landing

[Steve Davy]

That looked like an attempted suicide to me. Anyway, I say that the locked carabiner was not the problem there, flying the glider into the Pacific Ocean is what damn near got her dead.

PS - Look at all that lovely beach.

PPS - That's not a topless glider. Transverse batten gives it away as a Sport 2 or similar and you can see the rear top wire above the keel.

[Tad Eareckson]

No, the locked carabiner wasn't THE problem. But it sure was A problem that could easily have spelled the difference between life and death. They're so stupid in the first place and with surf in easy range...

Didn't know about the transverse batten and missed / didn't think to look for the wire. Thought I was OK with seeing nothing on the shadow at the angles we have.

On afternoon of 1982/11/04 I made two flights on my Comet 165 a bit over a crow flight mile from home on the 35 foot SE bluff SW of Tolley Point on the Bay SE of Annapolis.

First one I got 1:45 hours before losing it and having to land in shallow water at the break in the bluff to the SW. (Wish I'd declared victory and packed up at that point.)

Second the wind was stronger and crossing more from the south. After fifteen minutes I made a less than stellar turn at the end of a NE run and found myself at bluff level unable to maintain. Had to turn out and put it down in belly/chest deep swells. If it had been much deeper I likely wouldn't be around now writing about it. And it was far from a happy memory as things turned out. (I got away unscathed, the glider not so much.)

And to see that absolute squandering of all the options available at a site like Funston that's been so heavily trafficked since the beginning of time... Guess they're too busy teaching hang checks and the dangers of sharp rocks and work hardening with respect to stomp tests.

[Steve Davy]

She didn't squander the Pacific Ocean "landing" option, that's for sure. I suspect that there was an old Frisbee (which is classic) floating in the surf and that she was aiming for it.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3275
OPs arm

Orion Price - 2012/05/20 17:58:25 UTC

Great flight from McGee. 12k for some time. Cored a thermal with a gigantic eagle. 1:20 or so flight. Went down wind away from the lift once everyone else was on the ground and packed up.

nice big field where one of the PGs landed first. popped up during hand transition. Came down fast across the ground. a few steps, glider came over faster than i could run. small wheels dug into the ground.

No ligament or joint injury. Just a clean down tube through the ol humerus routine. Bound grinding against bone before immobilization was painful.

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3222
OP's XC bad landings (stuck zipper, wind gradient)

Orion Price - 2012/04/26 21:24:07 UTC

Once I considered a belly landing, the panic left as suddenly as it came. With a clear head I thought out a good approach and had a smooth easy belly landing.

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3398
A broken humerus, guess the cost.

Orion Price - 2012/07/16 06:39:18 UTC

It was almost 70k. 68 and change. Just for the surgery.

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5475
Sad News of OP's passing

Joe Greblo - 2016/12/18 02:38:03 UTC

We've only just learned that Orion Price passed away in October of medical complications. He was found by his landlord in his apartment.

Medical complications. Code for opioid drug overdose. So far, so good? When ya hear hoofbeats... Like...

08-19
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5277/30076449505_1f6ed2f804_o.png


http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49837
Jim Rooney tandem paraglider incident in New Zealand

Jim Rooney - 2016/10/01 05:55:48 UTC

Up from surgery... Plates on L2 while it heals, will come out after. Feeling good.
I won't comment on my crash just yet. Maybe after the CAA investigation.

Just posting here too let people know that I'm doing well.

...paraglider collapse. Probably not the midair with the UFO this little motherfucker would so want it to have been to have gotten him off totally the hook. (Like he was literally - through absolutely no fault of his own - on 2006/02/21 before getting choppered off of Coronet Peak the previous time.)

And how did we get started on the opioid drug addiction problem?



That's my call. The pieces fit together nicely and I one hundred percent guarantee you that no Grebloville motherfucker is gonna tell me I'm totally full o' shit and set me straight with the REAL story. So let's rack it up as another (ultimately) fatal in the failed stunt landing category.

Gil Dodgen - 1995/01

All of this reminds me of a comment Mike Meier made when he was learning to fly sailplanes. He mentioned how easy it was to land a sailplane (with spoilers for glide-path control and wheels), and then said, "If other aircraft were as difficult to land as hang gliders no one would fly them."

http://www.willswing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1000x667_easy_flyer_news_6.jpg

Paul Tjaden - 2004/04/26 17:01:06 UTC

Everything seemed quite normal until just before I started my round out. At that time I felt a sudden acceleration and drop and my groundspeed increased dramatically. Can't be certain, but I think it may have been the rush of air going outward from the sink usually found on the outer edge of thermals. At any rate, I suddenly found myself in a strong downwind situation. Never really had time to flare, just found myself being pounded in to the ground at fairly high speed. The soil was too soft and sandy for my wheels to roll and I whacked hard. The glider never went over on top and I didn't break or bend any aluminum so it must have not been that extreme but apparently I was thrown through the control frame violently enough to cause a spiral fracture of my left humerous.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3695
good day until the wreck

Lauren Tjaden - 2008/12/31 04:29:12 UTC

very light conditions at quest. me, paul, dustin, carl and jamie were going to fly out and back but not high enough so we flew around the patch. i worked small lift using carl's tips...he is english where conditions are weak, and is 2nd in world.

came in with no wind after an hour and had right wing drop. instead of wrestling gilder straight i tried to flare while desperately trying to straighten.

bad bad whack. horrible pain, i could not move. screaming with pain, literally. took a very long time to get me out and to the hospital. got very good drugs.

turned out to be badly dislocated shoulder. they had to knock me out to put it back in but it was so bad i kept waking up and screaming. finally they got it done but then they had a hard time waking me back up. drugs were so wierd by the end i could not leave for hours, i'd just start bawling for no reason.

Not sustainable.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5928
XC landings

Greg Angsten - 2018/09/07 17:10:10 UTC

OK, I'll 'fess up. After a glorious flight along the Sierras (as usual), I worked my way down the valley for awhile on light lift before deciding on this nice looking field I'd driven by and admired for years. Yes, it was green and being watered but it didn't look like any real crop was growing there and it seemed flat and the plants low. I saw the rolling watering contraption at the end but decided I had plenty of room to land so I cranked around the near end and went on final. I realized then I was a little high and landing in no wind at all and that I was going to be a little long. Focused totally on the approaching wheeled watering line, I went as far as I could and hit a hard flair. Not quite hard enough to stop me though as I was more focused on the pipe than on where my hands were. I popped up of course and then came down hard still with some forward motion and pounded hard. I ended up a few feet from the pipe alright, but twisted my left arm and elbow going through the frame, ending my flying for the weekend.

Making matters worse, I got up utterly covered in these needle-pronged burrs from head to foot.

My take-away? Don't break your routine of picking your target exactly and setting up an approach accordingly, even if you think you don't need to because maybe you do, and it will help your landing anyway.

...and also, avoid green fields unless you've walked on them.

OK, I'll 'fess up. After a glorious flight along the Sierras (as usual)...

And (as usual) please don't bother giving us a date on this incident.

...I worked my way down the valley for awhile on light lift before deciding on this nice looking field I'd driven by and admired for years.

1. A nice looking FIELD!? Not a nice looking narrow dry riverbed with large rocks strewn all over the place in which you could further hone your spot landing skills?

2. And (as usual) please don't bother giving us the location of this incident.

Yes, it was green and being watered but it didn't look like any real crop was growing there and it seemed flat and the plants low.

Care to give us the available runway length? Just kidding.

I saw the rolling watering contraption...

Center-pivot irrigation water-wheel.

...at the end but decided I had plenty of room to land...

Really, dickhead? I always assume that I'm landing in a postage stamp to stay up to speed on my RLF techniques.

...so I cranked around the near end...

1. Yeah. NEAR the end. That should be close enough.
2. And of course you were as low as possible while carrying plenty of maneuvering speed.

...and went on final.

Good job. Plenty of clearance over the fence at the downwind end.

I realized then I was a little high...

Good time to realize you were a LITTLE high...

...and landing in no wind at all...

...and landing in no wind at all. (And excellent job at clearing that downwind end fence at a really safe altitude.)

...and that I was going to be a little long.

So I pulled in:
- and cranked a hard turn out to the left and came back in line...
- dove to the surface, porpoised back up to a safe glide path...
...with the excess altitude killed and landed uneventfully with plenty of runway left in front of me.

Focused...

...totally...

Totally.

...on the approaching wheeled watering line, I went as far as I could...

And here I was thinking that the situation called for doing the precise opposite.

...and hit a hard flair.

Which you executed just as well as you can spell it.

Not quite hard enough to stop me though...

Back to the training hill to get that flare timing perfected.

...as I was more focused...

...on the pipe than on where my hands were.

On your downpipes at...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27086
Steve Pearson on landings

Steve Pearson - 2012/03/28 23:26:05 UTC

I can't control the glider in strong air with my hands at shoulder or ear height and I'd rather land on my belly with my hands on the basetube than get turned downwind.

...shoulder or ear height where you can't control your glider in dead air at the end of a mile long, flat, wide open runway.

I popped up of course and then came down hard still with some forward motion...

OK, no big deal. So you then rolled to a safe stop on your eight inch pneumatic Finsterwalders.

...and pounded hard.

Oh. No wheels.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=29884
Hat Creek Power Whack

Mike Bilyk - 2013/09/07 17:07:26 UTC

Wheel landings are for girls!

Wheel landings are for girls.

I ended up a few feet from the pipe alright...

Not the one that mattered.

...but twisted my left arm and elbow going through the frame, ending my flying for the weekend.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=22176
Paragliding Collapses

Jim Rooney - 2011/06/12 13:57:58 UTC

Most common HG injury... spiral fracture of the humerus.

Making matters worse, I got up utterly covered in these needle-pronged burrs from head to foot.

This is a big reason you need to execute foot landings on XC flights. If you roll in on the wheels you can get utterly covered in those needle-pronged burrs from head to foot.

My take-away?

Yeah, let's have it. Some of us may not yet be totally saturated in your astronomical cluelessness.

Don't break your routine of picking your target exactly and setting up an approach accordingly, even if you think you don't need to because maybe you do, and it will help your landing anyway.

Yep.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=21088
What you wish you'd known then?

Doug Doerfler - 2011/03/02 05:24:44 UTC

Nothing creates carnage like declaring a spot landing contest.

When you don't have the advantage of an actual old Frisbee in the middle of an LZ imagine a small patch of grass or bare soil as one and nail it no matter what.

...and also, avoid green fields unless you've walked on them.

In other words... Don't ever fly XC any significant distance. (Really makes ya wonder how sailplanes are ever able to do anything.)

Keep up the great work, Grebloville focused total moron.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5928
XC landings

Marshall Robin - 2018/09/07 18:09:16 UTC

I will add my story here, that Ken alluded to in the Owens post in the events section.

OK...

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5916
Labor Day WE in the Owens

We now have dates and rough locations for these two incidents - 2018/09/01 and "near Aberdeen" for Greg and 2018/09/02 and see below for Marshall.

I was setting up a landing north of BIGEARS (Owens Valley Radio Observatory) next to the Owens River.

Try not to hit the river. You're in the middle of a huge man-made desert ferchrisake so, given all the fucking spot landing practice you've had over the years, this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I planned a left handed aircraft approach onto a section of dirt road that was straight, clear of high bushes and power lines, and mostly into the prevailing wind. It was 3:30 PM so the air had settled down a bit from when I tried to land 90 minutes previous and decided better of it.

Staging in was a little bumpy but nothing unusual. I hit a bit of lift on early final and powered through it to the ground... as I got close to the ground I eased off my speed a bit...

Good thinking. Keeps you from flying into the ground too fast.

...which ended up being a mistake as I was hit with a bump under my right wing, which turned me toward the river despite my efforts to correct for it.

Your efforts while in standard Grebloville approach and landing mode...

27-080213
http://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4432/37169460236_c3fae2b7e8_o.png


...right, Marshall? (At Joe's XC clinics he teaches his products to rotate up into safe approach and landing mode within fifteen seconds of turning off their oxygen.)

I tried to flare to dump some forward momentum in the hopes that I could avoid landing in the water, but it was not enough and I landed just past the bank in a (fortunately) still part of the river, up to my waist in water.

There's no question whatsoever that this motherfucker was upright AT LEAST from the point he turned onto final.

I unhooked and bushwacked up onto dry ground.

No! The Aussie Method dictates that you never enter or exit your harness unless it's connected to a glider. You just set yourself up for near certain unhooked launch death. Right...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=13359
Today was a bad day!

Mike Bomstad - 2009/08/26 04:21:15 UTC

The harness is part of the aircraft... end of story.
(Just because it's easy to remove, does not mean it should be. Dont choose the path of least resistance)

Attach it to the wing, completing the aircraft.... then preflight the completed aircraft.
Buckle yourself into the cockpit and then your ready.

...dickhead?

I dumped harness, helmet, etc, and went back to see about the glider. It had flipped onto its top, and floated to the middle of the river. I tried to pull it to shore but when I got the kingpost free of the bottom the river carried it away from me until it got stuck again... I waded out to try again with a similar result, and the velocity of the river was stronger here so it was more difficult. Realizing at this point that it was probably a lost cause, I went out to at least recover my vario from the downtube, but I couldn't get to it due to the current, and my efforts to bring it closer to me resulted in it getting freed again, drifting down the river, and folding up in the current. I climbed out and headed down the shore to the next opening in the brush. At this point the glider was nowhere to be seen.

As I see it, here are the risk factors that led to the incident:

1) Choosing a landing location with poor worst-case outcomes

The runway I chose was very good, however if things don't go as planned I was facing a landing in a potentially swift river. Better to choose a less satisfactory runway with minimal bad outcomes if I get turned on final.

If you get turned on final you can get killed no matter where the fuck you are. Ask Ljubomir Tomaskovic if you don't wanna take my word for it.

2) Insufficient speed on final

If I had maintained my speed, I probably could have corrected for the turn. As it was, the bump probably stalled me resulting in my loss of control.

You...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27086
Steve Pearson on landings

Steve Pearson - 2012/03/28 23:26:05 UTC

I can't control the glider in strong air with my hands at shoulder or ear height and I'd rather land on my belly with my hands on the basetube than get turned downwind.

...never had any control to begin with.

3) Pilot inexperience in the Owens

Bull fucking shit. Total incompetent instruction. The Owens had fuckin' ZILCH to do with anything.

It was my second flight there, and my first weekend, so I think that may be contributory. Conditions along the Sierras themselves were not outside my experience, but they would count among the strongest of days I've experienced at Kagel. And I've certainly never been turned on final like that at Kagel.

I've never been turned like that on any landing approach anywhere 'cause I'm always in...

08-1109
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...FLYING configuration when I come in.

4) Unfamiliar equipment

Yeah. A hang glider. Something you never were taught or learned to fly.

I was flying Ken Andrews' U2 145, which I had mistakenly thought was similar enough to my 160 that it wouldn't make much difference, however it flew sufficiently differently that I feel the need to mention it. I do believe that it was a very small factor in the incident, since I'd pretty much gotten used to its handling characteristics in the 3 hours previous. But for the sake of completeness I'm mentioning it.

And for the sake of completeness I'm mentioning:

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=25536
Whoops! Snapped another tip wand :-O

NMERider - 2012/03/14 15:17:14 UTC

I refuse to come in with both hands on the downtubes ever again. I have had some very powerful thermals and gusts kick off and lost control of the glider due to hands on the downtubes. I prefer both hands on the control bar all the way until trim and ground effect. I have been lifted right off the deck in the desert and carried over 150 yards.

It doesn't matter who you are or what you're flying. When you drastically decertify your aircraft by going into idiot stunt landing mode it's gonna fly like a drastically decertified aircraft.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5928
XC landings

Steve Murillo - 2018/09/07 18:18:00 UTC

If I could add my two cents here Greg. To be fair, landing in the heat of the day at 4,000 ft in no wind would be challenging for most pilots.

And even more challenging for the Grebloville douchebag passengers dangling under gliders upright with their hands on the control tubes at shoulder or ear height.

The field was wet and the crop made running it out difficult.

And it would've been totally insane to consider bellying in prone in that stuff - which is how he ended up anyway 'cept worse and with an elbow injury which blew him out of further flying for the holiday weekend.

You and the glider walked away relatively unscathed, and so we are thankful for that.

Aren't we though. So now we can more easily continue along ignoring the fundamental problem with all our heads stuck way the hell up all our asses.

The take away for me is that when landing in the Owens, try not to go for green grass fields.

Go for the narrow dry riverbeds with large rocks strewn all over the place which is what we spend 99.9 percent of our student time training to do safely.

I heard a story about Powerline Mike doing the same thing and ending up knee deep in a swamp! Grass fields tend to be deceptive. Instead, look for relatively flat, dead grass plots of land. Of course, if given the choice between a field strewn with boulders or a grass laden field, I'd probably take the grass, depending on how lucky I was feeling that day.

I'd DEFINITELY go for the boulders. Landing in grass laden fields is for girls.

You did fine.

By Grebloville standards he did astonishingly well.

David Van Noppen - 2018/09/08 00:16:16 UTC
Laguna Hills

Robin. First off Congratulations on two great days of flying.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln...

Second. Did you ever recover the glider.

Yeah Dave...

Marshall Robin - 2018/09/07 18:09:16 UTC

Realizing at this point that it was probably a lost cause, I went out to at least recover my vario from the downtube, but I couldn't get to it due to the current, and my efforts to bring it closer to me resulted in it getting freed again, drifting down the river, and folding up in the current. I climbed out and headed down the shore to the next opening in the brush. At this point the glider was nowhere to be seen.

He recovered the glider just fine. Rinsed it off, dried it out, good to go.

Third you are lucky to be alive.

All you fuckin' Grebloville assholes are lucky to be alive - and the rest of us are suffering for it.

Imagine if that had not been a calm section you touched down in. My first and only flight from Walt's was landing at the Independence Airport. I'm pretty certain I'm goitnext weekend and hope I learn some lessons from you and Greg's landings.

And here I was thinking that we had a Pilot Proficiency System to qualify and rate people for this stuff.

What you chose to do seems like a very reasonable decision yet as demonstrated there were lessons to learn.

Yeah, who could've seen any of that shit coming.

Brown over green, fast approach, and no fast moving stream near by. Oh yeah Luck

Go for luck. No telling what might happened if you embarked on the competence path at this point.

Marshall Robin - 2018/09/08 00:39:08 UTC

Second. Did you ever recover the glider.

Nope.

Third you are lucky to be alive. Imagine if that had not been a calm section you touched down in.

Yup. If I had made it to even the other side of that loop, it would have been a lot more dramatic.

My first and only flight from Walt's was landing at the Independence Airport. I'm pretty certain I'm goitnext weekend and hope I learn some lessons from you and Greg's landings. What you chose to do seems like a very reasonable decision yet as demonstrated there were lessons to learn. Brown over green, fast approach, and no fast moving stream near by. Oh yeah Luck

Good luck! I think I've had enough of the Owens for this year so I'm going to skip this next trip

George Stebbins - 2018/09/08 15:57:35 UTC

I'm glad you both are ok.

Get fucked, George. You're a major component of these Grebloville issues.

RE: green vs brown. When given a choice, I prefer greenish brown. Usually, that's what pasture looks like. Pasture won't have pipes and equipment as the owners are protecting their cash cows. Greener means less turbulence/lift. Browner means less chance of swam, high crops, etc. Looking straight down at the field often lets you see through the plants to gauge if they are crops or just pasture. Just my two cents. I'll usually land in the scattered brush over a fully operating crop. But a pasture over either.

Upright versus prone. Upright fer sure - 'cause we can't run very fast or well on our faces.

Just FYI, I was planning on going to the Owens on the weekend of the 21st, but I broke my toe in a pantry accident at home. Really! (That's pantry, not panty...)

So no flying for me for 4-6 weeks.

I was really looking forward to testing the XC potential of my Sport 2 in the Owens. I've flown all kinds of gliders there, but never that one.

And always use an appropriate weak link with a finished length of 1.5 inches or less.

Katherine Yardley - 2018/09/10 17:52:30 UTC

Since I know you are OK, I laughed out loud at your retelling of the incident. You have my sympathy at loss of your gear. Most pilots have to wait for film to see their glider destroyed with them in it. You got to actually observe the Owens River roll your glider into a ball. Oh wait, that wasn't even YOUR glider - it was Ken's. Now I'm laughing again!

Here's to the mistakes we live to regret. I owe you a big hug.

Thousands of dollars of beautiful high performance glider turned to toxic waste in the Owens River! And somebody else's! Plus an instrument deck!

Suck my dick.

Dan DeWeese - 2018/09/10 20:32:49 UTC

tie some hackle on the keel . she'll float higher?

Guess so - if we could figure out what the fuck you're talking about.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot3NGc3yOmc
Hang Gliding 2018 09 16 Robin Mag Rim.
Bill Cummings - 2018/09/16

Hadley Robinson (Nelson's Wings)

Looks like it might have been good for PG! HG landings always terrify me, good job.

So... What's so terrifying about...

23-10629
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28-11505
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34-12413
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36-12714
http://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4290/35357510462_7bcf60c93e_o.png


...hang glider landings?

[Tad Eareckson]

NMERider - 2018/09/23 16:47:24 UTC

I've been working on this project ever since I injured my neck needlessly in Jan 2014.
Here are my tests in order:
2018.08.09 UHMW-PE Landing Skid Test
2018.08.15 Skid tests
2018.09.22 Skid Tests

The last version is the easiest to make and performs the best by far.
I have been getting a fair amount of interest from other middle-aged pilots especially those who have been bitten by wheels on gusty ramps, landing sideways or sinking in on soft terrain.
ThIs skid is like have a bicycle size wheel in terms of load distribution and contact area.
Next step is to see if I can get a few sets make on a CNC router and pump these out affordably and get other pilots to try them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4qygL7asbI
2018.08.09 UHMW-PE Landing Skid Test

Soar SoCal - 2018/08/09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4qygL7asbI


Actually, I partially landed on the harness apron. Need to make my next skids taller.

Actually... Harnesses need to be made/modified to be skiddable. That goes for those working on perfecting their flare timing as much as or more than those staying prone and deliberately rolling or sliding in.

Max Kotchouro

So what's the advantages over, let's say, whoosh wheels?

So what are the advantages of a Standard Aerotow Weak Link...

06-0715
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2937/14111448624_e359af6cce_o.png


http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2912/14087919176_b0e091ea6f_o.png
10-1018

...over, let's say, a Tad-O-Link? 'Specially right after it succeeds in increasing the safety of the towing operation?

Soar SoCal

It's typical to come in sideways and Whoosh Wheels are likely to break then cause the control frame to dig in which leading to a broken downtube and possibly broken arm.

If you just come in prone, still flying the glider rather than attempting to perfect your flare timing your chances of breaking an arm drop to near zilch.

Properly designed skids won't break unless it's a violent landing. They will also slide sideways. Wheels can cause an accident on a windy setup area with the glider's nose tied down and will make launching on a gusty ramp dangerous.

That's why God invented launch crews.

Good skids won't do either of those things. Wheels tend to be narrow and 6-1/4" or 8" dia and easily sink in to soft ground or get caught on surface texture. These skids are 1-1/4" wide and are equal to a very large diameter wheel. That's a huge increase in load distribution and resistance to sinking in. There are so many more advantages to properly engineered UHMW-PE skids over wheels I can't list them all. I still own many sets of wheels and have landed on them but overall, a properly engineered UHMW-PE skid is superior. Now I need someone to produce these commercially for different control bars.

Get someone to produce the same skids with different adapter inserts for different CONTROL bars.

I only build prototypes for my own and maybe one other pilot's use.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj2SgSc0RAE
2018.08.15 Skid tests

Soar SoCal - 2018/08/15

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj2SgSc0RAE

bertold12345

Arms is death?

Depends on how you use them with respect to hands placement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmx7gZb8Ncc
2018.09.22 Skid Tests

Soar SoCal - 2018/09/23

These attach to the Wills Wing aluminum speedbar wheel brackets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmx7gZb8Ncc

Gawd it's nice to see an aircraft landed as it's supposed and designed to be. It would also be nice to see a skin covering the holes or foam filling them to clean things up with respect to airflow.

The harnesses need to be made skiddable. Near the end of my career it finally dawned on me what a total load of crap foot landing is. But I never got around to getting my harness modified so...

Every one and his fuckin' dog - manufacturers included and especially - knows that one in every four real world landings is gonna terminate in a slide. And likewise everyone knows that the guy who'd been a pilot prior going upright will see the slide/bonk/whack as yet another personal failing. No need to armor the harness to keep it from getting stained, soiled, abraded - the way leading edge tips are. The guy just needs to spend more weekends at the training hill, read Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney's twenty page Davis Show sticky thread, take a landing clinic with Ryan Voight and/or Mitch Shipley. I wonder how many arms have been broken as a consequence of concerns for the protection of thousand dollar harnesses.

Thanks for keeping me posted. Keep up the good work.

[NMERider]

....The harnesses need to be made skiddable. Near the end of my career it finally dawned on me what a total load of crap foot landing is. But I never got around to getting my harness modified so...
....Thanks for keeping me posted. Keep up the good work.

According to some friends, High Energy Sports offers a skiddable harness type option possibly made from motorcycle racing suit fabric designed to lay down on an asphalt track at high speed.
I've landed badly in thick grasses that probably would have defeated a set of skids but could have pulled these off safely by skimming the ground and flaring onto my harness apron with my hands on the control bar and not the downtubes.
I also have custom milled 3" x 1/2" UHMW-PE that can be heat molded and attached to the bottom of a 1-1/4" wide set of skids and should allow slide landings on sand.
When I have time I will build these too and go fly at the beach and try it.
Yes, I need to design a universal skid that bolts to an adapter made to fit any current control bar profile.
I'm hoping to get other with better fabrication capability to take over development and production.
I have what I need already and can make my sets by hand using woodworking tools.
Now that I done it several times, it doesn't take me very long.
BTW - The holes don't make a sound. I'll keep mine wide open just to irritate other pilots and have something to grin about.