[Bob Kuczewski]

Who do you work for ._________________.

Here at U.S. Hawks, we work for recreational hang gliding pilots.

[Rick Masters]

Experimental aircraft

Mojave Airport, California
Test pilot does everything wrong, starting with the most important thing.
He chooses the wrong aircraft (insufficient rudder).
He chooses a day with strong conditions for the test flight.
He chooses a crosswind runway.
Although he is aware of this, he proceeds based on wishful thinking.





Wishful thinking has killed a whole lot of GA pilots.
And a whole lot of hang glider pilots.
Put your desire and emotion aside and evaluate conditions coolly and rationally.
Patience and caution will keep you alive.

[Rick Masters]

Paragliding        October 10, 2017

Guess what's under the tarp.
Here's a hint:


Right! It's Claudio, PG fatality #1,640. You win a nearly new paraglider in perfect condition!

(Standard conclusion: There's no damage to the paraglider so it must have been "pilot error...")

"Today the accidents that occur are the fault of the pilot, because [paragliders] are perfect aircraft."
– Roberto Villena, President of the Free Flight Club of Malaga, Spain

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How can you fix a problem if you don't acknowledge it exists?
Does Claudio look like a guy who doesn't know what he's doing?
People getting into paragliding should be aware that there is something fishy going on.
Every national free flight organization is ignoring the problem: The Universal Paraglider Design Flaw.


I have been called the Ralph Nader of paragliding.
The paraglider is the deadly Corvair of freeflight.
The hang glider is the Corvette.
Which would you choose?

[eagle]

STUNG by a TARANTULA HAWK!
See Video : https://youtu.be/MnExgQ81fhU

Paybacks a bitch

~ HAWK STING ~

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[Frank Colver]

I've read about this guy. He's gone all over the world to get stung by various insects to create a rating table of sting pain intensities.

I'd rather hang glide

Frank

[Bob Kuczewski]

I've read about this guy. He's gone all over the world to get stung by various insects to create a rating table of sting pain intensities.

I think I've heard of him too ... and I agree about preferring to hang glide!!

I thought Eagle was joking about the "TARANTULA HAWK"
... until I watched the video.

By the way, Bill's posted some video from their static towing operation on the Rio Grande (RGSA) forum. It doesn't look half as scary as I'd imagined. Have you ever done static towing like that?

[Rick Masters]

Paragliding Slaughter Update        October 21, 2017

PG fatality #1642    Collapse at 300 meters.
Could you land your hang glider safely in this field?
This paragliding expert with 18 years of paragliding experience couldn't.
His paraglider collapsed at 300 meters and a witness said he dropped in "freefall" all the way to impact.
He died instantly when his skull burst open and his brains splattered out.


Paraglider Dead Man's Curve

Note that terminal velocity without the added drag of a malfunctioning parachute is about 120 mph.
I have been told by the geniuses on Paragliding forum that "even a collapsed canopy slows you down."
How comforting...

[Rick Masters]

Paragliding Slaughter Update        October 20, 2017
PG fatality #1643    Collapse at 20 meters.

Paragliding Slaughter Update        October 20, 2017

PG fatality #1644    Electrocution.
Would your hang glider have flown backwards into these wires in the face of the same wind?
Nope. Hang gliders penetrate much better than paragliders.


In fact, every time a paraglider takes off, the person operating it takes many more risks than a hang glider pilot in the same air.
Risk of collapse in turbulence.
Lack of control authority.
Lack of penetration when winds pick up.
Lack of external protection (air frame) in crashes.
Increased risk of vertical vector crashes.
Much higher altitude required for reserve deployment.
It is a mystery to me why anyone would accept the significantly increased risk and significantly degraded performance of paragliding in unstable conditions when hang gliders are available.

[eagle]

EVASION - BASEJUMPER 1 - HANG-GLIDER 0
First ever base jump from the top of a hang-glider,
following by a huge crash during the second attempt...
See Video: http://www.zapiks.com/evasion.html

~ Just Post it ~ Comment's Welcome ~

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[wingspan33]

EVASION - BASEJUMPER 1 - HANG-GLIDER 0
First ever base jump from the top of a hang-glider,
following by a huge crash during the second attempt...
See Video: http://www.zapiks.com/evasion.html

Seems clear this stunt didn't take place in the US, . . . but what were these guys thinking? Is GoPro now awarding it's own "Darwin" Award to the biggest idiots to use an action cam?

"How dumb can we be? Hmmmm, . . . Well, let's cut a big hole in the middle of a tandem hang glider sail, then, after launching, have the passenger climb up through the hole and BASE jump from the top of the hang glider! This should prove our IQ's (combined) are less than 80!

Hey, and even better than that, let's do it twice! . . . . . . . . . . . .

Clearly this A+B = Dangerous "Sport".