[Eric Muss-Barnes]

The Otto Meet happens each year because people individually choose to honor the history of that day. If even a single person does so, then it was a success.

It was an honor to fly with pilots who are legends and pioneers of the sport.

For a kid from Ohio who wanted to fly hang gliders all his life, that's an epic and unforgettable day.

[JoeF]

May 23, 2024: Dockweiler's Party Recalling Otto Lilienthal's Contribution to Hang Gliding and the Remembrance of the 1971 World-Changing Event in Newport Beach, California, Noted in The Los Angeles Times and National Geographic Magazine
Ella .... Windsports instructor in training
Ryan --- Windsports assistant and flight student
Candace --- making the day's plusses a reality
Kirk --- enthusiast of flight sharing stories
Andy Beem (welcoming all, Windsports owner, ridge soaring, generous lifter, has flown replicas of Otto Lilienthal's single plane and biplane)
Frank Colver (at 89 had a very good flight; generous with his harness)
Bob Bendetson (he is very close to his 25,000th hang glider flight!)
Bob Kuczewski (top key mover of hang glider pilots for the day; provider of tasty snacks; provider of wing for all readied pilots, a 225 sq. ft Condor)
Eric Muss-Barnes (most-distant traveler for the day! He wondered aloud to many of us about the conundrum of what might be the topic for the "next" video to make)
Joe Faust (received a John Heiney haul back of the hang glider for one of his seven flights) (borrowed Frank Colver's harness)
Tom Obrien (noted to many of use some great historical notes)
John Heiney (observed fine sensing wind direction) [Newly told of his coming induction into the World Acrobatics Society Hall of Fame for his hang gliding acrobatics achievements: https://worldacro.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WAS-2024-May-Newsletter.pdf]

Two traditional hang gliders were used for flights during the day. A third wing that was very non-traditional and only 8 inches in span was used by Joe and Eric for a tumbling-wing tandem hang glider flight. And the "empty-wing" or "hope wing" was emptily flown by at least one pilot.

[Chris McKeon]

Friday May 24th.


So Here is yet another Passing regarding My attending My Not Attending the Otto Lilienthal Meet. This Year I got the Wrong impression that There would not be a Otto Lilienthal Meet. But next Year will Be the Year that I finally get Myself down to Dockweiler.

[Bob Kuczewski]

It was an honor to fly with pilots who are legends and pioneers of the sport.

For a kid from Ohio who wanted to fly hang gliders all his life, that's an epic and unforgettable day.

Attending the Otto Meet is like flying itself ... you never know what grand adventure you might have.   

Thanks for having a little faith and taking the "leap" with us.   

[Bob Kuczewski]

Otto Meet 2024 - Flying Sequences Only

I took a fair amount of casual video on my cell phone at this year's Otto Meet. I would guess that I may have recorded about half of the total flights that were made. Of course, the raw footage includes lots of standing around waiting to launch. So last night I put together a six minute video of just the flying sequences from those recordings. It could probably benefit from some image stabilization, but I hope you can enjoy it anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn7U_h4bUIU

[Frank Colver]

Here's what I posted on HG.org:

>>There was no known plan to hold a 53rd anniversary of the original Lilienthal meet this year. But I started getting some word that a couple of guys were planning on coming out to Dockweiler Beach to honor the day, Thursday, May 23rd. So I sent a very quick message out to my Vintage HG list on Wed night.

So, by my count eight people were there, including two who had been at the original meet in 1971 - Joe Faust and myself. Wind conditions were not the best but I managed to get in two flights, on Windsport's 330 Condor, before wind conditions got less favorable for my 89 year old launches.

I only shot five videos of the many flights that were made that day, so they are not very representative of the whole day's flights. I strung them together without additional editing and put the movie on my Vimeo site. Here is the link:<<
https://vimeo.com/950407071

Frank (USHPA 7)

[KaiMartin]

Otto Meet 2024 - Flying Sequences Only

Last night I put together a six minute video of just the flying sequences from those recordings.

These flights are very much the definition of low-and-slow.
I'd say, they are even lower and slower than the original Lilienthal flights

[Frank Colver]

These flights are very much the definition of low-and-slow.

And that first belly sliding launch attempt by me is very much the definition of "ground skimming".

Frank

[Bob Kuczewski]

... that first belly sliding launch attempt by me is very much the definition of "ground skimming".

And you have certainly mastered it!!   

I think you just needed to take a few more steps, and you'd have had a nice flight:

Otto_2024_Franks_Slider.gif (1.27 MiB) Viewed 594 times

Always keep running until the glider decides when it is able to pluck you from the hill.

By the way, we have a Vimeo tag here on U.S. Hawks so you can embed your Vimeo videos right in your posts. It's done like this:

      [vimeo]950407071[/vimeo]

Here's the result:

[Chris McKeon]

Dune Goon Chris, Yea Right!

I just Wish that I got the wrong impression regarding this Years Otto Event. I got the impression that it would not be held this Year. any ways With Me, I will just state as I have done in Previous Years. That I will get Down to Dockweiler next Year, rite now Bob is most likely saying to Himself Next Year Ha! I will believe it when I see that Pilot Chris working on Being a Goon Dune.