Capitol Hang Glider
Association
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| July/Aug 2001 |   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 
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Volume 39, Issue 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Streamers for Newbies?
Historical note: In 1977, I lived (camped) at Point of the Mountain, Utah. It became apparent that the regulars were not a problem, but the newbies and visitors could sure make a mess of the "traffic pattern". The club set aside "aerobatics boxes" for those so inclined. The original problem remained. Now you may know of the late, great science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein (Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, many more). He actually solved the problem for us, and long before we had it, in a short story called "The Menace from Earth". It's even fun to read now. This is called Foresight, I guess. We shamelessly stole the solution from him in 1977, but obviously, no one color of glider could be reserved for beginners only. We adopted bright orange or red "surveyors' tape" streamers instead. Usually this is one six yard (six meters) long streamer from the keel, although some folks use two, one on each wingtip. This is especially good for paragliders. These streamers are very light, tough, and actually shed dirt. They make very little extra noise, do not distract the pilot, and can be seen easily by other pilots. These streamers are not a license to ignorantly barge through traffic, but a request for some extra airspace by pilots that need it. Experienced pilots usually have some extra airspace that they can spare for a newbie. Most pilots will respect this request. One jerk announced loudly that he was "gonna put streamers all over his glider", he wanted all the extra room he could get. We cheered silently. One well-experienced pilot visited from out-of-state, who had never flown in heavy traffic before. He was seriously freaked by a dozen gliders in the air, and was truly grateful for a streamer. One irresponsible (there is no other word) pilot got a streamer clipped to his glider surreptitiously, on launch, and repeatedly. We would even roll up his streamer, so it took a few minutes in the air to deploy. Tagging him as a newbie became an informal club sport, until the guy finally stopped getting pissed off and woke up to what was being said. He lived, and we all had a good laugh together about it, later. He actually thanked us, too. If your flying sites do not use streamers to give students and newbies some extra airspace, I would recommend this system. Cheers, Red
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Flying the Pulpit and Fisher RoadWith the Pulpit Fly-In coming up, we thought it timely to review launching and landing techniques there. (compiled by Carlos Weill)The PulpitLaunchChristy: Launches at the Pulpit. I never launch when it's blowing the least bit E of N. It can be hazardous to ones health. Tom: One commonly repeated mistake at the Pulpit is main LZ suck. Flying to the main LZ can be very difficult in light or cross winds, especially for new pilots who are unsure about using whatever ridge lift is available. On these types of days, pilots should be aware of speeds to fly in order to reach the main LZ at the best altitude and (more importantly) when to make a decision to bail to the secondary. When in doubt, it probably isn't worth the sled if you're puckered the entire flight and just make the main field. Spark: Don't dive out on launch or you'll hit the rocks. p.s. Watch out for the poison ivy on the hill in the set up area at launch ... like don't set your helmet and harness in it (yup, I did that). Steve: Not sure whether he intends it but Spark offers some critically important advice for launching from the Pulpit. There is a wind gradient at the end of the ramp. If you are slow coming off the ramp and pull in for speed, the glider descends into air that is moving slower. You may not gain airspeed; you may lose airspeed. Not good. Solution. Keep the glider on the ramp and run. If you are gusted off early and are slow, pull in ever so slightly, hold your breath and wait. Approach to Secondary Christy: Secondary. Don't care for this field since it's pretty small when you take into account the topo, crops, treelines and powerline. I usually don't fly if it's likely I won't reach the main field. But when I do use the secondary, I come in fairly fast and do a diving turn into the field into the wind. I got popped once on the tree line as I turned into final on my Sport AT. I knew I was then too high to be on the ground before the rise in the middle of the field, but not high enough to do a turn to lose the altitude. I ended up cresting the rise in despite dragging my feet (they could see the rooster tail of dust at launch) When the wheels and basetube hit the plowed ground, the glider flipped upside down. The ground was really forgiving and the dust on the kingpost showed that it had buried in the ground about 8 inches. I was stuck on top of the flipped glider and had to get help to unhook. Tom: One option for landing in the secondary that is often forgotten is landing uphill/downwind. We most often use the secondary when there is too little wind to soar the ridge. This makes for a perfect time to land uphill/downwind in the secondary. Landing back toward the ridge also increases the size of the field; there is actually plenty of room to land this way. I've had two landings here going back to the ridge (of mixed success) but never had any problem running out of room. You can always use this option if you decide that you will overfly the middle part of the field. Larry H: The trick for landing uphill properly is to come in fast to the bottom of the slope and bleed off the speed climbing the hill. I wouldn't recommend this approach when there is a significant tailwind (over 3-5 mph). A Quick Discussion of the Fisher Road SiteConsidering that the Pulpit Fly-In often turns out to be a Fisher Road Fly-In, the following Site Discussion is included here:For those of you who haven't flown Fisher Road in a while, remember: The former primary is no more, the secondary has become the primary and the tertiary is now the secondary. Brian Vant-Hull I think new pilots who have very limited mountain experience should approach the LZs in reverse order, working up from the easy landing in the secondary to the easier carryout in the primary. The secondary is right out front with no obstacles. The center of the field is the lowest point, sloping up gently in both directions. Line up with the foot path and let'er rip (Don't forget to mention those pesky thorn shrubs that pretty much pepper the primary. Don't plan on rolling in.). You may want to arrange help to make the long (300 yards?) carryout easier. The secondary is within an easy glide, flat but with a wire down the middle and downward slopes around all four edges. Aim to land at the center and you'll have no problems negotiating all defects. Moderate carryout. Dan Tomlinson Pay attention to the nice long base leg you can establish by taking advantage of the extension to the edge of the field nearest launch and perpendicular to the ridge line. 
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