instructors and other qualified pilot fiends

[Tad Eareckson]

Jump to next post:
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http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31979
To toss silk....Or not???

Dave Gills - 2014/10/22 11:42:34 UTC
Grove City, Pennsylvania

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c4YU7W0Ofc
2014 08 16 Corey
Learn2Glide LLC - 2014/08/18
dead

Start watching at the 11:30 mark.

Why? There's some fairly interesting stuff well before that.

Be advised...
I am a new pilot and a lot of things make me uneasy at this point but...

Fuck but. I'm a 4.9+ and it scared the crap outta me.

Does the AOA look really high on tow?

No. It looks like the glider's flying at trim - AOA normal. The PITCH ATTITUDE looks really high on tow...

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...'cause pitch attitudes ARE really high on tow. That's how come...

Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974

"A bad flyer won't hurt a pin man but a bad pin man can kill a flyer." - Bill Bennett
"The greatest dangers are a rope break or a premature release." - Richard Johnson

...Rooney Links likely to increase the safety of the towing operation and Rooney Drivers ready to fix whatever's going on back there by giving you the rope are the two greatest threats to your odds of long term survival.

No silk there to throw...

Too much silk in that equation already.

...and no way to get at the line with a hook knife.

There's ALWAYS a way to get at...

Towing Aloft - 1998/01

The third option is to use your hook knife. A hook knife is an important flying safety device. It should be visible and easily accessible on your harness. It can be a lifesaver in tree landings, water landings, parachute landings in high winds and, of course, towing.

HANG GLIDING FOR BEGINNER PILOTS
By Peter Cheney
Published by Matt Taber
Official Flight Training Manual of the U. S. Hang Gliding Association

A hook knife is a razor-sharp cutting tool that can slash through lines in an instant. You should never tow without one - in an emergency, you can use it to cut the tow-line or bridle. The hook knife must be mounted on your harness so that you can reach it quickly and easily.

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...and do what you need to with a hook knife.

Towing Aloft - 1998/01

As the towline wears from abrasion and UV exposure, its breaking strength diminishes. Typically pilots continue using a line until it begins to break on a regular basis at normal tow tensions. Given the general tendency by pilots to save money, it is probable that you will experience a line failure during a towing career.

The use of lighter tensions until some altitude has been achieved greatly reduces the probability of this occurring immediately after launch. The event is similar to a weak link break or release disengagement. Recover as you would with those occurrences. However, you will likely still have a length of line connected to your release.

And maybe a recovery chute billowing from a control frame corner if you're lucky - or a sidewire / leading edge junction if you're not.

Hey Matt...

Matthew Philips - 90246 - H3 - 2012/08/14 - Tracy Tillman - AT FL ST FSL RLF TUR - BAS INST

If that towline continues to break on a regular basis at normal tow tensions you might consider replacing it...

Harry Robb - 1975/09
Clearwater, Florida

No flight should ever be made with a knot in the tow line. Aside from the abrasion caused by the knot rubbing on itself, the tensile strength is decreased by as much as fifty percent. Lines require constant inspection - prior to the first flight of every day by every flyer. In a tournament, the Lineman Starter can inspect some portions of the line on each flight, and the Safety Inspector will inspect the entire line slowly, foot-by-foot, two or three times daily. The tow line is a life line and must be treated with utmost respect.

That sorta thing could get a bit inconvenient after a while.

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Jump to top:
http://www.kitestrings.org/post6857.html#p6857

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31979
To toss silk....Or not???

Avolare - 2014/10/22 11:56:18 UTC
North Carolina

Terrifying!!!!!
I thought the tow rope was still attached.

Another learn2glide video is being discussed elsewhere, all I can say is, the instructor needs to call BlueSky for help.

Yeah, only Blue Sky - with Steve Exceptionally-Knowledgeable Wendt would be able to sort out the problems we're seeing with this operation.

Dave Gills - 2014/10/22 12:13:04 UTC

I think it was...Wasn't it???

Anyway....Maybe if you were a really good pilot and knew you could cut tight 360's to the ground you might not mess your shorts.

A really good pilot doesn't go up on a frayed rope or some chintzy piece of fishing line handed to him by some total fucking moron like Tracy Tillman, Steve Wendt, Davis Straub, Steve Kroop, Jim Rooney.

Harald Steen - 2014/10/22 12:20:40 UTC
Norway

Chute on tow line too big

ANY chute's too big when it gets tangled up with your glider.

Mike Badley - 2014/10/22 12:40:41 UTC
Sacramento

Well, if that's not a great advertisement for a Falcon - then nothing else is! Pilot can be totally buggered up and the wing will just plop down in the grass any old how.

Yeah. Sure. Go for it.

First rule of tow - if it isn't going good, get OFF the tow immediately.

Yeah, that first rule was pulled out of his ass by some other total moron. I was sure it would appeal to you. So what kind of equipment are you recommending we use to do that? A Voight/Rooney instant hands free release?

I don't think the pilot recognized how close to being stalled he was, but the tow operator did and gave him the rope.

Yeah, that's definitely what you wanna do whenever you see a glider close to being stalled...
- Fix whatever's going on by giving him the rope.
- Make a good decision in the interest of his safety.

Douchebag.

Hoodathunk the retrieve chute would end up in his face or wrapped around his bar??

WHOA! Who coulda seen something like THAT coming!!!

You can see Corey try to go after it, but wisely quits and just worries about flying the glider back to earth.

He lucked out 'cause it didn't snag a sidewire and stop one of his wings from flying.

Thought for sure he was going to go into the corn that time (almost did before) Man, I would be talking to him about those approaches - that's one big green grass field.

Yeah, let's talk about the fuckin' corn and his approaches. Well, hell, his totally excellent instructor / tow driver has undoubtedly already addressed those issues.

I caught the next dude's video. Poor Saga.... That pair of jeans will probably have permanent grass stains.

Any chance you can go to the effort of posting the goddam link?

Avolare - 2014/10/22 12:55:27 UTC

It looks like the rope to drogue connection broke.

Or just the towline. What difference does it make?

Brad Barkley - 2014/10/22 14:19:55 UTC

Learn2glide videos ARE terrifying.

Yeah, we don't have the really good ones from Quest, Lookout, Ridgely, Blue Sky, Cloud 9. Oh well, just a matter of time.

I actually contacted the guy I was so concerned, and said, "Well, as a scooter-tow operator, surely you know or have talked to Steve Wendt?" He responded that he had maybe heard of the name, but really had no idea who Steve was.

That's OK, Steve doesn't have much of an idea who he is either.

I learned to fly at Blue Sky...

No shit. He's Steve exceptionally knowledgeable, ya know. Hell, he's the one who signed off Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney's instructor rating.

...and I am alarmed and shocked watching some of his videos.

Too bad we don't have the good ones from Holly Korzilius at Manquin, Bill Priday at Whitwell, Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney at Coronet Peak.

He's going to hurt or kill someone.

WHOA! A TOW OPERATION that's gonna hurt or kill someone! We certainly can't have that situation!

Name some tow operations that haven't.

The fellow Blue Sky pilots I've talked to have had the same reactions.

What reactions did the Blue Sky pilots - including Steve Exceptionally-Knowledgeable Wendt - have to the Zack Marzec fatality and the Tad-O-Links people are now deciding they're happier with than Steve's standard aerotow weak link?

Check this one out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfe386ETCvU
dead

I've seen MUCH worse. How 'bout this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pkB7GIxTUU

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from Whitewater? At least Brian was taught or learned how to make gliders go left and right and his landings aren't moronic.

Brad Barkley - 2014/10/22 14:30:19 UTC

Notice too, in the early part of the first video posted, the guy is not in his backup hang strap.

Oh my God!!! If his main fails he'll be in the same shape Bill Priday and Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney were when they didn't hook into theirs in the first place!!!

Wayne Michelsen - 2014/10/22 16:17:03 UTC
Menlo Park

Couldn't even if he wanted. Training harness... Parachute not included.

combat.is.hell - 2014/10/22 16:34:47 UTC
Sweden

Just the fact that the instructor is conducting training for beginners on a runway surrounded by corn is already a bad sign.

Big fuckin' deal. Not everybody has ideal real estate on which to train, launch, land.

The possibility of landing off-runway is pretty high for new flyers.

Not if you don't pull them high enough for them to have that option.

At this particular site an off-runway landing comes with a guaranteed injury.

Oh bullshit...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hhpa/message/11517
Question

Dave Susko - 2010/11/05 02:07:47 UTC

Now, tell me what you do when your chosen LZ is a narrow dry river bed with large rocks strewn all over the place. Better yet, you see what looks like a large green pasture so you head over there only to find out that it is in fact filled with 7-foot high corn, and now there is no usable LZ within glide. Wheels probably won't help you in either case.

We train to handle this situation. Why do you think we're doing all these spot no steppers? We just treat the top of the corn as the surface. We're fine.

endoxon - 2014/10/22 16:57:08 UTC

Super scary. Not a good advertisement for the sport too.
Hanggliding is so cool if you learn it in a proper fashion.
I never had grass stains or bent tubing during my education.

He should rename his school to learn2hurt yourself...

Brian Scharp - 2014/10/22 16:59:32 UTC

The logo...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/learn2glide/14186445104/

...addresses all of these concerns.

Yeah.

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[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31979
To toss silk....Or not???

CRAP. Realized that it wasn't a towline failure, it's OBVIOUSLY:

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the driver making a good decision in the interest of the safety of the guy in the air. The towline is still under light tension heading back to the winch just aft of the starboard sidewire.

Excuses...
- so used to shit between the pull and the glider breaking
- couldn't believe anybody would be stupid enough to cut power on a glider in a steep climb and doing OK

What the fuck, it doesn't really matter. Negligence, incompetence, stupidity - the result / consequences for the glider were identical. But now I've gotta revise some comments.

Dave Gills - 2014/10/22 11:42:34 UTC

Does the AOA look really high on tow?

Not until Matt chops the power on him.

Mike Badley - 2014/10/22 12:40:41 UTC

First rule of tow - if it isn't going good, get OFF the tow immediately. I don't think the pilot recognized how close to being stalled he was, but the tow operator did and gave him the rope.

Yeah, that sure showed him how close to being stalled he was. Great teaching moment.

Hoodathunk the retrieve chute would end up in his face or wrapped around his bar??

But that was a GOOD thing. Really got the point across...

Corey Maley - Ohio - 94140 - Exp: 2014/09/30

Burned it into his memory.

Avolare - 2014/10/22 12:55:27 UTC

It looks like the rope to drogue connection broke.

No. But thanks for making the same mistake I did.

OK, back on track...

Terry Strahl - 2014/10/22 17:26:05 UTC

From Matt's site .... Over 40 Hrs !

Matt Philips, the owner and instructor for Learn2Glide, has been hang gliding since 2010. He has logged more than 40 hours of solo airtime at various sites in the US, including Colorado, Utah, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. His personal altitude record is over 10,000ft above the ground. Matt became a USHPA certified and insured instructor in 2012 (USHPA #90246) and has spent countless hours working with a variety of students since then. Matt and Learn2Glide eagerly await giving you the opportunity of a lifetime and look forward to getting you in the air soon!

AndRand - 2014/10/22 17:40:35 UTC
Poland

Agree with that - even skimming over corn can end not pleasant, when leaving that field can create different ground effect under each wing.

Mike Bastan - 2014/10/22 18:01:46 UTC

I noticed that too. At my site 40 hours is nowhere near an H4.

Name some sites at which it is.

How do you become an instructor?

With a Hang Three.

Walt Conklin - 2014/10/22 18:59:53 UTC

Oh my!

Lions and tigers and bears.

Well, the first rule of our sport is to Fly the glider. Everything else is secondary.

- If only Zack Marzec had known that.

- Except, of course, during the landing sequence...

http://www.rmhpa.org/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5545
"Jedi" Joe Julik - Gone But Never Forgotten

Tiffany Smith - 2014/09/30 14:28 UTC

Sunday night he made a deal to purchase a Topless glider.....he was landing his first flight on it Monday morning when he stalled after transition and couldn't recover....landed hard.

Then the first rule is to forget everything else and make sure you can stop the glider on your feet.

At least the student, somewhat, kept his cool, or it would have turned out worse than it did.

Excellent performance by both student and instructor! Hang gliding just doesn't get much better than that!

Dave Jacob - 2014/10/22 19:09:57 UTC
Fremont

I've only static towed once and have never seen newbies do it.

This isn't static towing. This is stationary winch towing.

Is it normal to drag them as much as you see on the learn2glide videos on youtube? I have to say, he either has the softest grass in the world our his students have some real thick skin on their knees.

Ociredef - 2014/10/22 19:16:29 UTC
San Francisco Bay Area

I thought you needed H4 to become an instructor?

No.

Isn't the H4 requirement 75 hours?

Yes.

How can he be a USHPA instructor with only 40 hours of air time?

Does ANYBODY ever bother to read the USHGA SOPs?

More to the point, every instructor I've ever asked about their air time has said something like "I don't know, I stopped counting at about 1000 hours..."

- That's 'cause you're in California.
- So - given our perpetual state of affairs - maybe having gazillions of hours doesn't necessarily translate all that well to great instruction?

Dave Jacob - 2014/10/22 19:32:12 UTC

From SOP 12-05.05 D.1

Basic Instructors must have an Intermediate rating or above (level 3-5). Advanced, Mini Wing, and Tandem Instructors must have an Advanced rating or above (level 4-5).

My wife earned her Hang 1 from Andy Torrington in '95 at Marina when he was just a H3. I had been concerned at first when I heard he only had an intermediate rating but found he was exceptional as an instructor even then.

How much airtime and what experiences do you think somebody needs to teach and sign off Hang One/Two bullshit?

Mike Bastan - 2014/10/22 19:51:05 UTC

Irrespective of the rules, 40 hours just doesn't seem right.

- You're certainly not thinking about calling for tighter REGULATION are you?

- So can I put you down as not being all that fucking impressed...

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/07/22 20:16:36 UTC

And as for your cracks about me being a tug pilot (and somehow less qualified to comment on hg stuff)... HAHAHA I'm a freakin hg instructor. I towed more yesterday than you've towed all year. I use this crap on a daily basis. If anyone here's less qualified to comment... It's YOU.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=17404
Aerotow barrel release - straight or curved pin?

Jim Rooney - 2010/05/31 01:53:13 UTC

BTW, Steve Wendt is exceptionally knowledgeable. Hell, he's the one that signed off my instructor rating.

...with some asshole bellowing all over the cybersphere about his goddam Basic Instructor ticket?

wonderwind_flyer - 2014/10/22 20:52:37 UTC
NW Michigan

I'll have to dive into the USHPA website to learn the requirement differences to become a 'basic instructor' as compared to an 'advanced instructor'...

While you're there give the aerotowing SOPs a skim and tell me just how well you think they're being complied with.

... but ... is it common for a 'basic instructor' to have students flying at such high altitudes (as shown in the video)?

- Where do students tend to get the most fucked up? High or low altitudes?

- How much altitude do you need to start off with...








...to get your fuckin' neck broken?

If I were a student in the 'fly no higher than you care to fall' stage of my lessons, then having a 'basic instructor' would be OK. But for the altitudes I see in the video I would certainly want a more qualified and more experienced instructor.

How much does one need in the way of qualifications and experience to:
- pull someone up on a:
-- weak link that doesn't disintegrate under normal tow tension
-- towline that doesn't disintegrate before the weak link does
- not dump tension on a glider that's standing on its tail
- instruct someone on a spot landing in which a fuckin' seventeen hundred foot general aviation airstrip is the spot

I also question opening a hang gliding instruction business just eight months after receiving an H3 Intermediate rating.

- Take it up with USHGA.
- How much training do you think:
-- fighter pilots were getting before going into action in World War Two?
-- instructors hired by ride factories like Kitty Hawk Kites are getting?

Jack Barth - 2014/10/22 22:32:32 UTC

I think the winch operator deserves a big kudo.

Are you people actually that stupid or are you just pretending to be so's Jack doesn't ban you?

Quite apparent he aborted the tow by cutting away the student.

Yeah, I've rarely seen an abortion quite that effective before.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31979
To toss silk....Or not???

raquo - 2014/10/23 00:58:57 UTC

My instructors preferred to keep absolute beginners below 30' AGL...

AGL? Really?

...for a while - screw-ups are less dramatic...

Whose?

...and dropping tension quickly ends the flight.

No...

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/08/01

Whatever's going on back there, I can fix it by giving you the rope.

It's more of this crappy argument that being on tow is somehow safer than being off tow.

...shit.

Once the students can keep their glider flying straight and have proper pitch control, they're pulled up higher.

Might the students be able to exercise better pitch control...

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...if they were taught/allowed to fly from the fuckin' basetube?

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I've learned by towing on grassy fields. Can confirm, grass + big wheels = surprisingly soft screw-ups.

Best way is to learn by towing in narrow dry riverbed with large rocks strewn all over the place and no wheels. Helps you to take your landings seriously and gets you better prepared for the kinds of environments in which you'll actually be coming down the majority of the time.

Dave Jacob - 2014/10/23 01:16:56 UTC

From what I've read, basic instructors can take their students up to their H2 rating. Height limitations are only mentioned for H1's (at 100'AGL) and are recommendations only. Some flying sites will tighten the restrictions and give the perception that their specific rules are universal.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052
Poll on weaklinks

Jim Rooney - 2013/03/04 19:31:36 UTC

We all play by the same rules, or we don't play.
The law of the land at comps was 130lb greenspot or you don't tow. Seriously. It was announced before the comp that this would be the policy. Some guys went and made their case to the safety committee and were shut down. So yeah, sorry... suck it up.

Jim Steel - 2014/10/23 01:23:09 UTC

On the first tow, the rear (backup) hang strap appears shorter(?) Perhaps the pilot or person in charge wanted to hang lower so swapped straps and dispensed with the too-short backup. Subsequent footage show what looks like a backup that is extended. Maybe. Looks weird.

Why are we wasting bandwidth talking about this moronic backup loop crap?

U2Driver - 2014/10/23 02:31:21 UTC
Skowhegan, Maine

Why are they not running a 2 point(hewit Style bridle) to keep that high nose angle (AOA) in check??

- It's spelled HEWETT. THE h in Hewett is capitalized, the s in style ISN'T.

- Hewett "STYLE" bridles have a two to one pilot to glider tension distribution. Nobody uses them and the ones that do are total morons.

- Nose angle and AOA are not synonyms. Knowing the nose angle tells you shit about the angle of attack.

- At higher tow angles there's no point whatsoever in using a two point bridle of ANY flavor.

- I hadn't heard that the fuckin' pilot was having a problem with either his nose angle or angle of attack. He was doing fine until his idiot driver made a good decision in the interest of his safety, cut the power, dumped him into a stall, and wrapped him up with the recovery chute.

- Any chance we can consider having him fly on the fuckin' basetube - the way gliders are designed to be flown and the only way they can be safely flown?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31979
To toss silk....Or not???

Takeo77 - 2014/10/23 03:08:06 UTC
Silicon Valley

He does let the nose pop a lot when the tow pressure hits...

- Tension/Pressure... Synonyms. Just like:
-- hang check / hook-in check
-- just prior to launch / half an hour ago
-- pitch attitude / angle of attack
-- weak link / release
-- whipstall / inconvenience / increase in the safety of the towing operation
-- 130 pound Greenspot / 1.0 Gs
-- 54 percent / slightly stronger
-- tug driver / glider pilot in command
-- thermal / dust devil
-- Bobby Bailey / fucking genius
-- LZ / narrow dry riverbed with large rocks strewn all over the place

- Maybe he wouldn't let the nose pop so much when the pressure hits...

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...if he weren't using a cheap heap of crap masquerading as a bridle/release system.

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http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3892/14397297804_0c94f100f1_o.png

I had that same problem too, took a lot of work to beat that problem. I towed from Hang-1 all the way through Hang-3, so it's not a bad way to go...

Mission Soaring Center, right?

...but have to be prepared to release if things go wrong.

Yeah, like if you get blasted up by a thermal or pitch up in response to a driver flooring it on you... Anything that causes any kind of problem...

Towing Aloft - 1998/01

"It is infinitely better to have a weak link break too soon rather than too late."
-- Towing Proverb

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bRrpHNa68iY/UQ6Pv9gRZyI/AAAAAAAAjTg/Hc22bx5122Q/s2048/20943781_BG1.jpg


But, hell, even if you aren't, you've got a weak link, Birrenator, and...

Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974

"A bad flyer won't hurt a pin man but a bad pin man can kill a flyer." - Bill Bennett
"The greatest dangers are a rope break or a premature release." - Richard Johnson

...bad pin man to help maximize your chances of a rope break or...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7462005802_bbc0ac66ac_o.jpg


...premature release.

One thing we had that these guys don't use is a safety line from the nose of the glider to the release that would auto-release the tow if the nose gets too high or too far to the left or right.

Yeah, Birrenator. Pat Denevan. Toldyaso. (And I actually wasn't read ahead before writing.)

The AOA on tow doesn't look bad, Maybe a little high but the tow cable is pulling pretty darned hard.

And at what point do his problems begin?

He handled it well considering he had that chute apply drag on his right side. We've all had those scary moments.

Especially those of us who have total fucking douchebags on the other ends of our strings and selling us equipment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWWZbbP-33I

18-1421
http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8325/29834178065_9bdc969243_o.png

SiliconValleySky - 2014/10/22

Had to release the tow line because I was slow reacting to a side gust and got turned sideways. Released the tow line and landed safely.

I thought you had a safety line from the nose of the glider to the release that would autorelease the tow if the nose got too high or too far to the left or right. How come it didn't work? You don't think you were turned far enough to get really fucked up had the situation been a bit nastier by the time you'd made the easy reach to your state of the art release lanyard and given it the couple tugs you needed to blow tow?

And I really like the way you signaled your driver that you were hooked in and ready to go with a couple foot stomps.

MrCubcrazy - 2014/10/23

That could have escalated to a bad situation. Nicely done

Yeah, nicely done. Sometimes it's not that easy to make the easy reach to your lanyard with one hand while you're flying upright with the other hand a third of the way up the downtube at shoulder or ear height where Steve Pearson says he can't control the glider even with two hands in free flight.

SiliconValleySky - 2014/10/23

No kidding, training, training, training!

Or you could fly prone using some decent equipment instead of that tangle of dangerous state of the art crap you've got slapped on your glider so you wouldn't need shitloads of training, training, training and...

25-32016
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5548/14306846174_185f09082e_o.png


http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5530/14120804830_2aabd74d25_o.png
12-22509

...luck, luck, luck.

[Steve Davy]

I think it was a towline failure. The last photo in your 2014/10/22 13:06:41 post shows where the line had broke.
---
(My 2014/10/22 21:06:41 UTC post.)

[<BS>]

It's still visible, going up towards the left. I think you're seeing the end he managed to release.

[Steve Davy]

I think you are right. Good eye, Brian.

[Tad Eareckson]

Goddammit. I'd already started an illustrated response. So I'm gonna give a version of it anyway.
(Open the URLs in new windows for full resolution.)

Leader between chute and tow ring / one point bridle with bent pin wonder release at port hip:

51-115706
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3944/15602026375_100381fd06_o.png


Leader is routed from chute apex, outboard of starboard downtube, over and under inboard end of starboard sidewire, and back to tow bridle:

57-120010
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3955/15415918018_1571eda9d7_o.png


Chute has streamed off inboard of the downtube, Corey's blowing his release and freeing his end of the leader:

62-120509
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3949/15416430090_e20a6b7a2f_o.png


Here you can clearly see the starboard sidewire, the lightly tensioned towline going back to the winch and bent across the front of the bottom of the downtube to the junction of the shroud lines, and the leader coming back from the chute, inboard to outboard across the front of the downtube, and trailing straight downstream to the tow loop (below the logo). I think the section of the leader over the airstrip is mostly invisible 'cause it's being shadowed by the wing.

65-120617
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3948/15415396259_ac2a9ec139_o.png


Can't find the bridle. At 12:06 it looks like he's bunching it up. Got no clue after that.

No question whatsoever. This guy had a good decision made in the interest of his safety.

[<BS>]

If Tad hadn't pointed it out I'd most likely never have noticed.