http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=29209
Just another tree landing.
Dave Hopkins - 2013/06/06 21:32:07 UTC
Totally pilot error...
Name some of these incidents which AREN'T.
...three times he tried to commit suicide and luckly failed. But brain lock is serious paralyzer. I'm sure others have tried to point out the errors of his way.
He knew the errors of his ways well before he was pointed back towards the ridge.
Thanks for posting the video. I can use it as a teaching tool.
Khalesh - 2013/06/06 22:35:29 UTC
Portland, Oregon
I think this is the best thing that could have ever happened to this guy. Now that his U2 is destroyed he will no longer try to kill himself with his poor flying skills.
Fuck you, dude. If we eliminated everyone from the sport who'd ever made a mistake of that caliber there'd be precious few thermal markers around for the two or three perfect people remaining.
2013/06/07 06:23:18 UTC - 3 thumbs up - Christopher LeFay
Says the guy who's still around 'cause somebody notified him that he wasn't connected to his glider. Fuck you, Christopher.
2013/06/07 03:57:39 UTC - Sink This! -- Carm Moreno
Rat own, Carm.
Jesse Yoder - 2013/06/07 01:11:29 UTC
Arlington, Virginia
FYI, the OP is not the pilot in the video. Flaming the pilot here on the org is unnecessary, as local discussion on the incident has been completed.
Would flaming the pilot be OK if the original poster WAS the pilot in the video or local discussion on the incident HADN'T been completed?
Tom Lyon - 2013/06/07 03:52:08 UTC
Michigan
It would be interesting to hear the pilot's thoughts.
Anybody who's ever lost control of a slow glider at any altitude already knows the pilot's thoughts.
I'm guessing that he was completely unaware of his initial errors and then his mind just froze when he got turned back toward the trees.
By the way, I never, ever say "That couldn't happen to me". I always just try to learn from these accidents and be the safest pilot I can be.
I'm glad that the pilot was willing to share this video.
Gets more points than Chris did for having his pulled, doesn't he?
I do find it unfortunate that comments sometimes go from clearly identifying the errors that led to an accident (like an NTSB report) to saying insulting things about the pilot.
Like just happened here.
That undoubtedly prompts some to withhold their stories or videos so that others can learn.
It shouldn't. Assholes like Khalesh and Christopher only do damage to themselves.
2013/06/07 11:23:04 UTC - 3 thumbs up - JohnC
Christopher LeFay - 2013/06/07 07:24:42 UTC
DON'T GO PRONE
Bullshit.
The contribution of airspeed is undeniable. Maybe airspeed was the first mistake from which the accident cascade started;
Maybe?
maybe it was reaching for more glider/conditions/launch site than justified by experience...
Bull fucking shit.
- Tell me how the glider had ANY BEARING on anything.
- Ditto with conditions and launch site.
He knows what mistakes he made and they weren't huge. They just had rather huge consequences in that situation.
The right conditions and unlucky timing could present a sudden turn directly off launch to even a cautious, seasoned pilot. What options would they have? When circumstance or mistake take away your options, you can only do what remains. In this case, perhaps, deciding what position to crash in.
Here, the pilot's launch posture precluded a critical tactic that may have saved the launch- a tactic that has come to my aid time and time again. When radical turning is required, all weight must be displaced as far as possible and held.
What do you think the chances are of him making the mistakes he did AGAIN?
How? By remaining upright until clear of launch and in control...
Yep. Whenever you're near the surface and the issue of speed is most critical you just can't go wrong by being upright.
...we retain the option of shifting both hands to one down tube and hanging all of our weight from it- delivering the most authoritative, sustained turn input possible.
- Get fucked.
- Speaking of roll authority... Did anyone wanna make a comment about his spreader bar being ten inches down from where it's supposed to be? Just kidding.
A sudden turn when prone invariably bells the pilot to the low side- further establishing the turn; they must struggle against gravity just to keep from falling deeper into the turn, and, with little leverage, are in a weak position to do much about it.
Idiot.
Staying upright puts this tool in your tool chest.
Which is a real good thing - especially for assholes who don't feel that verifying their connection two to five seconds prior to commitment is a tool worth having or mentioning.
Staying upright avoids compounding problems with mistakes while transition prone and when most vulnerable- near the ground.
- And if you're not hooked in you might get lucky and...
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=17330
Take your flying--seriously--OR....
Bille Floyd - 2010/05/26 03:27:41 UTC
After hitting the ground i looked down at where my feet should be and knew it was Bad--then i looked back at my Mom and sighed,i wasn't going to be taking care of her any more.
...land on your feet.
- How vulnerable are you when you come out of a launch cart with:
-- no upper bridle attachment to trim your nose down properly?
-- a release actuator somewhere other than on the basetube or in your teeth?
-- a piece of fishing line in the system which at the worst possible time, when the glider is climbing hard in a near stall situation?
-- all of the issues above?
Staying upright until well away from launch positions you to continue running if suddenly dropped back onto the hill.
And we see SO MANY people doing mountain launches and resuming running when they've been dumped back down on the slope.
Habitually staying upright prevents the pilot from masking serious launch deficiencies by jumping into the harness.
- Yeah, he did jump into the harness a wee bit early - but he had plenty of margin and that had it ZERO relevance to the incident.
- If you're staying upright more than one second longer than necessary you're introducing serious launch deficiencies.
Circumstance or error will eventually conspire to hurt us.
Especially flying with a stronglink. You WILL eventually experience a low level lockout and will have deprived yourself of an element of a proven system that works and has an extremely long track record.
When that time comes, have as many options open as technique and judgement allow for.
Except, of course, for the ability to stuff the bar and get the fuck outta there.
Stay upright during launch- and remember that launch doesn't end when your feet leave the ground.
Mine does. I'm in optimal flying mode at the earliest opportunity.
And I'd say Jonathan is too:
Bush Gooning my Sport 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVGEK1GkCwA
Glide L.A. - 2013/05/29
dead
0:16 - Commits - forward motion.
0:18 - Airborne. Mostly prone. Left hand comes down to basetube.
0:20 - Fully prone. Right hand on basetube.
Off the surface to full flying mode: two seconds.
Landing... Full flying mode to standup landing flare: five seconds.
