[Frank Colver]

Of course we can't ignore the fact that HG pilots also fly into trees. Maybe just not as often as PG pilots and the HG's don't get as tangled up thereby leading to quicker extraction for Hang gliders.

I look at paragliders, with all those strings, as giant strainers flying through the sky. They are looking for anything to strain whether flying objects or ground based stationary objects.

FC

[Rick Masters]

Of course we can't ignore the fact that HG pilots also fly into trees.

Yes. When hang glider pilots run out of landing options over thick forests, they actually fly into trees.
That is how the Tennessee Tree Toppers got their name. They instructed every member in techniques for survivable tree landings.
But as hang gliders evolved better glide ratios, a greater number of landing opportunities opened up.
Tree "landings" diminished.
Frank, I have a lot of trouble finding recent photos of hang gliders in trees.
Why?
The answer is that, generally, when a hang glider ends up in a tree, the pilot flew into it. Deliberately.
But when a paraglider ends up in a tree, he was usually blown into it by the wind because he had a lousy l/d and no speed to reach a landing area.
Or he dropped vertically into it when his canopy collapsed in normal air turbulence.
Hang gliders don't do that.
YouTube is full of videos of paragliders dropping vertically into trees.
I can't find a single YouTube video of an intact hang glider falling vertically into trees.
Soaring parachutists use the defense of "Hang gliders fly into trees, too."
But if that snappy comeback actually contained a message, one could say that since there are, say, eight times more paragliders, you would have one photo of a hang glider in a tree for every eight photos of paragliders in trees.
That is not what is happening.
I suspect soaring parachutists feel safer flying over trees in turbulence.
Parachutes. Trees. Helicopters.
Not my idea of sport.

[Rick Masters]

September 27, 2015

Equipped with nothing but an old clothesline and a pair of scissors, two Turkish taxidermists lower an Ozone Warbler from its nest high in a cedar forest.
"I've got him by the ankle!" cries out the apprentice, excitedly. "Now what do I do?"
During preparation for stuffing, the taxidermists discovered the Ozone Warbler had previously broken its back in four places.
"This is common," explained the senior taxidermist. "The creatures often injure themselves but heal to fly again. This results in a Warbler Wobble among the more elderly specimens. Thankfully, when we stuff them, we create perfectly modeled plaster bones so it is nearly impossible for the client to detect the defect."

[Harry]

Of course we can't ignore the fact that HG pilots also fly into trees.

Yes. When hang glider pilots run out of landing options over thick forests, they actually fly into trees.
That is how the Tennessee Tree Toppers got their name. They instructed every member in techniques for survivable tree landings.
But as hang gliders evolved better glide ratios, a greater number of landing opportunities opened up.
Tree "landings" diminished.
Frank, I have a lot of trouble finding recent photos of hang gliders in trees.
Why?
The answer is that, generally, when a hang glider ends up in a tree, the pilot flew into it. Deliberately.
But when a paraglider ends up in a tree, he was usually blown into it by the wind because he had a lousy l/d and no speed to reach a landing area.
Or he dropped vertically into it when his canopy collapsed in normal air turbulence.
Hang gliders don't do that.
YouTube is full of videos of paragliders dropping vertically into trees.
I can't find a single YouTube video of an intact hang glider falling vertically into trees.
Soaring parachutists use the defense of "Hang gliders fly into trees, too."
But if that snappy comeback actually contained a message, one could say that since there are, say, eight times more paragliders, you would have one photo of a hang glider in a tree for every eight photos of paragliders in trees.
That is not what is happening.
I suspect soaring parachutists feel safer flying over trees in turbulence.
Parachutes. Trees. Helicopters.
Not my idea of sport.

[Rick Masters]

There ya go, Frank: Pictures of hang gliders in trees!
Thanks Harry. Great stuff.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Harry,

That has to be one of my all time favorite hang gliding cartoons!!!

I've quoted it many times when describing the popularity of hang gliding in the largely unforested southwest.

So how did you come up with the idea for that cartoon? It was really brilliant!!!

P.S. Please add a larger version to your gallery because I'd like more people to see that one!!

[Harry]

So how did you come up with the idea for that cartoon? It was really brilliant!!!

It's easy when you are insane.

[Rick Masters]

September 27, 2015

A taxidermist searches the abandoned nest of an Ozone Warbler for any signs of an egg.
None were found.

[Rick Masters]

September 30, 2015

[Rick Masters]

October 5, 2015

The Ozone Warbler can be easily located by it loud cries of "Hal-op! Hal-op!"