http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27073
Hang Gliding Training Manual by Dennis Pagan
Ryan Voight - 2012/09/07 01:57:24 UTC
Dennis gets no love...
Doesn't deserve any love. Deserves a stake through his heart.
It is hard to catalog all of the techniques used in all of the conditions in all of the world...
- Yeah. So just concentrate on the stupidest and shoddiest ten percent.
- If this moronic fucking sport had its shit together hang glider towing wouldn't be based on hundreds of idiot opinions and proven systems with huge track records.
-- Two point releases would all be built into the gliders, resemble VG systems, differ no more than VG systems from one glider to another, and function with the hundred percent reliability of VG systems.
-- Weak links wouldn't have a dozen different functions, be the focal points of a safe towing systems, and be graduated in direct proportion to the normal tow tension of the system and comfort level of the pilot. They'd all be one and a half Gs and there'd be a table to tell you what to use for your glider model.
-- Instead of a Pro Tip reading:
Always thank the tug pilot for intentionally releasing you, even if you feel you could have ridden it out. He should be given a vote of confidence that he made a good decision in the interest of your safety.
there would be Pro Tips reading:
The greatest dangers are a rope break or a premature release.
A bad flyer won't hurt a pin man but a bad pin man can kill a flyer.
Never take your hands off the bar.
-- You would not be able to go to the index and find a listing for "hook knife".
...and then translate that into something new pilots can digest.
Fuck that. New - and old - "pilots" can't digest shit like:
With each flight, demonstrates a method of establishing that the pilot is hooked in just prior to launch.
A weak link must be placed at both ends of the tow line.
A safety link is installed at the point of attachment of the towline to the glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle with a breaking strength not less than 80 percent of the maximum certificated operating weight of the glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle and not greater than twice this operating weight.
A safety link is installed at the point of attachment of the towline to the towing aircraft with a breaking strength greater, but not more than 25 percent greater, than that of the safety link of the towed glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle end of the towline.
This release shall be operational with zero tow line force up to twice the rated breaking strength of the weak link.
The main reason - other than the inherent stupidity of the beast - that glider jockeys can't digest towing theory is 'cause they've been listening to assholes telling them that there's really no advantage to having both hands on the basetube during a low level emergency but, if they really feel they must, they can just roll the glider, push out, blow the standard aerotow weak link (they're called "weak" links for a reason), and fly back to the launch line for a relight.
I don't 100% agree with everything in the Pagen manual...
I wouldn't really expect you too. After all, hang glider towing is all based upon the experiences and opinions of various experts, and one expert's opinion is pretty much as good as another's. And where there are differences people can just agree to disagree.
...but that doesn't mean it's not an outstanding resource for new pilots.
Fuck you, Ryan. Gawd I hope somebody gets a good video of you trying to climb back into your control frame after you've decided that sixty seconds qualifies as just prior to launch or flying back to the launch line after an emergency actuation of your instant hands free release.
2012/09/07 03:54:00 UTC - 3 thumbs up - Christopher LeFay
2012/09/09 06:22:11 UTC - 2 thumbs up - Fred Bickford
2012/09/09 14:03:03 UTC - 3 thumbs up - Allen Sparks
