You are NEVER hooked in.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/father-charged-in-childs-hot-car-death-at-naval-air-station-patuxent-river/2014/09/04/3d3cad5c-3453-11e4-a723-fa3895a25d02_story.html?tid=hpModule_99d5f542-86a2-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z14
Father charged in child's hot-car death at Naval Air Station Patuxent River

Julie Zauzmer - 2014/09/04 17:07 UTC

A St. Mary's County father was charged with involuntary manslaughter Thursday after he left his 17-month-old son in a car from about 8:50 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The child died Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaint, John MacDonald Junek dropped off his older son, a 4-year-old, at preschool Wednesday morning. He was then supposed to take the younger child to the Child Development Center on the base at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

Instead, Junek parked his car and went to his office at the base. The temperature reached 85 degrees outside while the baby was in the locked car with the windows rolled up, an investigator said.

According to the criminal complaint, Junek told investigators that he drove to a meeting about 1 p.m. and drove back to his office about 2 p.m. without noticing that his son was still in the car.

At 3:20 p.m., his wife called to ask if he had their son's car seat. Only then did he realize he might never have taken the child to the day-care center. He went back to the car, where he found the child unresponsive. He tried to perform CPR and called for help.

Junek, 40, of Leonardtown, Md., has been in custody since Wednesday. His attorney Robert Bonsib said that Junek and his wife have legally owned firearms in their home, which must be removed before Junek can be released. He said that Junek will likely return home Friday.

"It is very difficult when you have to deal not only with the death of a loved child and grandchild but also with the legal system," Bonsib said. "We're very pleased that he's going to be released."

Prosecutors said in a news release that the charge of involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison. Bonsib said he hoped the case would be resolved without a criminal penalty.

"There's nothing in his background that would suggest that he's anything other than a loving father," Bonsib said. "It was a tragic accident."

'Bout twenty-one and a half miles southeast of where I had my first AT flight - Robinson Private Airport, 1986/08/01.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

Fletcher - 2014/09/03 01:02:50 UTC

Lucky to be alive
Be careful people
When you least expect it Darwin kicks you in the a$$

Very helpful advice, Fletcher. You may have just saved scores of lives.

Mike Bomstad - 2014/09/03 01:46:19 UTC

A good reminder, thanks for sharing, it may help others

Great wake-up call, BOUND to help others! Did wonders for me. There's no such thing as having too many videos of hook-in check skippers slamming in.

NMERider - 2014/09/03 02:30:54 UTC

Yes it certainly is our #1 enemy. After downloading and watching this a few times it appears to me that Howie was in control of the glider just after launch and in spite of the pressure on his left arm.

He was killed for the purpose of the exercise when he launched without verifying he was connected to his glider within two seconds of takeoff.

It looks to me as if Howie decided to release his left arm (much too early) from the downtube and do a quick Houdini escape then grab back on.

Yes. Who cares?

Sadly for Howie's Duck he was pulling in pretty hard with his right hand which then pulled most of his weight into the right-hand corner of the control frame thus placing the glider into an unrecoverable turn back into the hillside.

Never stop flying the glider damnit! This could have easily been fatal or left Howie paralyzed. It looks to me if Howie could have waited until he had enough altitude to release all bar pressure before realigning his left arm.

There was obviously way more than enough air coming in to float the glider. Tell me how someone in that environment who has any freakin' business flying hang gliders could possibly get into that situation?

These comments are coming from somebody who launched with both rear suspension lines inside of his thighs which were cutting off circulation to his lower legs. I had enough sense to keep flying the glider until I had plenty of altitude.

How 'bout enough sense to lift the glider enough to tension the suspension just before running it into the air?

Much to the chagrin on my many detractors, I climbed out of both leg loops while I was soaring, corrected the crossed lines and then re-inserted each leg into the loops and had a pleasant flight.

Never Stop Flying The Glider!

Flying The Glider (Albeit With Dangerously Reduced Pitch Control Range):
092-10627
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2901/14607133284_c62e2ac8de_o.png

093-10704 - Not Flying The Glider:
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3883/14586158516_054d8427c9_o.png

094-10712 - Not Flying The Glider:
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5158/14422592879_4d63942b89_o.png

095-10723 - - Not Flying The Glider:
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3898/14629197033_09c070e8b5_o.png

096-10816 - Flying The Glider:
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5477/14586156356_5d50da2126_o.png

097-10912 - Flying The Glider:
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2928/14422559598_2218c88287_o.png


Sometimes ya need to EQUIP to be able fly the glider - not just slap on whatever cheap crap Quest's spent twenty years perfecting and hope that your Quest Bacon Saver will appropriately increase the safety of the towing operation, despite mountains of experience, evidence, mathematical modeling, common sense that shows it will do just the opposite.

Nic Welbourn - 2014/09/03 02:40:42 UTC

Couldn't agree more, launch and get away from the terrain... then do stuff.

Here's my take...

Do the stuff you're supposed to - ALWAYS, rather than NEVER, as per Howie... then launch and get away from the terrain.

Reckon flying down to the LZ would have been a better plan, and on another day I think Howie would have taken this option.

I hope he gets a new glider and keeps the camera rolling so we can find out.

Kudos to him for posting the incident with best intentions, many wouldn't.

Careful dude...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14312
Tow Park accidents

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/11/12 14:49:58 UTC

One of the stated goals of this site is to promote HG. MOST views on this site are NOT from members but from visitors, they have no ignore button.

Having Tad run around every day giving the impression that there is a massive weekly slaughter of pilots at tow parks due to their horribly dangerous devices surely doesnt promote HG. Especially when the safety records are quite excellent.

Like Jim said, theyve gone a decade with no fatalities at their tow park. Pretty damn good I say.

Yet listening to Tad, you would think guys were dying all over the place
He's been nothing but misleading and negative and ignored multiple warnings from me. So He's GONE

One of the stated goals of that site is to promote hang gliding and you're giving the impression that there is a massive slaughter going on and we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg due to deliberate suppression of crash reporting.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

Mike Badley - 2014/09/03 16:04:03 UTC

Ouch!

Lesson learned - I hope.

I'm sure it has been...
- NEVER do a HOOK-IN CHECK!
- WHEN you INEVITABLY hook an arm behind a suspension line keep flying the glider with BOTH hands.
- The ONLY time it's safe to take a hand off the control bar near terrain is during a low level lockout.
- If you find you've got an arm hooked on a tow launch then lock the glider out in the opposite direction - safely kill two birds with one stone.

Love the music - "Tell me something I don't already know..." Jeez, been there, done that.

No shit.

You would have been better served to rotate your glider around, unhook - have a pee - then re-launch with a completely 'new' launch cycle.

Obviously.

Luen Miller - 1994/09

The second pilot was distracted by backing off launch to get his helmet, which he had forgotten. While doing so he thought of a pilot who launched unhooked at Lookout Mountain as a result of the distraction of retrieving his helmet. Our pilot then proceeded to launch unhooked.

I bet you wouldn't have been screwed up in your harness then.

- No fuckin' WAY!
- You're not talking to the pouch screwer here. But, hey, you've never been one for letting reality get in the way of any of your posts.

Because I clip my 'biner to my harness on the LEFT side, the slack suspension ropes on my Tracer harness can 'sometimes' get in between the buckle and harness when I zip in and clip the buckle. A hang check instantly uncovers that problem - SO ALWAYS DO A HANG CHECK.

Marvelous thing, the hang check. There just doesn't seem to be any issue it can't and won't solve.

One day on Keddie I didn't do that...

...also, of course, skipping the dangerous false sense of security giving hook-in check...

...and took off hanging cock-eyed up on the left and unable to reach the base bar. STILL - I FLEW THE GLIDER away from the hill and tried to undo the latch to release that rope. Nothing doing. Had to just fly on the downtubes and go land.

You couldn't have monkey barred and fixed the problem?

So, I always CHECK for that rope in the buckle - and I get HANG CHECKS. Even if I have to do the hang check by myself with no assist and the keel on the ground (just getting down on knees and leaning forward - I've found that finds any twisted lines or unusual conditions just like a normal hang check.

Yesterday when we went to McClure - I did the self hang check and moved toward launch and Jimmy offered another hang check - which I declined, but Pete said GET A HANG CHECK!

I'd have told Jimmy, "Thanks, I don't do hang checks." and Pete, "Go fuck yourself, asshole."

So, I did - and nothing unusual was found. But it just reminded me - that we should ALWAYS be doing hang checks anyway. Yep - complacency can rear up and bite us at any time. Might as well not offer it an easy target whenever I can avoid it.

So tell me ONE ISSUE of any SUBSTANCE (meaning you can't count bar clearance) that's ever been revealed by an idiot hang check that wouldn't have been more easily, effectively, safely by non hang check setup/preflight and/or launch sequence procedures.

Shithead.

JJ Coté - 2014/09/03 23:08:37 UTC

NO!

Don't ever unhook in a place where you can launch from. I am convinced that this is the primary cause of launching unhooked: the pilot was hooked in at some point, and has that in his memory. I've seen it happen, when a pilot was on launch, didn't like the wind, backed off and unhooked, then it looked better and he moved onto the ramp again, and hung on just long enough to reach the trees. Don't unhook, you're just setting yourself up for a major failure. Get out of the damn harness.

Yes people! For the love of God listen to JJ - or, hell, ANY total dickhead...

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)

11-A12819
http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8339/28924980016_2ba1d20ef7_o.png


http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8253/28924975726_0d24a615c2_o.png
13-A14319

...who's convinced of anything!

Mike Badley - 2014/09/03 23:51:27 UTC

Well - NO!
In this case he actually MIGHT have been better off unhooked. (gasp!)
He would have let go before getting airborne...

You mean as he let his glider float up during the launch run he'd have noticed that he wasn't feeling any tension and would've said, "WTF!!! I'm not hooked in!!! SHIT!!!!!!!"

...and tumbled a bit on that grassy slope - and his glider would have hit the hill with far less damage to it. So there! Way better than riding it in like he did.

Or he could've instinctively clamped on to the glider - the way at least some and I suspect most people do.

This dude was soooo lucky.

OK - now back to the real point of this point which was a HANG CHECK. Had he got one (from any of those PG guys hanging out there in front of him) this post would not have occurred.

And what a pity that would be. Think of all the dumbfoundingly stupid comments I'd me missing.

Still - if he had rotated his glider into a 'non-launch' position. Unhooked and walked over to pee and came back to his glider - I DISAGREE that he would still think he was hooked in, pick the glider up, rotate it and walk over to re-launch.

And your DISAGREEMENT would - OBVIOUSLY - make that guy bulletproof.

Top landing is done ALL THE TIME. And we re-launch within a close proximity ALL THE TIME. The simple act of moving your glider in a position that it cannot be flipped, or tying it down and unhooking does not mean you will THINK you are hooked in after you've unhooked, gone for a pee, ate a sandwich, checked on your shoelaces, etc.

I don't EVER think I'm hooked in, ASSHOLE. I keep assuming I'm NOT until it's too late to do anything about it. And as long as it's not too late to do anything about it I keep checking.

Backing off a launch, unhooking and then moving toward launch (thinking you will hook in when you get up there) is a recipe for disaster (I agree). Therefore - DO A HANG CHECK before you launch. Every time!

Fuck you and at least the three generations that led up to you.

Nic Welbourn - 2014/09/04 01:16:03 UTC

I STRONGLY disagree that he might have been better off un-hooking rather than getting out of his harness/glider. In this context there is absolutely no need, reason or advantage in un-hooking (except mere convenience).

You mean the way the Tad-O-Link makes aerotowing more convenient?

Unhooking in this context is terrible advice!

Just like using the Tad-O-Link - as many of us are doing now. Won't be long before Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney will be spending most of his time visiting people in the hospital.

Every year folks launch un-hooked and folks get dead for no good reason.

They get dead for the VERY BEST of reasons.

If this pilot had un-hooked he would then have a chance he could launch un-hooked.

Like this?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mX2HNwVr9g
Hang Gliding Fail
andyh0p - 2011/04/24 - dead
03-0325 - 06-0511
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/13512258445_6b5a3662d0_o.png

http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/12931220073_1609b59b17_o.png
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http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52378864870_2129572e3a_o.png
18-0919 - 21-1025

I know in some limited circumstances it is impractical for people to un-hook (eg. some cliff launches and ones like Glacier Point + test flying different wings)...

Whoa! An Aussie Methodist making concessions to reality. Who'da thunk.

...but otherwise it just makes sense to connect your harness as part of assembling the wing / preflight processes.

MOST wing/harness combos, circumstances... Yes.

I see pilots walking around in their harnesses...

Where? I was under the impression that your world famous Aussie Methodist vigilante mobs...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=26557
Failure to hook in 6/29/12

Adam Parer - 2012/07/15 05:01:12 UTC

We are militant with this sort of thing down here. Anyone seen walking around in their harness unhooked are immediately pulled up, by everyone. Not sure of the reaction if the justification was to keep the harness clean or scratched free, or that it was uncomfortable to bend over because there was extra weight to carry, or they have a sore back. It would probably be advice along the lines of 'harden the f^&k up'

...had really really taken care of those assholes.

...because it looks cool and identifies them as ACPs, which makes them more attractive... each to their own of course.

That's just gotta be it. People waddle around in their harnesses to look cool, accomplished, attractive. Throw in some chick pilots, harnesses stay on for hours. "Meet me alone at ten behind Hangar D2. And make sure you wearing your harness too. That way I can save the Viagra for situations in which wearing harnesses simply wouldn't be appropriate."

This un-hooking culture (particularly prevalent in the US - ie. unhooking for convenience and coolness) is something I find potentially very dangerous.

C'mon, US pilots! Just how much cooler do need to look?

It seems a shame folks regularly die from this practice.

Folk regularly die from assuming they're hooked in - you goddam brain dead Aussie twat.

When I launch I don't have to think about that possibility, because it's just like any other critical part of the glider: it gets assembled carefully, then checked at pre-flight... then again in a hang check, then again on launch by lifting the glider until you feel the strap go tight.

Then what advantage have you derived by doing all the previous bullshit?

For me, one less thing that can go wrong also equals a clearer mind on launch.

Yep dude...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=802
AL's Second flight at Packsaddle how it went

Rick Masters - 2011/10/19 22:47:17 UTC

At that moment, I would banish all concern about launching unhooked. I had taken care of it. It was done. It was out of my mind.

Get that mind clear. Sure don't need to be worrying about whether or not you're hooked in at the moment of launch.

My take on Howe's incident and lucky escape is a timely reminder about
1.) our old enemy complacency

Bull fucking shit. He fucked up and snagged a line. Didn't have a goddam thing to do with complacency. Matter o' fact what REALLY got him slammed was a premature effort to fix the problem. Goddam precise opposite of complacency, if anything.

NOBODY's COMLPACENT about flying hang gliders. People talk about complacency because they think it makes them sound cool.

2.) doing a hang check, and
3.) flying the glider (above all else) once in the air.

What happened to the hook-in check you just said YOU do?

If you wanna un-hook (or let's say fly paragliders, or choose to land right next to your truck instead of the middle of the field) for convenience vs. safety... well that's entirely up to you.

How can you POSSIBLY make a statement like that and not include Tad-O-Linkers?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

combat.is.hell - 2014/09/04 07:56:36 UTC
Sweden

This is a good video for learning from ones mistakes and stirrs up a healthy discussion on the issue, but I am just waiting for michael170 to make one of his trademark comments. Com'on michael170, at them boy!!!

michael170 - 2014/09/04 09:06:56 UTC

And I am just waiting for Mr. instructor of the year Tom - I don't teach lift and tug, as it gives a false sense of security - Galvin to make another one of his landmark comments. Com'on Tom, at them boy!!!

2014/09/04 16:57:22 UTC - Sink This! -- Paul Hurless
2014/09/04 19:30:29 UTC - Sink This! -- Jason Boehm

Erik Boehm - 2014/09/04 12:48:55 UTC

I don't think a simple lift and tug would have helped.

FUCK NO!!! No way in HELL he would've detected a misrouted line with a lift and tug. And, holy crap, do you think he needed any more of a false sense of security than he already had?! Damn near got killed as things were.

A lay down and hang would have helped...

And don't forget to warn people against doing walk-throughs as well. Gotta maintain the sanctity of the hang check.

...but above all, his problem was minor, and the lesson here is:

DON'T FUCK AROUND WITH YOUR HARNESS RIGHT AFTER LAUNCH!

That's a very interesting lesson - seeing as how he DIDN'T fuck around with his harness right after launch, or at any other time in the course of the video.

Normally it applies more to getting your feet in... but this is another (albeit much much rarer) case.

This was a totally ABnormal case.

I can't imagine what he was thinking... he's in control of the glider, but has a rope pressing against his arm... oh well, looks like its time to intentionally lose control of the glider and put it in a turn while low over the terrain so I can get rid of this uncomfortable pressure....

I can't imagine what he was thinking either. No, wait. Lemme give it a try...

"I think I can lose this line real fast and get better control of the glider."

No, it wasn't the best call in the world and he knew that WELL before impact. How 'bout dropping the "I can't imagine what he was thinking..." crap?

Mike Badley - 2014/09/04 18:56:44 UTC

Launching unhooked has always been one of my pet peeves.

Which, of course, is why you've so studiously avoided compliance with the USHGA regulation covering the issue all your career.

Having almost done it TWICE and actually flopping on the ground with a static tow while my glider floated off - I can attest to the fact that it can happen to ANYBODY, at ANY SITE.

BULLSHIT. It DOES NOT HAPPEN to people who do hook-in checks and know the difference between preflight and launch sequence procedures.

It doesn't seem to matter if there's pilots there or knowledgeable drivers - people still MISS that a pilot is unhooked.

And don't give flying fucks about the hook-in check regulation.

After my friend Jay Powell piled into the rocks head-on at Slide...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28654
Jay Powell's accident at Slide Mountain Jul.4 1998 or 1999

Marianne (Bing) - 2012/07/24 22:50:02 UTC

Jay Powell's accident at Slide Mountain, July 4 1998 or 1999

I'm trying to find an article about a hang gliding accident on Slide Mountain, Reno, Nevada on the fourth of July, about 1998, 1999. The name was Jay Powell, and he didn't clip in. Do you have anything about this accident? Thank you very much for reading this!

It was my son who crashed from Slide, for some unknown reason he didn't snap in. He had a helmet on, however he had a closed brain injury and will never be the same. I never did save any of the articles, now I'm trying to find one, if possible. His name is Jay Powell if you ever come across a writing, would you kindly send it on? I know that's much to much to ask, however, you never know!

Regards, Bing

...by launching unhooked - I was ON A MISSION about hooking in and getting OTHER pilots to be on the look-out for leg straps, hook-ins, etc. when guys went up to launch. I'm always glad to see a guy (or gal) checking on my rig when I go to launch and never get touchy about it, even though I see some guys that do.

And once somebody's on launch... "Good luck, Jay! Have a great flight!" Friend of yours, mother doesn't know what year he was killed, no USHGA fatality report... Jesus H. Christ.

We really do need to check up on each other - but STILL, I think the way to solve that hook-in B.S. is WITH A HANG CHECK.

I never had the slightest fuckin' doubt.

Just do it every time - last thing you do before moving up to launch. Even if it is a re-launch. If you back off launch - get another hang check before going back up - even if it's a self-hang-check. Reach back there and grab that 'biner. Touch it for luck and a great flight.

Gawd I hate these "people".

JJ Coté - 2014/09/05 01:11:47 UTC

Note that my comment above is not intended to mean that I am not in favor of hang checks.

Of course not, JJ. Nobody thought anything like that for a nanosecond.

I always, without exception, go through a seven-point checklist, out loud, before moving to launch.

- main and backup
- carabiner locked
- spreader snugged down
- bar clearance
- chin strap buckled
- vario on
- altimeter zeroed

(And when towing, there are a couple of additional things I check after the tow line is taut.)

- release within easy reach
- appropriate weak link with a finished length of 1.5 inches or less

A lie-down hang check is what would have caught this guy's misrouted line.

And ONLY lie-down hang check. USHGA approved and endorsed. No nasty false sense of security issues creeping in with one of those.

However, I am also convinced that most FTHI incidents happen when somebody has already been hooked in (and probably also did a full hang check), and then unhooked for some reason. The "Aussie method" is not a substitute for a hang check, but I'm convinced that unhooking has killed a lot of people.

Really hard to argue with assholes as convinced of things as you are. Citing actual data would be a total waste of time.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

Brian Scharp - 2014/09/05 20:18:11 UTC

JJ Coté - 2014/09/05 01:11:47 UTC

...unhooking has killed a lot of people.

Literally, no. Launching unhooked is a killer.

Launching unhooked is entirely a symptom of skipping hook-in checks. Enough skipper foot launches an unhooked launch for that individual is virtually inevitable.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

madmax - 2014/09/23 17:46:06 UTC
Santa Barbara

My 2-cents... In addition to hang check before moving to launch, I suggest a quick hook-in check just prior to launching.

No you don't.

(Those few seconds could save your life).

A few seconds is a long fuckin' time on a launch ramp. Any procedure which requires a few seconds - and/or any effort - WILL NOT BE DONE.

People are frequently poised ready to launch for minutes waiting for enough of a straight puff that may only last five seconds to safely get off in. And they wanna catch the beginning of that cycle - not the end.

Putting tension the hang loop, carabiner and harness mains works...

...but let's complicate it.

...but I prefer to turn around to see that I am hooked in...

Yeah. You prefer to redo part of your preflight routine on the ramp.

...and put my hand on the carabiner to verify it's locked.

1. Yeah, make sure you put your hand on the carabiner. Only sure way you can tell if it's actually locked.

2. Tell me why the fuckin' carabiner needs to be locked. Name one person who's ever been scratched 'cause his carabiner wasn't locked or he was using a nonlocker.

Hang check and hook-in check have separate purposes...

Yeah, the first one's a stupid worse-than-useless preflight procedure and the other's the most critical launch sequence procedure you will ever make...

2-112
http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7600/28811055456_925c8abb66_o.png

2-005

02-0609

06-0818

08-0924

10-1003

13-1702

14-1728

http://ozreport.com/forum/files/copy_2_of_imgp1239_197.jpg
http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7220/13949046702_ccfa0fafab_o.png

http://www.thekiteboarder.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/opener-532x800.jpg


...or won't.

...so I do both prior to each launch.

Yeah, everybody does SOMETHING *PRIOR* TO EACH LAUNCH - or tries anyway. How much prior to each launch never seems to be much of an issue.

Also, harness check is critical to verify buckles, zippers and leg loops.

1. Fuck buckles and zippers.

2. Putting tension on the hang loop, carabiner, and harness mains also puts tension on the leg loops - but you prefer to turn around to see that you're hooked in and put your hand on the carabiner to verify it's locked - exactly like this guy:

Luen Miller - 1994/11

After a short flight the pilot carried his glider back up a slope to relaunch. The wind was "about ten miles per hour or so, blowing straight in." Just before launch he reached back to make sure his carabiner was locked. A "crosswind" blew through, his right wing lifted, and before he was able to react he was gusted sixty feet to the left side of launch into a pile of "nasty-looking rocks." He suffered a compound fracture (bone sticking out through the skin) of his upper right leg. "Rookie mistake cost me my job and my summer. I have a lot of medical bills and will be on crutches for about five months."

Alan Deikman - 2014/09/23 19:47:06 UTC
Fremont

Amazing how when this topic comes up every time you see people argue the same arguments over and over again. It has been a classic (although niche) endless Internet flame topic.

Not on The Davis Show. When you get things down to a few dedicated sycophants flame wars disappear.

I suspect that some of the parties that have posted in threads like these before are refraining now since they have learned that it is nearly (completely?) impossible to change people's minds on the topic.

Or...

http://www.hanggliding.org/wiki/HG_ORG_Mission_Statement
HG ORG Mission Statement - Hang Gliding Wiki

HangGliding.Org Rules and Policies

No posts or links about Bob K, Scott C Wise, Tad Eareckson and related people, or their material. ALL SUCH POSTS WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DELETED. These people are poison to this sport and are permanently banned from this site in every possible way imaginable.

...they've been declared to be poison to this sport and permanently banned from all these sites in every possible way imaginable.

For my part I will just refer you to the classic Tad Eareckson essay which I call "the gun is always loaded" which is a bit overworked but probably all you will ever need to read regarding FTHI. A lot of people will find it gores their particular sacred Ox, but I have never seen anyone point out a flaw in his logic.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=18876
Hang glider Crash

Allen Sparks - 2010/09/07 01:03:18 UTC
Evergreen, Colorado

Oscar,

I'm very happy you weren't injured.

Helen,

Thanks for the Tad 'lift and tug' reminder.

I have launched unhooked and experienced the horror of hanging by my fingers over jagged rocks ... and the surreal result - i.e. not being significantly injured.

I am a firm believer in 'lift and tug' and the mindset of assuming I am not hooked in. It is motivated by the recurring memory of my own experience ... and the tragic deaths and life-altering injuries of good friends.

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3638
FTHI

Mike Blankenhorn - 2012/10/26 02:39:07 UTC

Wow, I never saw it put quite like that before. Great write up!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hhpa/message/11361
Question

Zack C - 2010/10/15 13:25:50 UTC

Speaking of which, while I can fault Tad's approach, I can't fault his logic, nor have I seen anyone here try to refute it. You may not like the messenger, but that is no reason to reject the message. I've already stated why I'm not adopting lift-and-tug...what about the rest of you? I'm asking because it doesn't look like Tad will stop until he sees the changes he's advocating or is banned. Before the latter happens, maybe the former deserves a chance.

Sunday I performed a hang check at Pack, stepped onto the ramp, and proceeded to wait for a lull in which to launch. Due to this discussion I realized at this point how dangerous it was for me to assume I was hooked in. It's like assuming it's OK to lock your car because you remember putting your keys in your pocket a few minutes ago, only the consequences of being wrong are much worse than a call to AAA.

Don't refute the logic, guys. Just continue ignoring it and pissing all over T** at K*** S******. I'll continue posting over here, not because I hold out any hope of changing the crap you're using as minds, but because it's gonna feel so good the next time one of you off the scale stupid motherfuckers...

11-A12819
http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8339/28924980016_2ba1d20ef7_o.png


http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8253/28924975726_0d24a615c2_o.png
13-A14319

...ends up as a crumpled heap on the boulders below the ramp.

Thanks, Alan. I'll be on a high from this one for a month and a half.

2014/09/23 20:54:53 UTC - 3 thumbs up - michael170
2014/09/23 21:31:00 UTC - 3 thumbs up - Brian Scharp

Hey Tom...

http://www.rmhpa.org/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4258
HG accident in Vancouver

Tom Galvin - 2012/10/31 22:17:21 UTC

I don't teach lift and tug, as it gives a false sense of security.

Go fuck yourself. Ditto for the total pieces of shit constituting your crappy inbred little club.

P.S. Post 666 in the series. How appropriate.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

Allen Sparks - 2014/09/23 22:26:06 UTC

hate to get banned for breakin' SG's rule to not mention t** at k***s*****
each time I tug, I think of tad just ~prior~ to launch
seriously, I have FTHI-d twice, and my gun is loaded.

Thanks Allen. A little bit can go a long way in this game. It would be nice to live long enough to see this message snowball - the way weak links are finally starting to do now.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

Michael Farren - 2014/09/23 23:36:47 UTC
South Bunbury

Was helping a pilot on the nose wires at a 400 ft launch when I noticed the hang straps were wrapped round the right hand down tube.

While he was doing a hang check, right?

Appears he had turned round in the harness after the hang check...

Oh bullshit. Once you've done a hang check and verified the Five Cs you're good to go - ESPECIALLY when you never get into the harness unless it's connected to the glider.

...to switch the GoPro on and stepped back round the wrong side of the down tube.

So? Like I said.

With that amount of hang point offset too one side I would say the glider would have been impossible to control

Since when did CONTROL start being a big fucking deal in hang gliding? If control were really an issue would we:
- take our hands off the control bar for landings?
- stuff spreaders down as close to the carabiners as we can possibly get them?
- put release actuators within easy reach?
- use Rooney Links to increase the safety of the towing operation?
- fly behind tug driver who can fix whatever's going on back there by giving us the rope?
- get pulled up with pro toad bridles such that the bar's stuffed as soon as we clear the cart?

Hang check

1. He DID a HANG CHECK - ASSHOLE.
2. The issue wasn't caught by a fucking goddam hang check. It was caught by someone LOOKING AT the FUCKIN' GLIDER.
3. You "think" if he'd done the lift and tug number he wouldn't have noticed something wrong?
4. Oh, right. You Aussie shitheads don't DO lift and tug. Never mind.

"Hey! Can somebody come up here on the ramp and gimme a hang check? I'm afraid I may have wrapped my suspension around a downtube and can't figure out any other way to verify that it's OK."

Dumb fuck. Thanks for dragging the discussion back down into the sewer for us.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

Alan Deikman - 2014/09/25 03:30:48 UTC

Allen Sparks - 2014/09/23 22:26:06 UTC

hate to get banned for breakin' SG's rule to not mention t** at k***s*****

I wasn't aware of that rule. From whence came it?

michael170 - 2014/09/25 04:48:33 UTC

That would be just after I started this thread:

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=24633
FTHI

Then SG gave me the boot because he thought I was Tad.

He didn't think you were Tad.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=24633
FTHI

Jack Axaopoulos - 2012/02/24 15:15:42 UTC

You guys need to PM me when TAD shows up.
He is NOT allowed to access this website.

The IP address area matches Tad's old account.

If he comes back again, ill contact his ISP for illegal access which could get his account yanked.

He bloody well knew you weren't. He totally fuckin' LIED.

Nic Welbourn - 2014/09/25 05:59:53 UTC
Canberra

Alan Deikman - 2014/09/23 19:47:06 UTC

For my part I will just refer you to the classic Tad Eareckson essay which I call "the gun is always loaded" which is a bit overworked but probably all you will ever need to read regarding FTHI.

Enter Your Harness ONLY When It Is Secured To Your Glider...

And then in the mid Eighties the Aussie Method reared its ugly head and was released on the rest of the planet as revenge for rabbits and cane toads. As it is nowhere properly defined or encoded into regulations - including those of the national organization of its home country - all that can be said with some degree of certainty is that it requires that the harness be secured to the glider before the pilot suits up in it, the concept being that if the pilot is in his harness he is, by definition, safely secured to the glider (and, of course, has hit his leg loops).

Upon first hearing of it many pilots, yours truly amongst them, vowed to never even consider using it, as getting into the harness was enough of a royal pain in the ass as it was. Time went by and few of us eventually gave it a shot and were amazed to find that it was actually a lot EASIER to get in with it partially raised and supported by the glider.

And it was a great way to preflight the glider/harness combination and connection - pretty much takes the partial hook-in issue right out of the equation.

...There are many very legitimate reasons for not using it, some related to convenience, others to safety. And any time you have a significant conflict between convenience and procedure or safety tradeoffs you've got serious built in problems...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=15239
Lift and Tug - identified my absent leg loop - thank you!

Norm Boessler - 2010/01/11 13:24:30 UTC
Armidale, New South Wales

I went for a fly at Mount Borah last Saturday and it turned out to be a PG comp weekend. No probs, I decided to help out with sniffing for thermals in front of the ridge for the pilots as the first thermal was proving hard to hook. Quite a few were bombing out. I decided to switch harnesses to the powered one so I could sit it out in front of the hill till thermals reappeared. Turned out to be a good move as I would have definitely have bombed out myself.

Anyway, I got in the harness and was sure that I had both legs in the loops but the Mosquito A10 is a front entry and is difficult to sight what is being stepped into but I was sure that I had them both in. I did my hang check which confirmed (among other things) that the hang loop was the right length for that harness but did not give me any leg loop confirmation. It is very difficult to visually check but I REMEMBERED stepping into both loops so why should there be a problem??

So I started the motor and did final power checks - all normal and ready. This particular takeoff is a little tricky as it combines a powered launch with a sloped hill launch. Not really a good situation as it mixes two paradigms of launch. One which is committed from the first step and one which must have abort planning. I opted to use the entire run space by starting right at the back of the launch area so I could have some abort possibility if needed. The wind was light so I was not expecting an abrupt updraft at the ridge. It was also going to be a gradual power up and not a full power launch - just enough to get good airspeed and clean separation from the hill.

Wings balanced and level, all clear, lift the glider and a quick squat and BAM - only one leg loop pulls on my tackle. This asymmetric nad squishing was IMMEDIATELY detected followed by a mental switch which condemned the launch as I spat the throttle out and put down the A-Frame with the greatest of shock and relief simultaneously!!!

Thank you ORG for giving me the 'lift and tug' final check immediately before launch.

Cheers, Norm.

Wow, Jack, certainly seem to be getting a lot of positive posts about Tad Poison-To-This-Sport Eareckson and his material. (From Australia even. Who'da thunk.) What's the point in having rules if you're not gonna enforce them?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.forbesadvocate.com.au/story/2581645/mum-saves-strangers-baby-by-smashing-car-windshield/?cs=24
Mum saves stranger's baby by smashing car windshield

Melanie Mahoney - 2014/09/24 12:06

Mum saves stranger's baby by smashing car windshield



A woman is being hailed a hero after breaking a car windshield to get to a baby locked inside a hot vehicle in Texas on Monday.

Security guards had noticed the nine-month-old sitting in the car in a supermarket's car park in San Antonio, but told Angela Radtke they were waiting for the parent to return to the car.

But the retired Army captain and mum of three knew the car would be heating up to dangerous temperatures, and that she had to act fast.

"I felt like some people were kind of scared, they didn't want to be liable, because the security guard was yelling that I could possibly be arrested for breaking the window," she told KENS-5 news.

She then told bystanders, "I don't care if I get arrested, I'm going to save this baby."

Radtke broke the glass with a tire iron and reached in to unlock the door and get to the child, scratching her arms and back in the process.

The baby was already affected by the heat - security footage later showed that he had been in the car for 40 minutes when Radtke acted.

"He was running a temperature, so he was really hot. The baby was red and looked uncomfortable," she said.

The child was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for dehydration.

The baby's father had been shopping in the supermarket with his 12-year-old daughter at the time. He had not heard repeated requests over the loudspeaker to return to the vehicle, he told police.

He also admitted that he had forgotten the baby was in the vehicle.

The father was arrested and charged with child endangerment, and the baby was placed in the care of child protective services while the case was under investigation.

Radtke wasn't charged as she had been covered by "Good Samaritan" laws.

"I felt like it was worth the risk," she said.

Small world.

Twelve-year-old daughter ALSO had forgotten the baby was in the vehicle and the loudspeaker requests didn't register with her. Not being sarcastic.

Bill Priday runs off the cliff at Whitwell with a crewed launch and after being deluged by questions about whether he'd had a fucking hang check.

How 'bout arresting the idiot security guards, bystanders, and loudspeaker announcer with child endangerment? They KNEW about the deadly situation and weren't doing shit to stop it.