Oz Report

Bob

video|Bob Grant

Discuss "Bob at the Ranch" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Down the Dempster Highway

video|wildlife

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/raven-dempster-highway-fly-along-1.6689533

Discuss "Riding the wave" at the Oz Report forum   link»

aerotow|Gordon Rigg|Judy Leden|video|Donnie Carson|Nestor Londoño|Mike Lake

During last year's inaugural Great British Aerotow Revival at Deenethorpe, Judy Leden - who has aerotowed thousands of times - presented pilots with some words of wisdom on aerotowing hang gliders. Thankfully I recorded the talk so sit back, grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy some amazing tips from a true legend on how to effectively aerotow a flexwing behind a microlight!

A huge thank you to Judy for sharing her knowledge. Also to Donnie Carson, Nestor Londoño and Mike Lake for sharing footage so we can learn to be better pilots. Finally to Gordon Rigg who added a few very useful words of wisdom at the end.

If you have any feedback or your own top tips please leave a comment below and don't forget to like and subscribe to Plane Delta, a channel dedicated to hang gliding content.

And the aerotow revival will return to Deenthorpe this year, so if you are interested in joining in the fun feel free to register here: https://airtribune.com/GBAR2/info.

Discuss "Judy Leyden on Aerotowing" at the Oz Report forum   link»

video

Discuss "Drought" at the Oz Report forum   link»

The second flood in two weeks

flood|Peter "Pebo" Bolton|video

«Peter Bolton» sends:

News is that the latest flood has now peaked at Forbes – at a water level of about 10.7m, which is just below the all-time record of 10.8m from 1952 – but the water will only drop away slowly. Other places/ towns in country NSW have also been flooded - See https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2022/11/17/forbes-bracing-historic-flooding/ (This is only 2 weeks after the last flood).

Here’s an interview with a Forbes local – with a video of traveling around town – in a boat - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-17/forbes-resident-describes-flooding-devastation/101665188.

Discuss "Forbes and More under water" at the Oz Report forum   link»

video

(Harris Hill, Big Flats, NY, USA)

Discuss "Harris Hill" at the Oz Report forum   link»

video

(SOGA, Amaranth, ON, Canada)

Discuss "Canadian Flying" at the Oz Report forum   link»

video

https://www.air.tv/watch?v=_trHyWX0QMm7Gda-2cykCA

Discuss "Disconnected Sidewire" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Eric Raymond|sailplane|solar|Sunseeker|video

(Dolomites, BL, Italy) (Dolomites, BL, Italy)

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Charles Allen|electric|power|video

1^st flight with upgraded XTM unit. Results were awesome. Unfortunately I had a bad connection on one of the wires from the ESC to the left motor so lost one motor after a few minutes. On a positive side the ESC, motors, battery, and props are all sized right. Next step is add a mouth throttle so I don't have to let go of bar to turn motors on. Plan to move to a mesh network between power unit, mouth throttle, and down tube controller. With a mesh I should have software infrastructure to quickly integrate an epowered cart for flat land launching. Also plan to move to CF props and prop holders which should reduce weight by 1lb overall.

Discuss "Electric powered flight" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Detail info for all flights:

Task 1 All Pilots: https://ayvri.com/scene/gdkz603ojz/cl4g1eetg00053b61xc79vdpv
Task 2 All Pilots: https://ayvri.com/scene/gdkz603ojz/cl4g5d3sd00063b61khtk16sd#fullscreen
Task 3 All Pilots: https://ayvri.com/scene/gdkz603ojz/cl4g5xy9l00063b61zwp2iikc#fullscreen
Task 4 All Pilots: https://ayvri.com/scene/gdkz603ojz/cl4gb80nc00063b6111k9er60
Task 5 All Pilots: https://ayvri.com/scene/gdkz603ojz/cl4gbd1p200063b617mgztw2f

Discuss "A Look Back at the HC 2022" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Results

Manfred Ruhmer|Olav Opsanger|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|picture|Vågå Open Competition 2022|video

(Vole LP, Vågå, Norway) (Salknappen LP, Vågå, Norway) (National Center LZ, Vågå, Norway)

https://airtribune.com/vaga-open-hanggliding-competition-2022/results

Jonny wins Class 1 and Manfred wins Sport. Everyone got something to drink.

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A tour

Pete Helliwell|Swiss Nic|video

(Interlaken, Switzerland)

Discuss "Interlaken, Switzerland" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Optional added attraction

altitude|landing|Tiki Mashy|tow|tug|video

Tiki writes:

Saturday, July 16

We have an optional added attraction for this year’s GoLong. Back in 2019 I had one of my most memorable flights in Texas, being towed up over the Gulf by Mick from Mustang Airport near Port Aransas and then gliding back to the mainland some 15km over the Gulf and the lagoon behind the barrier island to eventually start thermaling again on the downwind side of Aransas Pass. Video link: https://youtu.be/O7X3HAeHh_k.

It is a SPECTACULAR route! A feast of colors and coastal scenery below.

The suggestion is that we set up to do this coast to mainland flight on Saturday morning of the 16^th, the day before GoLong officially starts.

The flight itself should be fairly easy if you take a high tow to 4,500’+. (I had 2,800’ off tow out over the Gulf 😅 and made the mainland with 800’ but that was enough to get me to the other side of Aransas Pass and climbing again.) There is always a tailwind of 5-15 mph and almost always early morning clouds to guide the best glide line over the lagoon. I’ve identified some of the (dry) landing options you have if for any reason you can’t make it to the open areas downwind of Aransas Pass.

So, who is interested? Looking for a show of hands so we can work out the numbers for the tug (or tugs) we need to get down there. Haven’t yet discussed a price for a high tow with the tug pilots but you can assume it will be roughly a multiple of the standard 2000’ / $35 tow based on the higher altitude.

https://cuhanggliding.com/GoLongInTexas/

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Wolfi

El Peñón Classic Race 2022|video|Wolfgang "Wolfi" Siess

(Valle de Bravo, EM, Mexico) (LZ, Valle de Bravo, EM, Mexico)

Discuss "Last Day Video of the El Peñón Classic Race 2022" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Highlights

El Peñón Classic Race 2022|video|Wolfgang "Wolfi" Siess

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Quartering tail wind

Jim Prahl|Larry Bunner|Mick Howard|Peter Hall|video|XC|XContest.org

Larry Bunner, I, and Mick Howard took on the task of heading to the north west to cross with waypoints at Dunellon (to keep us out of airspace at Ocala, and Williston, to get us further north (it wasn't enough) to the airfield at Cross City (over a hundred miles).

The wind was east but it would every so often turn southeast. Larry launched from the northwest corner of the north/south runway in such a cycle (which was the plan). I was ready after him but the wind switched to east when I got ready. Fortunately, it was light, so I took off anyway.

https://OzReport.com/pub/images/mp4/22022launch.mp4

Thanks to Peter Hall for the video.

While Larry was struggling to find lift and getting low, Jim Prahl hauled me over the swamp to the east and we found very strong lift. While on tow my Blade hit over 1,500 fpm multiple times. When I pinned off I climbed at an average of 350 fpm to 4,700' while Larry was down to 1,300' and searching. The wind was blowing 10 mph out of the east.

That would be the best lift and the highest I would get while I worked between 100 and 200 fpm for the next hour before I finally found 220 fpm to 5,400' northwest of the intersection of the Florida turnpike and I75, 46 km into the flight.

The sky had been full of cu's right from the start so we were all connecting the dots. Larry got up after catching sight of some birds and Mick was just above me after catching up.

Marion Oaks was ahead, a subdivision with few landing areas and lots of trees. I normally like to come over it at over 5,000', but I arrived with 2,600'. The cu's showed lift ahead so I continued over the trees and found 123 fpm and a bit later 400+ fpm to 5,600', plenty of altitude to make it over the remnants of the Florida canal, where we ride single track, over the next populated area and to the turnpoint at the 7 km cylinder around the Dunnellon air field, another remnant, this time from World War II.

Down to 1,900' at the turnpoint I climbed out at 350 fpm to 5,700' and was rewarded with a line of cu's lining up right toward the turnpoint at Williston airfield. I could stay high and climbed to over 6,000' just before the 5 km cylinder turnpoint at the airfield. Mick was nearby, but he was down to 1,600'. Larry was nearby, but we couldn't communicate with him as his radio wasn't working. Mick and I had been exchanging information all along the flight.

After getting the Williston airfield I headed to the nearby cu's due west. It was almost 4:15 PM. Sunset was a little after 6 PM.

The Cross goal was 70 km to the west northwest. The cu's did not produce much lift and by the time I got to the treed swamp to the west I was down to 3,800'. The sun was low on the horizon, there were lots of large flat cu's just to the west casting shadows over the swamp area, I was looking almost directly into the sun and I could not make out any landable or retrievable areas to my west. It was twenty kilometers to the other side, which I couldn't see.

I headed north along a north/south road that hugs the tree line over cultivated fields heading for cu's and more open fields to the north. I was down to 2,000' before I found lift and started climbing over the swamp at less than 100 fpm. I needed to find much better lift but it was almost 4:40 PM.

Mick was over me at 4,500' also drifting over the trees and climbing to 5,900'. This was the place to cross the swamp as it was thinner if you just went a bit further north.

I didn't get above 3,400' and still couldn't see the open accessible fields 16 km to the west northwest when the cu's dried up around 5 PM. I headed back to the east to find a big field to land in.

Larry had turned around at the swamp and landed back at our normal landing field at Williston, as he wasn't able to contact us. Mick made it over the swamp, but it was late and he was not able to make it over the next treed area, the Suwanee River to Cross City airfield. He came within 20 km.

https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/ranking-hg-national:US

https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:davisstraub/21.2.2022/17:41

https://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/3013281

Discuss "Cross Wind to the Northwest" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Our flight parks are full of them

video|wildlife

(Wallaby Ranch, Lakeland, FL, USA)

https://youtu.be/aVZ8PrAjkLI

Discuss "Cranes Dancing at Wallaby" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

We're all flying down here

video|Wallaby Ranch

(Wallaby Ranch, Lakeland, FL, USA)

https://youtu.be/a_E6urpUuO4

Discuss "Wallaby Ranch in February" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Kinda hard to get the reserve chute out (the second guy)

midair collision|PG|reserve|video

Video sent by Leo.

Longer version: https://youtu.be/8Mcm5QvYsds
Feb 10, 2022 - Both pilots are well. No injures.

Discuss "Tangled up in Columbia" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

The drogue came along for the ride

drogue|landing|Larry Bunner|Peter Hall|video

Video by Peter Hall.

Discuss "Larry landing today" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

The in flight videos

New Zealand HG Open Championship 2022|video

(Mt Murchison, Braeburn Range, New Zealand)

">

Discuss "New Zealand Hang Gliding Open Championship" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Saving your back

picture|transportation|video

Discuss "Don't work so hard" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

In Valle de Bravo

Rudy Gotes|video|Wills Wing Falcon|Wills Wing Mexico|Wolfgang "Wolfi" Siess

(Valle de Bravo, EM, Mexico)

https://youtu.be/SonGOfmLcCo

Discuss "New Zealand Hang Gliding Open Championship" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Flying Kiwis

New Zealand HG Open Championship 2022|Pete Helliwell|video

(Mt Murchison, Braeburn Range, New Zealand)

https://www.facebook.com/Flying-Kiwis-1080353552175519/

Climate change is producing some amazing weather for flying, with this season being the best ever starting mid August with many great days out since then.

The strongest NZ field ever at this years Nationals with all pilots benefiting from holding the comp in Murchison for 5 years in a row now.

We are expecting to get 8 from 8 comp tasks in. But we'll see.

We are really pleased with the Nationals flags local pilot Steve Cronin designed.

What a cracker of a start to our competition! The first official briefing was held at the base of Mt Murchison. A big thank you was made to our organisers, drivers, support crews land owners and competitors. A special thank you to our Auckland pilots who made the effort to drive south soon after a 100 day lock down. Special mention to Bernard Massey who has made an amazing come back after many years away from the sport. A task committee was elected ~ John, Tom m, Matt, Ollie and Aaron. Tom K received a USB fan for his spectacular 'arrival' at St Arnard airfield ~ the glider trailer won! Rod declared the 44^th Hang Gliding Nationals open to a big cheer from all and a fully loaded convoy of 4x4s headed up our sacred mountain.

Open Class task was to fly the 'box' ~ Mt Murchison, down the Tutaku Valley, across to the Matakitaki Valley and back to the airfield at Murchison for goal.

Sport Class task was down the Tutaki with two turn points and a short return to goal.

A nice SW wind gave smooth soaring conditions but not ideal height as we lunged into the Tutaki. It was a bit of a grovel to establish on the first range down the valley. The bombout paddocks claimed a few but further on course thermal heights increased and the race was on! Tony and I picked up the loneliest pilot in the world ~ Sabastien Katz at the end of the road down the beautiful Tutaki Valley.

https://youtu.be/Dk3RyZhnPnU

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Day 1, Task 1

New Zealand HG Open Championship 2022|video|Pete Helliwell

(Mt Murchison, Braeburn Range, New Zealand) (FTP TP, Tasman, New Zealand) (Mt Rutland, Tasman, New Zealand) (Sport Recreation & Cultural Centre, Murchison, New Zealand)

https://airtribune.com/44^th-new-zealand-hang-gliding-open-championship-fa/results

https://airtribune.com/44^th-new-zealand-hang-gliding-open-championship-fa/results/task5600/day/open

https://youtu.be/ZFctuVM_RQo

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The collection

Betisier Atlantique Delta 2021|video

Discuss "Betisier Atlantique Delta 2021" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Last race day

Canoa Open 2021|video|Wolfgang "Wolfi" Siess

(Canoa, Ecuador)

https://youtu.be/NMdPHZt_Uyk

Discuss "Wolfi in Canoa" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Ridge Racing

Canoa Open 2021|picture|video|Wolfgang "Wolfi" Siess

(Canoa, Ecuador)

How does Wolfi get on top of everyone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLG1yrswKdA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcN2ZBHoUN8

https://youtu.be/4oGagp6gqxU

Discuss "Wolfi at Canoa" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

In just over 4 minutes

Felix Cantesanu|picture|video

https://youtu.be/8t63mVhtLg0

Discuss "Felix's Flying Year in Review" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

4000 tandems

aerotow|Craig Pearson|Facebook|instruction|Moyes Delta Gliders|North Wing|picture|scooter|tandem|Thermal Valley Hang Gliding|towing|video|Wills Wing

(Thermal Valley Hang Gliding, 4098 Old Amherst Rd, Lenoir, NC, USA) (Foothills Regional Airport, Morganton, NC, USA)

Craig Pearson «craig» writes:

We own and operate Thermal Valley Hang Gliding and operate in Lenoir NC. Our website is http://www.thermalvalley.net . We are on Facebook and Instagram and have been in business since 2011. We primarily aerotow tandem discovery flights but teach aerotowing, foot launching, and scooter towing. We have flown nearly 4000 tandems and are Wills Wing, Moyes and North Wing authorized dealers (although Wills Wing dealership status is unknown for now).

www.thermalvalley.net

https://www.facebook.com/thermalvalley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ika0wJDgjYs

https://youtu.be/2yJZTbQMiqk

Discuss "Hang Gliding Instruction in North Carolina" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Beach Flying in Maryland

(Calvert Cliffs, MD, USA)

video

https://youtu.be/ZJuP1DYvhRk

Discuss "Calvert Cliffs" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

New glider

aerotow|Mike Degtoff|video

Kennedy's speech about going to the moon

video

https://youtu.be/IY45EXuTbQY

A compilation video of wingovers, summits and the beautiful Di Fassa valley in Italy. I flew 4 days in September 2021 at Col Rodella, managing my greatest distance on the last day, a 74km flat triangle. I managed to get to most of the peaks I wanted to, including the highest peak in the Dolomites - Her Majesty, Marmolada

Discuss "Dolomites Fall 2021" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Easy to follow

Skew-T|weather|video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STrCGN5TLoA

https://youtu.be/STrCGN5TLoA

Discuss "Skew-T explained" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Day five, no task, day is cancelled

competition|Greg Kendall|Santa Cruz Flats Race 2021|video

(Francisco Grande, Casa Grande, AZ, USA)

https://airtribune.com/santa-cruz-flats-race-2021/results

JD was measuring the south wind at 14 mph gusting to 22 mph. Lots of blowing dust in the field, which is quite discouraging. No pilots were willing to launch (other than Bill Bennett). Lots of task and launch time changes to no avail. That doesn't even count the cu-nimb that was forming over the second turnpoint (which the task and safety committees weren't noticing).

Meet director cancels the day as it gets later and later.

Bill Bennett launches after the day is canceled.

Note about the third task.

Replay, https://airtribune.com/santa-cruz-flats-race-2021/blog__day_3, shows that it was the fact that Zac and I climbed to over 9,000' that determined the outcome for that day.

Zac left a gaggle east of Casa Grande mountain where he was at the bottom to come joined Pete Lehmann and I climbing faster to his south. Four pilots (excluding Greg Kendall, who took an earlier clock) were out ahead of us and high and doing well. While they got to the turnpoint first and headed back before we did, we were able to climb the highest 4 km before the turnpoint. This gave us a big advantage.

Phil and Tyler got stuck low coming back. We were 500 to 1000 meters higher than Simon and Hamilton. Soon only Simon was ahead and he got a bit low east of the mountain coming back. We came into the south end of the mountain high and quickly climbed. Robin was just to our east but not climbing nearly as well.

We climbed to over 2,500 meters and went on final glide to goal while everyone else was working to get up or stay up.

Discuss "2021 Santa Cruz Flats Race" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

100 km triangle

(Hwy 59 & West Mustang Cr, TX, USA)

Armand Acchione|record|Robin Hamilton|Swift|triangle|video

"Robin Hamilton" «Robin2808» writes:

https://youtu.be/SRWcWAccrE0

Over 10 years ago I went out and set a half dozen or so world records in the Swift as much to be out there as placeholders and encourage others to have a go at beating them. This year Armand Acchione up near Toronto, Canada, beat my 100km triangle speed record with an average speed of 59km/h. So it was time to rest my flex wing muscle memory, take my Swift out of mothballs, and try to get the record back.

After more than 5 years, I somehow remembered how to rig the carbon-kevlar babe and set out a 100km triangle speed run task from my home site Wharton, down on the Texas gulf coast. Conditions seemed favorable with forecast light winds, 400-600fpm average lift and 5,500-6,000ft TOL. The previous day had seen some fairly moist unstable air with scattered cu-nimbs in the western part of the area that was some remnant wrap round moisture from Hurricane Ida after its passage through Louisiana off to the east. It is so strange to see moist tropical air streaming from the north in our area.

It was only the trike pilot Sir Richard (Thorpe) and myself out at the strip so we executed a wing down launch, followed by a fairly uneventful tow up to around 2,500'. From there I climbed to base at around 4,800', tagged the start just after 3pm and let the flaps off, gliding at 90km/h over Highway 59 to the southwest towards El Campo and the first turnpoint, some 34km away. The day initially looked great – big active clouds, good spacing, fast top-up climbs to a cruise altitude of 3,500'-4,000'.

I tagged the first turnpoint at a world record pace of over 65km/h for the first leg. Turning north towards the second turnpoint, the sky looked pretty blue and I took a detour to the east of course line to connect with the next cloud and good climb up to over 5,000' but still some 25km from the second turnpoint. Realizing I couldn’t keep taking detours and stay on pace, I bravely headed out into the blue directly towards the turnpoint. 25km of absolute quiet, smooth, dead air.

Looking down and around me I could see all the stock ponds filled to the brim and many of the fields flooded, glistening in the sunlight. Another Texas water park. We’ve seen too many here this summer. I should have checked the precipitation totals for previous day’s cu-nimbs before confirming the task. I would have seen healthy 3+ inches in many spots.

I over flew the second turnpoint by another 5 km in the hope of connecting with some skinny clouds that seemed to be triggering over a tree line bordering the appropriately named north/south running Sandy Creek. At 600ft above the ground, the vario came back to life and I started scraping in 100-150fpm blobs to try to get back up again. That seemed to go on forever but I had the company of many hawks and buzzards so it was fun floating along (and remembering how to do that in the Swift).

By now this was no longer a race, rather it was a recovery effort to try to get back to the cozy dry hangar at Wharton and avoid de-rigging the glider out in the water park. After over 20 minutes of fun with the feathery guys I was back up to around 4,600ft and ready for the return leg back towards the airport, some 40km and over the damned blue wet zone again. It was also slightly upwind as there was now a 12-16km/h (pseudo sea breeze?) blowing from the south.

The return leg through the blue area was just as quiet as the earlier traverse with the trigger for the light 100-150fpm low save thermal (at 600ft agl again) being metal farm silos after about a 20km glide. And yes, more buzzards. Slowly climbed out to 4,800ft and with 24km out from the airport and the pesky headwind I was probably right on the glide numbers. Meanwhile, I did have some cloud help that way, that I thought I could use if needed. Turned out the glide held up enough to where I ran at 140km/h for the last 6km and got there with plenty height to land on the grass strip outside the hangar.

No new record (next time, Armand), but a real fun day reconnecting with flying the Swift. It is such a nice balanced airplane to fly. Memorable was both the low saves, where I was as focused on finding a good dry landing field as any belief in thermaling back up from so low. But both times I just knocked the nose round into the weak lift, pulled flap and bunched my weight in the back of the cockpit and just watched the glider slow down and climb so smoothly. It seemed I couldn’t get it to stall. It only wanted to climb.

Thanks to Richard for the flawless tow and being ready to come out and rescue me from the prairie if needed. I will definitely get more Swift flying during the rest of the season and into the fall. Not going to wait 5 years again.

Discuss "Swift World Record Attempt" at the Oz Report forum   link»   »

Expanding

A.I.R. ATOS VR|PG|video

https://youtu.be/aNAnWqwj8vc

Handmade in Brazil

Raul Guerra|radio controlled|video

https://www.instagram.com/asadelta_rc/

Click on any of the picture at the site above to see more.

Contact: WhatsApp 5511948216291

Raul Guerra writes:

A friend in Brazil made these RC toys for me. I sent him pictures of my trike and he made a copy R/C model.

Really awesome work. He does RC hang gliders also (with electric motors in the harness). Check out the videos:

https://OzReport.com/pub/images/trikerg.mov

https://OzReport.com/pub/images/hgrg.mov

https://OzReport.com/pub/images/hgrgmotor.mov

Price about $600.

Discuss "RC's - hang glider and trike versions" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

And More

barefoot|video

https://youtu.be/ump7Ck9SfBk

Discuss "Barefoot Hang Gliding" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

July 4^th

SOGA|video

https://youtu.be/4UqG_ta1pYQ

Discuss "SOGA Canada Hang Gliding" at the Oz Report forum link»

Invitation Only

video

"Knut Ryerson" «krryerson» sends:

The HC 2021 is an eight day Race-to-Goal Hang Gliding fly-in based on the Delmarva Peninsula and held in memory of the Highland Challenge. The purpose is for friends to gather, fly competitive tasks, and learn from each other. ​Meet Duration: 8 flying days Note! This video was made after 5 days and 5 tasks. There are still 3 more days to go and overall scores can change.

https://youtu.be/Jv3tN5ag110

Discuss "HC2021" at the Oz Report forum link»

An aviation and hang gliding history

Francis Rogallo|video

https://youtu.be/YOHLtRna5Zk

Get that right first of all

(Chelan Butte, Chelan, WA, USA)

Aaron Swepston|video

Aaron Swepston|cart|video

Aaron Swepston writes:

A few years ago a local senior pilot was giving a launch clinic at Chelan, and fortunately someone was taking video of all the launches. There were a number of poor launches. The senior pilot was trying to define and then explain why those launches were poor. The resulting round robin discussion had everyone deciding that the poor launches were due to those pilots launching with their hang straps loose.

The next day they all made a big effort to lift their gliders so that they’d begin their runs with the hang straps tight? A whole ‘nother set of poor launches were caught on video. And a whole ‘nother round robin discussion about why those launches were poor.

We got to Chelan on the second evening of this charade of a clinic, and were able to sit in on the evening’s discussion. After watching their videos, one thing was very clear; the poor launches all were the result of the angle of attacks being way too high during the launch runs.

They didn’t all start too high, some started reasonably low, but all of the poor launches achieved an angle of attack that was too high at some point during their launch process, and because of the high angle the gliders were going off the ground in a semi mush situation. Some were mildly sketchy and some were scary bad. But all were with too high of an angle of attack. What did not seem to matter at all, as I’m not having any consistency at all, was whether the hang strap was tight or loose.

They asked me what I thought was the problem. I said, angle of attack. It’s simple. The poor launches were launching with the angle of attack too high.

They asked how to control the angle of attack, tight strap or loose strap? I said either way, the first thing is to set the PROPER angle of attack and maintain it all the way through the launch. So, whether you use a proper grapevine grip or the goofy bottle grip, and whether you use the more controllable loose strap with the down tubes locked firmly in your arms or with a tight strap with the glider elevated with less leverage, the most critical part was setting and being able to maintain the proper angle of attack. They all seemed to sort of accept that, but that begged another question.

I asked them, and mostly the pilot leading this clinic, what the best angle of attack would be. Silence. The senior pilot decided that the best angle would be different for every person, every glider, even every glider of the same model line! Ah, and also that there was no way to determine what that angle of attack would be outside of trial and error for each pilot.

This was where it got fun. As an engineer in the aerospace industry and a long time pilot, I was shocked. So I asked him what the stall angle was for a hang glider. He had no idea, and estimated something like 17 degrees. 17 degrees. Check out those videos, they were launching with the keel angle as positive above the horizon as the slope was below the horizon! But then I told him no, it’s not 17 degrees, it’s more like 30 degrees. He scoffed. I asked him if he’d ever seen a certification test. Duh…, yeah but he never paid close attention.

Okay, so, on the test vehicle they do a test at stall angle of attack, best lift is just prior to stall typically. That angle shakes out to be roughly 28-30 degrees angle of attack for flex wing hang gliders, regardless of model. With the keel at 28-30 degrees to the apparent wind, whether it is a runway on a test vehicle, the runway while the glider is on a tow cart, or whether it is to the slope of the launch on a hillside, 30 degrees angle of the keel is just too high for a good, solid, safe launch. And that’s a “formula” you can take and use anywhere. At any launch.

A better angle of attack to set before starting the launch run is between 20-25 degrees angle of attack, setting the keel at 20-25 degrees to the launch surface or slope. I prefer the low end of that range for better control, less buffeting of the glider, a better acceleration, and so on.

So before you get down in the weeds about the proper technique for lifting, holding, and launching a glider, you need to know that the reason behind all of that technique is to be able to launch with the proper angle of attack, and regardless of your chosen technique, if you can’t get and maintain the proper angle of attack, you’re going to have a shitty launch.

SECONDARILY, the better technique for setting and holding the proper angle of attack is the grapevine grip, with the glider resting lower for better leverage. The tight hang strap is a non issue for launching in anything short of kiting winds, where the wind is strong enough to make the wing not only lift and fly, but actually be able to accept weight shift control. Just because the wing goes up and the strap gets tight does not mean you can weight shift it. You’ll see plenty of examples proving that one doesn’t work until you have significant weight on the strap, and response is slow at low speeds and low strap loading. So don’t rely on that as a “thing” to focus on.

Learn to set an angle of attack around 20-25 degrees to your launch surface, learn how to maintain that angle throughout the FULL run, and you’ll find your technique will improve and so will your launches. If you can’t set and maintain the proper angle of attack, you’ll have problems forever.

The angle of attack information and stalls, min sink, best glide “angles”, are things that can be known. Tested, proven, repeated, defined, and shared. Launches do NOT have to be trial and error processes. It’s 2021, and there is so much that can be known as “facts”. If you find yourself talking with someone posturing as someone with knowledge and experience, and they don’t understand the basics, help them out if you can. We need more people in the sport, but we need them to be in the sport successfully, and crashing due to a lack of understanding the basics is no way for our sport to survive.

Discuss "Your Launching Angle of Attack" at the Oz Report forum   link»

From Switzerland to the Atlantic

video

I was looking for an airfield close to the Atlantic ocean and found one that's inside the ocean. I flew directly from Switzerland to the beautiful island, Ile d'Yeu in France.

Final glide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2eAs7icpJU

Discuss "Glide out past the coast" at the Oz Report forum link»

A better view

The drone next to you

video

Ian Brubaker|video

From loop de loops to spins, Ian Brubaker (@hg_loops) fearlessly defies gravity in his hang glider with an fpv drone several feet away. In order to capture these shots, I used a prototype fpv drone that I've been developing with my friend Zach Carrizales. We hope to release our new quad design in the coming months.

https://youtu.be/rULtQlmf_Zg

Discuss "A better view" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Not adjusted for QNH

3D|collision|video

https://youtu.be/2UJKaR4iFWQ

Discuss "3D⁣ Collision Animation" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Wharton in August

(regional airport, Wharton, TX, USA)

calendar|video

calendar|Robin Hamilton|video

Robin Hamilton writes:

Fly with Cowboy Up Hang Gliding in Wharton TX, August 15-22, 2021.

August flying down on Texas Gulf Coast provides great soaring conditions for easy long flights. Conditions are very predictable and downwind terrain continuously easy landing options with good retrieval access.

We are targeting pilots that are seeking their first 100 mile flights and/or personal bests. 100 mile and even 200+ mile flights have been routine here in August.

More info to follow but pencil-in your calendar and contact Tiki at https://cuhanggliding.com or me at «robin2808» if interested and want more info now.

Here is a video from a day in August a couple of years back when four of us together flew over 800 combined miles for the day from Wharton up toward Dallas.

https://youtu.be/uj51Y0FdeJg

Discuss "Go Long In Texas" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Statement from Tennessee Tree Toppers

In response to statement from David Hanning

Dave Hanning|Risk Retention Group|Tennessee Tree Toppers|USHPA|video

Katie Dunn <<bretzgirl3>> sends:

Does this really sound like good advice?

Some of you have recently received the following message from David Hanning. While most of it is riddled with inaccuracies, there are a few statements that should be of concern to pilots everywhere. Read for yourselves:

Dave Hanning states:

“Hey ya'll we are all good as we never need TTT property...so I don't know why they cry so much so loudly...the insurance situation is set to be capable of excluding others not associated with USHPA or insured by RRRG. The chapter site insurance does not cover flight activity originating from a non RRRG insured site if it is a commercial site...meaning did you pay for access, t-shirt, membership ...and its not RRRG insured....then the chapter is not covered if you have an incident and sue the club, TTT...USHPA /RRRG legal team (Tim Herr) will not defend the chapter if this occurs...weird. that's not the kind of insurance I buy as a land owner...plus I know waivers, indemnification clauses, TN recreational land use laws and FAA far 103 all protect land owners plenty for a situation such as TTT is fear mongering about.

Now. TTT can do as it likes and threaten to have you arrested for trespassing...which means the 2^nd time the police come for you they could arrest you except that FAA rules say your good and locally law enforcement isn't interested in such pettiness from the few in control. As a ttt member you are an owner and so...hard to arrest an owner for trespassing. Just a thought.

I recommend always pick safest lz and make a good landing. Then pick up and walk off property to pack. This ensures land owners can not harass you for trespassing. And no police officer would arrest you in such a position as your no longer trespassing. Video evidence is not enough for them to arrest you. Usually a warning at most...but the if I have to come back here for you...then...but again your protected by "emergency" landing...FAA laws.

Now as pilots flying you are covered....it's just the club that is not...how weird is that...make a exclusion so that you can keep pilots from flying unless they are on your side of the fence.

While I am buying more insurance coverage to resolve the complaints from TTT...it is expensive and I get no benefit from insuring TTT so you all can fly and land there...ill note even when I do have this new insurance that TTT has already added wording specifying RRRG only insurance. Thus there is no solution to TTT being a problem unless members and pilots stand up for their rights as members and pilots. Certainly your voice matters more now then ever before at USHPA. RRRG and ttt levels. I suggest you go get in the face of those creating and maintain this situation. We are the only ones experiencing this blockage...elsewhere no one cares to enforce this exclusion.

Everyone, you are the dog in this fight. Time to turn and bite that hand that beats you.

The 15$ landing fee from one of our generous land owners is a message...he does not want all the solo traffic happening because TTT is pushing you all out by cutting off your access to that lz. The fields are for hay for cattle and horses. I lease property access so I can fly from my property here at Henson Gap. TTT will arrest me if I go on TTT property. (I am a lifetime member and now they make moves to kick me out all together. Just got the summons to their May punitive hearing. We should all go! Hahaha).

And now all the other land owners in the valley will become sensitive to this increase in pilot usage of their lands...how much longer before all land is a DNL (do not land)...do we have to wait for such a desperate dire situation before we get involved and force the solution you all deserve and the one that USHPA should be forcing by any means possible. Some inside of USHPA want to help (thank you).. but don't have enough influence. Most inside of USHPA don't care about you the members. RRRG doesn't care. TtT doesn't care. They want you to turn your back and leave.

I won't. And ill always fight for you and access so we can fly. Ill invest thousands of dollars to enable the community because I know the value of friends and flying. USHPA is harming you all...time to let them know what you want.. and remember that these are people who are pilots and they volunteer for the job so please be respectful...even if you feel disrespected by all that has happened here these past 3 years and continues with no end in the foreseeable future. Respectful actions and attitudes get you farther every time.

It's your game...get in it and play like your playing to win. Not for me, but for you and all your flying friends. Never have we all needed to come together to make solutions for all pilots

Need email address or wanna talk about it.. call me...I'm open to any and all conversations. +1423.XXX.XXXX

BTW...if that fence got taken down...the current cost of lumber would probably make it more difficult to reconstruct. Lemme know if you need to borrow any tools.

And...this weekend is looking very good! NW is best.. Saturday afternoon and Sunday looks amazing. BBQ Saturday night. See you here for flying, friends and fun! Fear not.. they can't stop us from doing what we want...but they will threaten you with rating revocation and you should tell them to shove it. Or just ignore them. What ever works best.. so we can all get on with enjoying flying and our friends. Club and org be damned if they can't and won't do what is required to enable you all to fly and be safe.

Time to enact change however suits you best. We can all play a roll in shaping the future.

Much love from the Flying Camp crew.”

TTT Response:

We have shared the contents of this letter with the Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Dept. and have discussed with them the implications of a pilot falsely declaring an “Emergency Landing” in violation of FAR’s. We strongly recommend pilots NOT use this as a defense.

We have also contacted a FAA “liaison” for advice who after “unofficially” consulting with his counterpart with the FAA sent us the following recommendation:

“I spoke with my FSDO contact. He said that you should get some video proof. He said that for you to call XXX XXX of the Nashville FSDO and ask for his assistance in the matter. He said that if that many people are having an emergency, the FAA would be interested in reviewing his operation.”

Despite the endless claims you have heard from Flying Camp, our intent is not or never has been to shut down Flying Camp. The last thing any of us want is FAA involvement. We simply ask our club members to follow our rules and the flying community to respect our property and not jeopardize our assets.

If the FAA does get involved, it is 100% the consequences of misinformed pilots following David Hanning’s illegal advice by intentionally violating FAR’s by falsely claiming “emergency landings.”

One of the reasons our club has flourished in this valley for 45 years is the relationships we have built with the local landowners. Imagine how different our relationships and our reputation would have been if we had told every land owner that asked us not to land on their property that they could not stop us because it was an “emergency landing.” How would your local community respond if all clubs everywhere adopted this approach? We are simply asking that our property rights be respected just as we expect our club members to respect other local landowner’s requests.

As if we haven’t already beaten this dead horse enough, we would be remiss in our duties as a board if we did not address the insurance issues that are brought up numerous times in the Hanning message. We are going to be very blunt here. First you need to go to the link that was sent to you by USHPA earlier this week regarding new insurance exclusions and why they became necessary. In a nutshell, David Hanning’s RRRG insurance was not only cancelled but cancelled RETROACTIVELY to his application date because of the issues (and many others) mentioned in the RRRG letter. Our club was named as additional insured on Flying Camps policy. Cancelled retroactively means that our club was not covered by the insurance we were assured we had due entirely to deceit on David Hanning’s part. This is what the RRRG had to say about insuring Flying Camp:

“When this fraud was discovered, we cancelled Flying Camp's insurance and expelled Flying camp from membership in Recreation RRG. Flying Camp is ineligible for insurance from Recreation RRG and we will not directly or indirectly insure the operations of Flying Camp or any other organization where Mr. Hanning is involved in decisions related to the management of risk.”

If a professional insurance company cannot trust a company or an individual enough to be associated with them in any way, how can we, as a club be expected to accept what is claimed to be “adequate insurance coverage” from someone who has already proven himself to be less than trustworthy and willing to put our clubs assets in jeopardy? Quite simply, we will not. Period

The bottom line here is very simple. If you want to legally land in the TTT Henson LZ:

1. You must be a current Tree Topper member.
2. You must be a minimum of H2 or P2.
3. You cannot launch from any SVS/Flying Camp launches at Henson or Whitwell Launch.

How hard can this be to understand and comply with? Yes, we have heard the argument that you are a TTT member and should be able to land there regardless of where you launch. Unfortunately, that is not the case because of insurance issues directly caused and very well documented by others, not us. We are NOT going to risk the club’s assets because a small handful of our members think they have a point to prove. When you signed your application, you agreed to abide by the club’s rules and this is one of them.

TTT is not taking anything away from TTT members wanting to use the TTT LZ.

If you want to Land in the TTT LZ, Launch from a TTT Launch. It’s that simple.

If you want to launch at SVS/Flying Camp, pay the $15 user fee at the SVS/FC designated LZ. It’s that simple. Not wanting to pay the user fee is not a valid excuse to abuse the TTT.

To be perfectly clear, the issue the dual SVS pilots are having are a direct results of Dave Hanning’s actions. It’s that simple.

Well that certainly went down a road we did not want to go on but sometimes we have to cover some rather unpleasant topics. Thanks to those of you who were willing to read this far. Now that you know how easy it is to fly here (despite what you might have been told), here is the good part.

We would like to extend a personal invitation to all pilots everywhere who might be concerned or confused by this latest disinformation campaign to come and see for yourself what our club has to offer and why it is so important for us to do what is necessary to protect it. For the next 3 months, if you are willing to come and check it out for yourself, we will waive the 30-day membership dues of $40. You still must join the club and sign the waiver, but the first week is free. One of us might even offer you a beer (after flying of course).

Please share this with all of your fellow pilots and help pilots everywhere continue flying with minimal “help” from the FAA and the continued support of you non flying neighbors.

Thanks for your help and understanding,

TTT BOD

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Felix Flights

A compilation

video

https://youtu.be/3-Zo2F8GxeI

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2021 Paradise Airsports Nationals - day 1

We have crushed the drought

Belinda Boulter|Paradise Airsports Nationals 2021|video

It's hard to believe that it will only be from one to two inches of rain today (Sunday).

We have not had anything like this in the five months that Belinda and I have been here:

Those folks staying in tents will be most unhappy. Looks like a warm day tomorrow, sunny, with a north wind.

The Sandhill Cranes can eat and drink at the same time:

https://vimeo.com/535653182 by Randee Azzar.

Discuss "2021 Paradise Airsports Nationals - day 1" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Cape Lookout

Oregon Coast

video

https://youtu.be/CAzD6Xp0i4Q

Discuss "Cape Lookout" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Every day

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://youtu.be/MHZB4eFFPEk

Dennis Thorpe writes:

Recommended: a big screen, decent sound, and refreshments. It's 90 min.

Discuss "All of the⁢ 2021 New Zealand National Hang Gliding Championships" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Murchison, New Zealand

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://youtu.be/sxJ9p9N5hqc

Discuss "43^rd New Zealand Hang Gliding Nationals - Day 8" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Murchison, New Zealand

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://youtu.be/ebj7lYeZpAY

Discuss "43^rd New Zealand Hang Gliding Nationals - Day 7" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Murchison, New Zealand

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://youtu.be/fsvNsPLg4ck

Discuss "43^rd New Zealand Hang Gliding Nationals - Day 6" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Penn Jillette Goes Tandem

With Owen Morse

Owen Morse|Penn Jillette|Tandem|video

https://vimeo.com/519370769

Owen Morse writes:

Pre-pandemic, Penn Jillette tells the story of hang gliding with me on his podcast, “Penn’s Sunday School”.

Discuss "Penn Jillette Goes Tandem" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Murchison, New Zealand

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://youtu.be/vJez4uU58ec

Discuss "43^rd New Zealand Hang Gliding Nationals - Day 5" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Murchison, New Zealand

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://youtu.be/D07VVqhkzj0

Discuss "43^rd New Zealand Hang Gliding Nationals - Day 4" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Murchison, New Zealand

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://youtu.be/bdD6ElZJP30

Discuss "43^rd New Zealand Hang Gliding Nationals - Day 3" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

2021 New South Wales State Titles

A wet Wednesday in Manilla

New South Wales State Titles 2021|video

New South Wales State Titles 2021|video

https://vimeo.com/516124566

Discuss "2021 New South Wales State Titles" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Loosdrecht

Mosquito

video

Last week I have been ice skating over the lakes of Loosdrecht, the Netherlands. I thought about my flight some months ago over the same beautiful lakes. This was one of my best flights and an incredible memory lane. Happy to be one of the very few.

https://youtu.be/Pov454hGfiQ

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Early days

video

Bob "Skydog" Grant|video

Bob Grant sends:

https://youtu.be/1heBUY_D0tA

Discuss "Long ago" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Videos from day 1 and day 2

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

Dennis Thorpe «Dennis Thorpe» sends:

https://youtu.be/DHZD-BcHbio

https://youtu.be/pqu-75hQ8QQ

Discuss "2021 New Zealand National Hang Gliding Championships" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

The video

New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://youtu.be/Z3mPLJFwhfE

Discuss "2021 New Zealand National Hang Gliding Championships" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Perhaps the Worlds in 2025?

COVID|Facebook|Ian Clark|James-Donald "Don" "Plummet" Carslaw|John Smith|New Zealand Nationals 2021|photo|video

competition|COVID|Facebook|Ian Clark|James-Donald "Don" "Plummet" Carslaw|John Smith|New Zealand Nationals 2021|photo|video

competition|COVID|Facebook|Ian Clark|James-Donald "Don" "Plummet" Carslaw|John Smith|New Zealand Nationals 2021|photo|video

https://airtribune.com/43^rd-new-zealand-hang-gliding-nationals-fai-cat-2/results

Matt Barlow «Matt Barlow» writes:

Wow what a comp it has been. After not making goal for two days in a row and plummeting in the rankings, John Smith pulled out all stops winning the last three days with perfect 1000 point wins on each day.

As good as this was though Ian Clark flew faultlessly throughout the entire competition making goal every day and was crowned the undisputed 2021 New Zealand Hang Gliding Champion. Outstanding flying Ian, and a job very well done.

John Smith finished in second place, defending champion Matt Barlow 3^rd.

Congratulations also goes out to Henning Kruger, beating out some stiff competition and becoming our 2021 Sport Class Champion.

Inaugural winners of the 'Kahu Cup' - (Inter Club comp) were Southern, followed by Aorangi, and Canterbury taking third place. For full results of day eight and the overall results just click on the link below:

https://airtribune.com/43^rd-new-zealand-hang-gliding-nationals-fai-cat-2/results/task4960/day/open

For various photos and videos of the last day including prize giving, just visit the Flying Kiwis facebook page below:

https://www.facebook.com/Flying-Kiwis-1080353552175519/

For a look at all comp information and tasks including 2D replays just visit the comp page on Airtribune:

https://airtribune.com/43^rd-new-zealand-hang-gliding-nationals-fai-cat-2/results

Huge thanks go to the many volunteers and helpers that pitched in and made this our most successful and enjoyable Nationals ever!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - We are seriously considering placing a bid for the 2025 World Hang Gliding Championships. With so much uncertainty in the rest of the world but New Zealand being Covid free, and with Murchison (New Zealand) offering such user friendly spectacular World Class flying, we are excited about the possibility and what the future may hold.

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Results from day four and more

competition|Facebook|Ian Clark|John Smith|John Urlich|New Zealand Nationals 2021|video

https://airtribune.com/43^rd-new-zealand-hang-gliding-nationals-fai-cat-2/results

John Smith falls down.

Task 4:

Cumulative:

Videos: https://www.facebook.com/nzhgnats

More: https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Sports/Flying-Kiwis-1080353552175519/

548 MPH

Dynamic Soaring

record|video

Spencer Lisenby broke again the dynamic soaring speed world record with a insane 548 mph (882 km/h or 245 m/s) at Parker Mountain. Spencer already had the world record since the 9^th of June 2018 with 545mph at Bird Spring Pass.

A few details on the plane used, the Transonic DP: 3300 mm wingspan but 22:1 aspect ratio, optimum flying weight of 9 kg and a wing loading above 140 g/dm2. Dirk Pflug designed the airfoils and received some help from Stuttgart University to optimize the wing using MSES method.

https://youtu.be/4eFD_Wj6dhk

https://dronedj.com/2021/01/20/remote-control-glider-sets-world-speed-record-548-mph/

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Hang Gliding at 87

Happy Birthday

video

https://youtu.be/QX6C9jfK-L8

Ekkehard Geppert - born 1933 - probably one of the world's oldest hang-gliders, celebrates his 87^th birthday with an Atos flight from his local mountain, the Hohe Wand.

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Florida Flying Fantasy

At Wallaby Ranch on ATOSes

video

https://youtu.be/pGq4IwxTG2Y

Some Old Dudes

Orville Wright, Wilbur Wright, Original Footage. First Flight Military Airplane 1909

video

https://youtu.be/dtZ8MxuePno

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Training at Stanwell Park

Two brothers

photo|video

https://vimeo.com/499082334

Tony Armstrong writes:

Our flying customers receive complimentary photos however video's are an extra. We complete approx 20 videos each year and it's a challenge to remain creative. This clip is a bit long but when you get a great day and some nice angles, this is the result.

Ollie on Task 2

Corryong Cup 2021|video

https://youtu.be/NMi4BzUJhRU

Discuss "2021 Corryong Cup" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Red Rocks 2020

Ric Caylor

video

https://youtu.be/T_0UTmyaMXc

A group of pilots who have bonded together over time find adventure together in the skies near Monroe, Utah. After the restrictions of shutdowns and personal injury, we let loose to defy gravity and to explore new places, and experience the freedom of free-flying our gliders together again. Some say that we are crazy others believe that we were born for this! You decide.

Discuss "Red Rocks 2020" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Copa Brasil Sport

Sport Class

video

video

https://vimeo.com/496157056

Hipoxia Adventure Sports organized a competition for pilots flying EN-C gliders to be able to race competitively within this Sport Class, without pressure to fly more demanding EN-D or CCC two-liner gliders. The Open Class included all gliders and the Sport Lite Class included EN-B gliders.

We had seven consecutive days of competition in good conditions.

Traveling from Canada to Brazil during the peak of the pandemic made this the most intense trip of my life.

Discuss "Copa Brasil Sport" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Foot Launching

In the new year

video

https://youtu.be/SGNY8OcXE3c

Discuss "Foot Launching" at the Oz Report forum   link»

It's Arizona in the winter

Wed, Dec 30 2020, 8:51:19 pm EST

PG|video

https://vimeo.com/495669864

Matt getting some lessons on faster centering and good glide lines.

It's been sitting in storage short packed for over a year

Ric Cayler Tries Out His Moyes RX 5

Moyes RX 5|Ric Caylor|video

https://youtu.be/b-7A2n5aZ70

He just bought it from Kip Stone, who never flew it. He is not a heavy pilot.

Felix in the cockpit

A.I.R. ATOS|video

https://youtu.be/watch?fbclid=IwAR2Ps8LJiuRSH1rGT-TY0a_mOQFkcG8PdqrqrunMCOVo2n_ewO-nHKdCdIk

The video may be private now.

Happening again in 2021

video|XCeará

https://vimeo.com/491188481

18^th edition of XCeará, Free Flight event in the Cross Country modality that takes place in Quixadá, Ceará, where the goal is to fly as far as possible. Altogether, in this edition alone, more than 10,000 km were flown by the pilots present.

For the safety of the participants, all pilots fly with SPOT trackers, which update the position in satellite flight every 2.5 minutes, regardless of cell coverage.

Along with the event, there is an annual social action in the small village of Juatama, which is close to the take-off ramp and which today has several pilots who started flying encouraged by the event, which started more than 20 years ago. True social inclusion through free flight.

At the end of the event, the pilots take a trip to Canoa Quebrada, to relax and enjoy life by the sea.

The edition of XCeará 2021 is already confirmed. Save the date - from 21 to 28 November 2021. See you there!

Discuss "XCeará 2020 - Prévia" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Flying Around

A bit of a collection

Facebook|video

https://www.facebook.com/611509282/posts/10159199876544283/

Discuss "Flying Around" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Maybe Too Much Excitement

Soham Mehta

video

https://youtu.be/vwYSNMfh-C4

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Hang Glide Santa Barbara

Eliminator

video

https://youtu.be/JnWIFSs_jCo

First time flying Santa Barbara, CA. December 2020.

1:12 flight. Was hoping to land at the beach but was not quite high enough.

Thank you to the Santa Barbara Soaring Association for your warm welcome and hospitality.

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Martin Henry on Cloudbase Mayhem

Funny stories from a rigid wing pilot

Barry Bateman|Charles "Charlie" Baughman|Cloudbase Mayhem|Davis Straub|Jeff Shapiro|Joe Bostik|Kari Castle|Larry Tudor|Manfred Ruhmer|Martin Henry|PG|record|sailplane|video

https://www.cloudbasemayhem.com/episode-134-martin-henry-and-a-lifelong-pursuit

Need a good laugh? Kick back and listen to Martin Henry, a Canadian Hang glider and paraglider who has been chasing free flight for almost 50 years tell some really fun stories. Get on board as we travel around the world, learn how to thermal, fly triangles, retrieve your significant other, fly competitions, compete in the Worlds, compete in the Worlds with your wife!, figure it out, crash, tumble, bomb out, send it, learn, and drink a nice cold beer with your friends after yet another wonderful day at cloudbase. This episode is pure joy and filled with tons of great advice and great learning thrown in regardless of where you are in the sport and what you hope to achieve. This show is an educational, entertaining BLAST- enjoy!

Check out this 1975 era hang gliding footage that Martin put together (this was off a VHS folks, so give the sound a break!).

The issues in the beginning. “This product can, may, and will fail under any and all circumstances.”
“These gliders were VERY efficient at killing people”
How Mansfield, WA came into the picture
The wow factor of the Washington flats
Open distance on a rigid wing spells “divorce”
Flying triangles
The golden age of hang gliding
What got folks back in the day and “survivor bias”
What the early pilots brought from sailplane knowledge
Competition flying
Flying in the Alps
Maintaining control- don’t give up
Is paragliding heading the same way as hang gliding?
“Flying? You should maybe think about taking up heroin!”
The early days of comps
Chasing records
Hard lessons
Fear injuries and how to recover
How relaxed should we be? You have to feel the wing
How does our relationship with risk change as we age?
“I’m a mediocre pilot who tries to fly safely”. Don’t ignore your own skills, or the reality of the day.
Transferable skills between different aircraft
Don’t be a passenger
Stories of Larry Tudor (1:23:00)
Be wary of distraction- getting away with it until you don’t

Mentioned in the Show:

Malin Lobb, Bastienne Wentzel, Nik Hawks, Miguel Gutierrez, Larry Tudor, Stewart Midwinter, Charlie Baughman, Kari Castle, Willi Mueller, Chris Mueller, Alex Raymont, Wills Wing, Moyes, Aeros, Barry Bateman, Davis Straub, Brad Gunnuscio, Nicole McLearn, Joe Bostik, Manfred Ruhmer, Chrigel Maurer, Jeff Shapiro, Russ Ogden, Jeff Farrell, Randy Campadore, Chris Santacroce

Cloud Flying along the Ridge

A review of the previous sailplane flight

Rob Lesser|sailplane|video

Previous article: https://ozreport.com/24.235#0

https://youtu.be/NpyqiAp2TFY

Thanks to Rob Lesser.

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Great video work

TV|video|Wolfgang "Wolfi" Siess

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0914x4c

Wolfgang Siess is a professional hang glider pilot and instructor from Austria, but because of the coronavirus tandem hang gliding and competitions were banned meaning Wolfgang lost his job. Realising his sport was in danger with little funding and no travel, he bought a van and toured the US filming his flights in remote locations.

Wolfgang noticed a huge reaction to his videos, with people who were in lockdown saying that it allowed them to momentarily leave their homes and experience the sport. He hopes to return to competitions and instructing in 2021, but for now he's continuing to promote the sport.

Discuss "Wolfi Promotes Hang Gliding on the BBC" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Inspo

Provo, Utah

photo|video

Wasatch Hang Gliding LLC writes:

Kind of the last place to land if you don't climb out so it would be a very big deal to lose. Inspo is a magical sight. Send photos if you got em, help keep this LZ alive.

Lance Merrill <dadds06> writes:

Provo City has started preliminary plans and some subsurface work for a new city park at 3800 N. Canyon Rd. This is the field many hang gliders have been using for an LZ for several years.

I am on the planning committee for this park. Their latest renderings have some obstructions in the middle of the field. I am trying to prepare a brief presentation to show:

1. The rare beauty of the Inspo site.

2. A typical approach to landing there for a hang glider. (I have good pictures and video to demonstrate these points.)

3. The relationship we currently enjoy with Salt Lake and Utah counties.

4. How the public interacts with us as we use of the flight parks at the Point.

Pictures with youth interacting with gliders. We are trying to put together a brief (2 minute) video that will help them understand what we need and how it can enhance the public use of the land. Thanks for any help. You can email me at <dadds06>

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Tekoa Teaser

Wills Wing T3

video|Wills Wing T3

https://youtu.be/W6iXVzA6aUA

On an ATOS VR+

Towing Training

A.I.R. ATOS VR|Facebook|video

Steve Young writes:

https://www.facebook.com/ozreport/posts/10159098590271085

One tiny advantage of this lockdown and working from home is you get time to go through the GoPro films and edit them. Here is a video of my aero towing flying this year with my Atos VR+. I have used the video as a coaching video for flex wings and rigids. As everything applies to both.

Kagel LZ

Chatter

Jonathan Dietch|record|video

Jonathan Dietch writes:

This video was recorded between 2000 and 2003 by the late Wayne Yentis who was a professional film sound technician and it comes through in the audio quality. Wayne gave me a copy on DVD to share with the world not long before he passed. My previous attempt to post had poor resolution. This hosting is much better.

SCENE and HERD at the Kagel LZ in the 21^st Century (2000-2003)

https://youtu.be/bS4whXP3MH4

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Look down

360°|video

https://youtu.be/-UE9oatuPak

Discuss "360°⁣ video at Funston" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Cloud Flying but not so much fun

Finding the bad sink

sailplane|video

This two person glider is sailing along in ridge or wave lift in New Zealand (lots of wave lift there), when the pilot makes a wrong move and gets out of the lift instantly. Hilarity ensues.

https://youtu.be/8djWfNmJlKo

1:00 = You can clearly see the valley on your right. No clouds, and no mountain ridge on that side. They also find a lot of lift here.
1:20 = Error 1: They turn in Left, right into the clouds.
2:40 = Zero visibility starts here. From this point it's impossible to have any clue what the directing of the sailplane is.
2:41 = Error 2: The nose is starting to pitch down, the speed is increasing rapidly from 40 to 90 knots. Nobody corrects the pitch.
2:54 = They suddenly see the ground, still nose down with a bank angle of 30-40 degrees.
2:55 = Error 3: They turn right, straight towards the higher mountain ridge instead of the lower valley.
2:57 = Error 4: To much left rudder! The plane starts to 'spin' for the first time
3:01 = The spin results in a nose down position.
3:05 = They recover nose down at high speed, pulling +- 6G's, the Max is 7G for this plane. The camera mount breaks.
4:39 = Error 5: Again spin! Normally you never spin as long you keep the c in the middle.

Lesson learned:
1. Never turn into the clouds
2. If you get into a cloud, control your airspeed, check you altitude meter
3. Never ever let the nose go down!
4. When your get out of the cloud never turn towards a ridge or high ground.
5. Make clean turns, never ever let the yaw string point to the inside of your turn. Spins are deadly.

http://gliding.co.nz/news/latest-news

In mid-November a shortened version of a video of a gliding incident in New Zealand started circulating on the internet without the permission of the video owner.

This non-consented circulation means the video is now being viewed and commented on without full context or understanding of the circumstances that lead to the track disorientation and inadvertent IMC and without the opportunity for all the lessons to be appropriately conveyed.

Important points to note are:

Following the narrow escape after exiting cloud, the glider was out-landed safely and both pilots were physically unharmed.
The aircraft was thoroughly inspected by a rated engineer using protocols provided by the manufacturer and was found to be undamaged.
A pilot debriefing and GNZ investigation of the incident was undertaken.
The incident was reported using both GNZ OPS 10 and CAA 005 forms.
A summary of the incident was circulated to all CFI’s in NZ along with other incidents from the prior month as per the usual way all incidents are communicated.
Following the investigation and recognising the value of the full video as a training resource and wishing to be respectful of the welfare of the pilots involved, GNZ is in the process of seeking permission from the video owner to create a relevant resource that fully conveys all the lessons to be learned, noting that these lessons are more extensive than what can be seen from the shortened version of the video.

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Phoenix Flying

Convergence

video

https://youtu.be/Mz0a2T_Oil0

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Not Kansas

The Dolomites

video

https://youtu.be/U6hItjmkFf8

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Karioitahi Beach

Near Aukland, New Zealand

video

https://youtu.be/M38gjT6wsNM

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Hang Gliding and COVID-19

The view from a pilot at Wallaby Ranch

COVID|PG|video

Max <<kemposifu>> writes:

As we all know, we are in very trying and difficult times with Covid-19 altering every day lives for everyone including us pilots. Every hang gliding business is doing the best they can to follow CDC guidelines and more to keep both pilots and instructors as safe as possible. However some flight parks are not informing their students or pilots if they had any of their staff or instructors test positive for Covid-19 and/or have been removed for quarantine.

I understand that may not be the most appropriate way to keep your business going, but at least have the nerve and courtesy to at least privately email new students/visitor pilots that anyone that had tested positive for Covid-19 has been removed for quarantine.

The better way to prevent this issue is to have your staff and instructors tested for Covid regularly. Most state and counties have free Covid testing so cost really is not an excuse to not to test your staff and instructors.

Also by watching some recent hang gliding and paragliding videos on social media I see that CDC guide lines are not being followed. Too many people at close quarters with no masks or social distancing, and not to sound too political here but if you have been lead to believe that there is no pandemic or you don't believe in masks or think the CDC guideline are "infringing on your rights" then you have no business being at any flying sites risking others and yourself to being exposed to Covid-19. No one is immune.

I personally had to cancel a trip to a foot launching location to train and do a foot launch, which has been a life time goal for me, due to my concerns that some instructors had tested positive for Covid-19 and there was no information if their remaining staff and instructors have been tested for Covid or not. But it was mostly due to finances and other reasons.

I'm sure I'm speaking for most pilots asking for flying businesses to test their staff and instructors regularly and keep our flying safe for everyone.

Oleg Bondarchuk, tug pilot

Evgen lysenko above the clouds

Oleg Bondarchuk|video

video

Oleg Bondarchuk|video

https://youtu.be/YWhXDErN1kw

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F1

Hang gliding flight over Zandvoort F1

video

https://youtu.be/lVyThz6938Q

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Tolmin 2020

Andy Scot

video

https://youtu.be/2pmwqdCF08k

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