Skysurfing
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 12:47 pmKicks get harder to find.
FC
US Hawks Hang Gliding Association
Hang Gliding Association with both National and Local Forums
https://ushawks.org:443/forum/
Skysurfing
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 12:47 pmRe: Skysurfing
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:35 pmRe: Skysurfing
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:06 pmI watched that video and on first viewing did not notice that the pilot seemed to be hooked into the glider. "What an idiot" I thought. Then on second viewing I noticed that there seemed to be a longish hang strap leading into the back of his tee shirt. But was it connected to some minimalist harness? 
The next up video is of the same fellow and it's very clear he works for Wills Wing. So, I expect that he (forgetting that he's not wearing a helmet) probably had some kind of safety harness on while "Sky Surfing".
I'll also mention that ARP and Frank (at least) probably both remember that long ago "Sky Surfing" was just another term used to identify hang gliding.
What's old is new again!
The next up video is of the same fellow and it's very clear he works for Wills Wing. So, I expect that he (forgetting that he's not wearing a helmet) probably had some kind of safety harness on while "Sky Surfing".
I'll also mention that ARP and Frank (at least) probably both remember that long ago "Sky Surfing" was just another term used to identify hang gliding.
What's old is new again!
Re: Skysurfing
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:23 pmThe human skull is about 1/8th of an inch thick.
That's good for one kick.
When I was a teen, I enjoyed body surfing.
Then, in my 20s, I heard about hang gliding the first time.
(I lived in the Owens Valley, surrounded by gigantic mountains.
Nobody flew hang gliders up there. Chris Price and Don Partridge hadn't started yet.)
I didn't know how they did it. I'd never seen a Rogallo.
Some writer referred to it as "sky surfing" so I imagined a guy up on top of a wing, riding it like a surfboard.
Then the dreams started.
I'd be sky-surfing along the Sierra escarpment, riding the wide, flat keel like a surfer.
Wings stretching out to either side. If I fell, I'd land on them. No worries.
No helmet. No harness. Surfers don't use that stuff.
No 360s. Surfers don't do 'em. I'd lean to the side to turn away when I got too close to the cliffs.
Funny how that video brought that all back.
That's good for one kick.
When I was a teen, I enjoyed body surfing.
Then, in my 20s, I heard about hang gliding the first time.
(I lived in the Owens Valley, surrounded by gigantic mountains.
Nobody flew hang gliders up there. Chris Price and Don Partridge hadn't started yet.)
I didn't know how they did it. I'd never seen a Rogallo.
Some writer referred to it as "sky surfing" so I imagined a guy up on top of a wing, riding it like a surfboard.
Then the dreams started.
I'd be sky-surfing along the Sierra escarpment, riding the wide, flat keel like a surfer.
Wings stretching out to either side. If I fell, I'd land on them. No worries.
No helmet. No harness. Surfers don't use that stuff.
No 360s. Surfers don't do 'em. I'd lean to the side to turn away when I got too close to the cliffs.
Funny how that video brought that all back.
Re: Skysurfing
Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 3:29 amwingspan33 wrote:I watched that video and on first viewing did not notice that the pilot seemed to be hooked into the glider. "What an idiot" I thought. Then on second viewing I noticed that there seemed to be a longish hang strap leading into the back of his tee shirt. But was it connected to some minimalist harness?
The next up video is of the same fellow and it's very clear he works for Wills Wing. So, I expect that he (forgetting that he's not wearing a helmet) probably had some kind of safety harness on while "Sky Surfing".
I'll also mention that ARP and Frank (at least) probably both remember that long ago "Sky Surfing" was just another term used to identify hang gliding.
What's old is new again!
This UK club is still active:- http://skysurfingclub.co.uk/
Re: Skysurfing
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:48 pm- LS18cover.png (83.94 KiB) Viewed 6302 times
Low & Slow No. 18 cover image clip:
Re: Skysurfing
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:42 pmIs that a Sunny Jim Flybar?
Re: Skysurfing
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:36 pmSkysurfer Magazine
Michael Markowski
Michael Anthony Markowski
Michael A. Markowski
http://www.energykitesystems.net/MichaelAMarkowski/index.html
Eastern branch of Self-Soar Association
Otto Member
Wow: Mike was born on Otto Lilienthal's birthday: May 23, 1947
First HG: September 18, 1971
===============================
2018 finds Greg Black nearly demanding that hang gliding change its name to "skysurfing".
Well, Greg, many of us have never stopped knowing that our sport of hang gliding has been a skysurfing sport.
Ask author, hang glider designer, publisher Michael A. Markowski, an early member of Self-Soar Association.
Michael Markowski
Michael Anthony Markowski
Michael A. Markowski
http://www.energykitesystems.net/MichaelAMarkowski/index.html
Eastern branch of Self-Soar Association
Otto Member
Wow: Mike was born on Otto Lilienthal's birthday: May 23, 1947
First HG: September 18, 1971
===============================
2018 finds Greg Black nearly demanding that hang gliding change its name to "skysurfing".
Well, Greg, many of us have never stopped knowing that our sport of hang gliding has been a skysurfing sport.
Ask author, hang glider designer, publisher Michael A. Markowski, an early member of Self-Soar Association.