stress would be placed on the basetube and basetube failure seems highly probable.

This post brought to my mind two pilots, one I can't remember his name and the other, Danny U. that pulled the basetube out by hand when tumbling their Pro Dawn Comps.

[reluctantsparrow]

Danny U. is a good friend of mine. seen more than my share of tumbles flying Chelan Butte. One happened directly below me. So weird looking down at a pilot laying on his inverted glider, which had stabilized upside down....watched him throw his chute...unsuccessful....watched him pull it back in for a second attempt....I was only 400 feet above him in the thermal....second deploy was successful....he crashed into a super steep section of the Butte...no movement for a long time....I was coming in to do a fly on the wall right next to him when i finally saw him emerge from under the glider and aborted my fly on the wall, caught another thermal, top landed the butte, hiked down to him and helped drag his glider up the hill...
then I took off again and he drove for me....I flew about 20 miles, landed, and he showed up with a case of beer...fun day....he was a canadian fella, forgot his name.
But speaking of basetubes....we had a launch here at Dog Mountain (1,400 ft.) where the basetube fell off to hang straight down right after launch....pilot was a woman with a very cool head who held her entire glider together with her own two arms all the way to the deck.....SuperWoman.

ACCIDENTS: speaking of accidents, is there a place here at the UShawks where we can post accident reports?
I have not found it yet.
We used to have an entire column dedicated to that in the magazine and I learned a lot from it.
A lot of local accidents go unreported I have noticed locally to due to the pilots ego (i could site numerous cases)
I think we could all learn from each other if we posted accident reports...RS

[Bill Cummings]

ACCIDENTS: speaking of accidents, is there a place here at the UShawks where we can post accident reports?
I have not found it yet.

I have two posted on the "SW Texas Hang Gliding Forum." Here at the US Hawks.
It is somewhere down on the, "Payout thread."
But we should open one on the main US Hawks maybe on the Blog area. I could move some of mine over to it if we do that.
I'm thinking now that I have posted to three accidents on that thread.
Also the Jean Lake tow accident is here at the Hawks.
HEY BOB WHERE SHOULD WE PUT THE ACCIDENT THREAD?

[JoeF]

Some early preambling for winching by pedalling?
Les Aviettes

--------------------------------
Adding an hour later for RS:


============================
And adding

=============================

=============================

[reluctantsparrow]

nice footage. where oh where do you find this stuff? Kinda glad they never got too far off the ground.
If you were there to document all that action JoeF you would have come up with a newsletter called,...
.....Low and not so Slow

[Bob Kuczewski]

ACCIDENTS: speaking of accidents, is there a place here at the UShawks where we can post accident reports?

First you all want to post YouTube vidoes.

Then you want to start your own blogs.

Then you want ratings.

Then you want to change the logo.

Now it's an Accident Forum.   

All I've got to say is   .   .   .   .   .   KEEP IT COMING!!!!

That's how we're going to build a better association ... with good suggestions by our members.     

Thanks RS.    You'll find the Accident Reports Forum ready to go.         

[reluctantsparrow]

Then you want to change the logo.

:

I must have showed up after the logo changing party. Now I am curious what it used to look like. Its kinda weird but I was thinking of logo design just today because I mentioned the self soar society to JoeF and realized I remembered wrong...i think it was the the Self Soar Association, not society. I am sure JoeF will set me straight. But I started having flashbacks and saw the SSA logo in my mind as i was making Flutes today and I realized I really liked that logo..Not sure why, but i did. Then I started wondering who drew that Logo?
this is the wrong forum for this question...but....Who drew up the SSA Logo JoeF? I always thought that was a very inspiring design for some unknown to myself reason.
Then I thought, hey, the US HAWKS Self Soar Association, it would acronym USHSSA, Pronounced almost the same as USHPA....And then I could see in my mind That Great SSA logo in the background of USHSSA and....you guys already had that party....darn....okay..I am really off topic now.....but...I do like the way OUR acronym USHHGA pronounces exactly like USHPA did BEFORE the para-merger....that was very clever