[Nobody]

The response to your questions are disgusting at best. 95% of the so called "pilots" on this forum are total idiots.

I will send Fred a PM, I'm sure he can help you find some answers.

Hi Fred, Can you please help this guy?

[TadEareckson]

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=821&start=10#p3047
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=821&start=10#p3048

Al Hernandez - 2011/10/18

AL's Second flight at Packsaddle how it went

I had my anxiety attack as always before I launch...

I did my HOOK IN and tested to make sure that I was HOOKED IN 4 times before launch.... So, I know I am HOOKED IN the glider I could feel it pulling on me, the wind was blowing, as I stepped up to the Platform, I stood there for about 10 minutes...

I made one big, big (S) turn in front of Pac. I some how lost track of time and space. I don't know how high I was, nor how fast I was going, neither the time I stayed up...

I was flying in that direction of the second field coming in WSW, I noticed the fence was there, waiting for me to F*** up. I was wondering if I was going to make it over, everybody else at the LZ were wondering the same thing...

I remembered a little trick that Jeffo taught me about fences coming at me, and fences passing under me, So I knew that I was going to make it over but still that thought Am I really was still there, I flew over the fence and had enoguh speed for ground effect there was no wind at the LZ, the glider came in on wheels and a good landing it was. If there would had been wind I may have not made it over, maybe.

I was later told by pilots that I cleared that fence by a few feet, I was still shaken up a bit...

Sam Kellner - 2011/11/07

After that first FL flight at Packsaddle, which included gaining altitude above launch and soaring the entire ridge, Al told me the instructor offered him H-1 for $400. or H-2 for $800.

Zack C - 2011/11/10

Tad believes John died because he had not been taught to fly from the basetube. From Al's report, he hadn't been either. (Actually, from Al's report, it doesn't sound like he was taught how to do turns at all.)

bobk - 2011/10/26

The answer is that we don't judge the meeting of standards for ourselves, and instead we accept USHPA's judgement of standards. If they say you're an Advanced Instructor, then we say you're an Advanced Instructor.

01. Despite the fact that Al's a qualified general aviation pilot his first mountain flight is an exercise in terror control from about T Minus 36 hours on through to landing.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=795&p=2729&sid=68b1680e5b9f07afbc626f0ea8d7aba9#p2731

02. Nobody here seems to think that the kind of experience he had is particularly noteworthy or unusual.

03. Ten minutes fits very comfortably into his instructor's interpretation of "just prior to launch" with respect to hook-in status verification.

04. It's pretty freaking obvious that Al hasn't fulfilled the turning requirements on the Demonstrated Skills list for the Novice Rating, is not capable of doing so at this point, and is about as far from being comfortable with his abilities in that department as one can get.

05. And his instructor hasn't given him his blessing to fly the goddam glider prone and has him blasting through ridge lift where he could gain a lot of safe valuable airtime and start losing the anxiety, having a little fun, and getting comfortable and proficient handling his wing.

06. On his second flight he, by his account and the perceptions of pilot witnesses, comes in dangerously low on final over an obstruction which could have easily cost him a broken arm or two.

07. But, hey! You got eight hundred bucks you've got your Two! (In deference to Zack - subject to revision upon receipt of information to the contrary.)

08. And US Hawks is gonna welcome the rating - for life - and the instructor certification with open and enthusiastic arms.

09. How surprised should we be that John Seward leaves the sport in a body bag and the enthusiasm that Al had has drained from his veins to below the point of sustainability?

10. Does anybody else do aviation like this? How 'bout scuba diving?

[ZackC]

If you're truly as proficient flying this crap configuration as this crap configuration will allow, you should be able to INSTANTLY adjust to flying prone, supine, suprone, seated, or standing in the control frame. Making hang gliders go the way you want them to is virtually all about FEEL - just like a skateboard - and you either got it or you don't.

This was always my thinking and the reason I never considered students may need training specifically to fly prone. If you're saying this I may not have understood you in the past. Are you saying that John was inadequately trained to fly from the downtubes as well? Why would it matter whether students fly prone in their training if it's so easy to adjust to flying prone if they're properly trained to fly from the downtubes?

And I don't consider flying upright a 'crap configuration'...we launch in this configuration, which would be pretty crazy of us if it was really 'crap', right?

Hang gliding culture has gotta stop thinking of hang gliders as weight shift controlled aircraft.

Dunno about that. Regardless of the mechanism a glider responds by a pilot shifting his center of mass. If it doesn't shift, the glider doesn't respond, and the more it gets shifted, the more effectively it responds...do you disagree? Calling that 'weight shift' seems appropriate. The FAA even has a 'weight shift' category. I don't see it causing a problem for students.

...tow "instructors" are still telling them that if they get turned away from the tug the towline tension will pull them under the forward/high wing and bring them back in line...

I've never heard anyone say this myself...only that weight shift on tow is relative to your neutral position, which may be shifted by the tow line.

That mindset has precipitated such follies and disasters as the "floating crossbar"....

Calling floating crossbars a 'folly' or 'disaster' is pretty bold considering they've been standard for decades. I thought they allowed or at least facilitated wing warping.

I've really never understood how hang glider roll control is effected...there has been tremendous debate on this subject and I don't have time to study all the discussions. Something I need to talk to Steve Pearson about next time I get a chance. I know it isn't entirely weight shift because if it was rigids wouldn't need control surfaces, but I thought it was at least initiated by weight shift. As for pitch, I've always thought it was 100% weight shift. Rigids are controlled in pitch the same as flexies and some of them don't have nose wires.

If the pilot's weight is shifted without differential wire tensioning the glider will pitch and/or roll OPPOSITE to what is predicted by the "weight shift" model.

You totally lost me there.

However IMO, Martin And B do not fall into this category.

He was referring to the fact that both have had hook in failures.

Zack

[Bob Kuczewski]

The response to your questions are disgusting at best. 95% of the so called "pilots" on this forum are total idiots.
I will send Fred a PM, I'm sure he can help you find some answers.

Hi Fred, Can you please help this guy?

Can you help us out by telling us where these quotes are from? Thanks.

[Bob Kuczewski]

And I don't consider flying upright a 'crap configuration'...we launch in this configuration, which would be pretty crazy of us if it was really 'crap', right?
  ...
Calling floating crossbars a 'folly' or 'disaster' is pretty bold considering they've been standard for decades. I thought they allowed or at least facilitated wing warping.
  ...
You totally lost me there.

I believe that Tad is a very knowledgable person about many things. His life experience has likely confirmed that he's often (if not usually) right in most disucssions. I think this has led to a false sense of infallibility with regard to what he says and it has led him to assume he's right in situations where he is clearly not. This makes it very difficult to change his mind once he's committed himself to an idea.

That's just my opinion, but I think it explains a lot of what we've seen from Tad on this (and other) forums. It's particularly sad in this case, because (as I said initially), I believe Tad is a very knowledgable person about many things, and he has a lot that he could offer to the sport.

[Nobody]

Junglepilot

I was hang gliding on Vancouver Island '92-'93. Had about 12 flights with 3 soaring flights. Gave it up and pursued other things. 3 years ago, got back into the sport with Paragliding and am almost at a P3 level now with that. I will be shortly moving to Abbotsford BC and will be able to take up Hang gliding again. I would love some advice from you all on how you think I should get started again. Buy gear? Freedom? Falcon? Other? What is the closest training hill to my location? Kamloops BC? Are there any recommended schools in my area? I would like to work towards Canadian ratings. I have seen many pilots flying Woodside. Anybody flying Bridal? Are there quite a few HG pilots in the lower mainland area? Thanks, I look forward to any advice you have for me.

Kermit responds

Burn your paraglider so we know your serious

My PM to Junglepilot

The response to your questions are disgusting at best. 95% of the so called "pilots" on this forum are total idiots.

I will send Fred a PM, I'm sure he can help you find some answers.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Thanks. The link is:

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=23901

3 years ago, got back into the sport with Paragliding and am almost at a P3 level now with that.
  ...
Thanks, I look forward to any advice you have for me.

Kermit replied:

Burn your paraglider so we know your serious

I had read that exchange but I didn't remember your earlier quote. I had to agree with "lostgriz" ( ) because kermit's response really cracked me up too.

I'm a PG pilot also, but I can understand that there's a lot of resentment from the hang gliding community about what paragliding has brought to our flying sites and our association. I really hope the US Hawks won't be anti-paragliding, but I do believe that hang gliding will be needing it's own association ... sooner or later. I've started the US Hawks just in case it ends up being sooner. Thanks to everyone on this forum who's helping make that happen.   

[Nobody]

Junglepilot was treated like s*** by Kermit, Lostgriz and Sam.

I didn't think it was all that

PS I sent him a link to Kite strings.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Junglepilot was treated like s*** by Kermit, Lostgriz and Sam.

I didn't think it was all that

PS I sent him a link to Kite strings.

You call that being "treated like s*** by Kermit, Lostgriz and Sam" ?

Really? You can read what Tad writes every day and say that a few smilies and a joke about burning a paraglider is being "treated like s***"?

Ooops, now you're making me laugh.   

[Nobody]

Notice, I did NOT send him a link to the Bob show.