[Rick Masters]

Eight BASE-jumpers killed since August 6!
Unbelievable.

[Rick Masters]

Russians having fun with big trucks

[Rick Masters]

Fun with ultralights

Is that the keel of the hang glider sticking up out of the ground?
It looks to me that the sail failed and the trike dove nose-down from a significant altitude.
What a ride. Two dead.
Note: Unlike skydiving parachutes, hang gliding parachutes open instantly.
That puts a huge opening load and instantaneous decelerative force on whatever is suspended beneath it.
Reserve bridles are frequently severed by cables when this happens.
If you like hanging an engine (I call it an anvil.) on your hang glider and doing aerobatics with a passenger, when something breaks or tears,
It might be a real good idea to throw that emergency reserve fast, before you gain too much vertical speed.

[Rick Masters]

Paragliding



This morning I recorded the 1,500th free-flight paragliding fatality for which I have records.
Typically, my terse description is: "Mortally wounded." Found dead by rescuers on a "rugged slope." Helicopter recovery.
This is the fate that looms for the soaring parachutist who scoffs at the logic of the airframe and the PDMC.

Those of us who demand aircraft designed to hold an aerodynamic planform throughout our journey in normal atmospheric turbulence have difficulty understanding those who do not.
Sport is sport - not an ill-conceived gamble tempting the sudden collapse of our wings and certain death.
Skill is skill - the skill to master our wings, not instead to grasp the desperate hope they will re-inflate before we lay shattered upon the ground.

What madness has struck our sport to have so many choose the deadliest form of parachuting over the security and performance of the airframe?

[SamKellner]

What madness has struck our sport ?

Maybe effecting LightSport and even GA.

With the number of individuals desiring to fly, choosing PG.

And they are all made overseas.

[eagle]

Geeee, CAN YOU SAY IT
A reserve ~ I need it Now
See Video: https://youtu.be/p3RnWSd4vBc

~ When do I Poop ~

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[Rick Masters]

PPG shark bait

Luis Garcia, president of the Cuban Federation of free flight, adapted his paramotor for his new project and eliminated two tanks of five liters of fuel on both sides and reduced it to one of 15 liters in the front "to gain efficiency in the propeller thrust." This unprecedented flight from South Florida will have a maritime accompaniment of several boats which has been guaranteed by the yacht clubs and Key West International "Hemingway" of Cuba. The flight is dubbed "the Great Crossing to Cuba" and in addition to the fleet of speedboats, a "rally" of almost twenty small aircraft that will visit Havana on that occasion.

[Rick Masters]

September 3, 2016

Soaring parachutist in Ventura prepares to fly cross-country with his new friends after demonstrating the Universal Paragliding Design Flaw.

[eagle]

Kite Wing looks fun
Get a kick out of the similarities
See Video: https://youtu.be/W8IRgrI7Fkg
take note of Waiver on 2nd video: https://youtu.be/l95--qjI28I

~ Zelda would Go ~ No Wipe outs ~

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[Rick Masters]

September 4, 2016

After demonstrating the Universal Paraglider Design Flaw (UPDF), a soaring parachutist prepares to fly cross-country with his new friends.
--------------
Question: Could you land a hang glider on this deadly slope?
You should be able to but you would hardly need to.
Because of their superior glide ratio, any hang glider could, at the very least, easily reach the flat meadow towards the lake.
Penetration is a major safety feature of hang gliders.
In the same conditions where soaring parachutists run entirely out of choices, hang glider pilots can still choose from a variety of safe landing areas.
Yet what do we hear?
"Hang gliders land too fast."
And "Paragliders can land almost anywhere."
In both cases, it comes down to the skill of the pilot.
But when skill is exhausted, only penetration counts.
Penetration has saved my a** so many times that I could not even guess the number.
Penetration sometimes becomes everything.
Who would give that up?
Ask the guy with the chronic limp.