launching

[Tad Eareckson]

http://vimeo.com/17743952

password - red

I was real stingy harvesting frames from videos in my early efforts and a couple days decided that this thirteen second gem from Zack C - from which I previously pulled just two shots (10-525 and 12-907) - needed a bit o' reworking. In that process yesterday I started really appreciating just what a smoking gun masterpiece it really is.

01-021
- 01 - chronological order
- -0 - seconds
- 00 - frame (30 fps)

Hotshot comp pilot Robin Hamilton on his topless Litespeed so it's tougher to do the incompetent dork write-off.
Extra symmetrical wire crew. No danger whatsoever of an asymmetrical launch.
Koch two stage - the most easily reachable of easily reachable releases.

01-021
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/524/19405838072_44140f7d9a_o.png


Towing setup not dangerously complicated by a launch cart. KISS. None o' that Rube Goldberg crap.
Waist high brush to the glider's right. Ideal for bailout landing.

02-125
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/438/18791442333_3d532be0b5_o.png

03-301
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/298/19385991156_fbb07f6f71_o.png


Any point from here backwards would be a really good time to abort the tow.

04-318
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/504/19412061325_1becdd4ba9_o.png


Somebody find me a video of a dolly launch with nose coming up like this at this airspeed - not to mention the aggravated roll.
Note that the Infallible Weak Link is very clearly NOT providing protection from an excessive angle of attack for this form of towing (stationary winch).
Also note that if the Infallible Weak Link very clearly DID provide protection from the excessive angle of attack for this form of towing that things WOULD have gotten ugly. (More of this crappy argument that being on tow is somehow safer than being off tow.)
Ditto for the driver who can fix whatever's going on back there by giving the glider the rope - for both that he DOESN'T and what WOULD happen if he DID.

05-403
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/417/19405836292_c46de27f91_o.png


Good freakin' luck pulling in and rolling level. This configuration makes a goddam dolly launched aerotow pro toad look like a master of control.

06-414
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/471/19224476490_bdca9ca22c_o.png


Easy reach ain't really all that easy now, is it? Oh well, you're upright on the downtubes where you have superior roll authority - much better roll authority than you had when you were standing in launch position with your wings cocked yelling "Clear!" just after completing your Martin Apopot style hook-in check which the video must've just missed.

07-424
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/547/19412059805_51cd2a5644_o.png


Release fails? As all mechanical things do? Go for your hook knife. Razor-sharp cutting tool to slash through lines in an instant.

08-505
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/512/19405835012_3abee8010e_o.png


Or just pitch out abruptly to activate your Voight/Rooney Instant Hands Free Release and make sure you get a nice crisp flare to stop safely in the bailout.

09-515
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3695/19416227481_8def440bc5_o.png


Ability to pull in and roll authority maxed out. Fuckin' dope on a rope praying he'll be able to pull out and that his Infallible Weak Link won't very clearly will provide protection from high bank turns and the like for that form of towing and that his driver won't make a good decision in the interest of his safety.
Hey Robin... That's pretty much a Center Of Mass connection you're using there. The towline is pulling your body under the high wing. Just relax and let your weight shift and the autocorrecting effect to kick in. You'll be fine as long as you don't get so far out of whack that your body and/or towline contacts the frame and/or wires. And, hell, you've got an Infallible Weak Link to keep you from getting that far out of whack, right? I'm not really seeing any real problems here.

10-525
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/435/19224482318_2da3f48afe_o.png


Dude! Don't transition to the basetube now! Stay upright on the downtubes and use that extra roll authority to get the glider leveled back out. Looks like you overdid things a bit with that extra roll authority while your system was autocorrecting.

11-817
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/312/19224481858_905faabba0_o.png


Fuck. Then go ahead and do it YOUR way. Asshole. (Probably wants to go prone at this point just to LOOK cool - like all the dickheads who walk around in their harnesses.)

12-907
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/295/19224474340_099a8130e1_o.png


This one probably looked a lot like Steve Elliot's...

The Herald on Sunday - 2009/01/10

Hurt hang glider pilot joked bravely with friends after a crash landing, unaware that his injuries were fatal.

But he began losing consciousness as he awaited the arrival of paramedics.

Aucklander Stephen Elliot, 48, was taking part in the Forbes Flatland Hang Gliding Championship in Sydney last Saturday when he landed badly.

Elliot shattered four bones in his neck and damaged several blood vessels that supplied blood to the brain. He was flown to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and put into an induced coma but died on Monday.

...last launch.

This one's a fuckin' gold mine for driving stakes through the hearts of more bullshit mainstream hang gliding myths than one can count.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=33319
Moab accident, Craig Pirazzi

W9GFO - 2015/08/25 21:39:42 UTC

A quick search reveals that Craig Pirazzi was involved in the Free Flyers movie and was not new to flying Moab. I gather that he was quite experienced, serving as a guide for others to the area.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=36156417

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=36156417
Colorado man dies in hang gliding accident near Moab | KSL.com

Geoff Liesik - 2015/08/25 13:46

MOAB - A Colorado man who was hang gliding east of Canyonlands National Park died Monday after strong winds dragged him off a cliff as he was trying to take off, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.

Bet he was doing that stupid lift and tug thing that T** at K*** S****** invented to make 100.000 percent certain he was hooked in thirty seconds after doing his hang check and raised his wing into the turbulent jet stream.

Craig Pirazzi, 50, of Paradox, Colorado, was hang gliding with three other people in the Indian Creek area when the accident happened, the sheriff's office said Tuesday in a post on its Facebook page.

After being dragged off the cliff, Pirazzi spiraled out of control...

Should've been spiraling IN control. Any good pilot knows that.

...for about 300 feet before striking the ground, the sheriff's office said.

Fuck that ground that people are always striking after spiraling out of control for about 300 feet.

Other hang gliders rappelled down to the spot where Pirazzi crashed and began first aid. Despite their efforts, Pirazzi died at the scene.

Bummer they hadn't used those three hundred foot rappelling ropes to tie themselves in to function as a wire crew BEFORE Craig got sucked off the cliff and spiraled out of control for about 300 feet before striking the ground.

Search and rescue crews worked through the night to hoist Pirazzi's body and the two hang gliders who had tried to save him back up the cliff, the sheriff's office said.

See my note above. Prevention/Cure thing.

Craig Pirazzi - Telluride / Paradox, Colorado - 43151 - H4 - 1989/03/27 - Luigi Chiarani - AT PL ST AWCL CL FSL RLF TUR XC

DAMN u$hPa's getting good at pulling these records down. Lucky I happened to have this one archived.

OK Rick Masters and all you other anti tow motherfuckers... Start running your mouths about how unacceptably dangerous towing is because of all the complexity involved. And bear in mind that I've still got Lumby Larry to deal with when I get my head back above water.
---
P.S. - 2015/08/26 01:45:00 UTC

Come to think of it... That would've been a really good launch NOT to have been hooked in for.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=32864
Bad news

Craig Pirazzi - 2015/05/10 19:25:38 UTC
Paradox, Colorado

Without knowing who this was or trying to speak to his experience if its any comfort to the friends and family of this pilot I can only say that if I were to die flying please don't despair for me.

Yeah, that'll help.

For certain we will all die, leaving a hole in someones life...

Probably many people's lives. And if you don't manage a nice clean kill like in the movies and just get quaded then things start getting complicated.

...that part is beyond our control...

Lotsa times when somebody dies he's - or shortly before WAS - ENTIRELY in his control. And that's pretty much always the case with a flyer.

...but our business is to live to the fullest...

Without, of course, any consideration for the potential LENGTH of all that fully lived life.

...and flying is a dam fine way to do just that!

Sure. And getting sucked off a three hundred foot cliff because you didn't bother to establish a safe launch and spiraling down out of control to the bottom of the canyon still counts as flying.

Living bravely always comes at a cost.

Fuck bravery. In aviation it's a synonym for incompetence, irresponsibility, stupidity. Flying is expensive enough without throwing any of that crap into the equation.

I can think of no better way to honor this pilots life than to go out and dare to get a little more out of life in what ever way you can.

You probably knocked a quarter of a century off your flying career and my have ended your life at the halfway point.

Respect

And is that the kind of day your flying buddies signed up for? Think they're gonna have great memories of this one?

This is total bullshit and I have no doubt whatsoever that you reached that conclusion about a quarter second after you lost the option of controlling that situation.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=32864
Bad news

2015/05/11 16:18:16 UTC - 3 thumbs up - NMERider

Do ya really wanna be encouraging crap like that, Jonathan? You know as well as anyone that CONTROL is the name of this game and that the quickest and most effective way to lose it to do something "BRAVE" - roll the dice and see what happens. "Wow! I took another chance and got away with it again! Cool! What a rush!"

Do ya really want your name aligned with a total fucking asshole like...

2015/08/25 22:05:32 UTC - 3 thumbs up - Jim Rowan

...JR? I know I sure don't.

Wanna do something brave that makes the world a better place then call Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney a lying, incompetent, stupid little shit when he's at the peak of his popularity and influence and take the consequences - which are gonna be blacklisting, ostracism, loss of opportunities to fly. Payoffs? Credibility, integrity, self respect.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=33319
Moab accident, Craig Pirazzi

Dave Pendzick - 2015/08/26 01:16:36 UTC

Anyone know any details about the incident.

Yes.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=36156417
Colorado man dies in hang gliding accident near Moab | KSL.com

Geoff Liesik - 2015/08/25 13:46

Other hang gliders rappelled down to the spot where Pirazzi crashed and began first aid. Despite their efforts, Pirazzi died at the scene.

Search and rescue crews worked through the night to hoist Pirazzi's body and the two hang gliders who had tried to save him back up the cliff, the sheriff's office said.

And we know that the motherfuckers haven't breathed a public word about anything that happened the day of the tragic loss of this universally beloved and highly respected individual.

And we also know that u$hPa shredded his records within about three nanoseconds of getting the word.

Was he using wire assistance?

A Colorado man who was hang gliding east of Canyonlands National Park died Monday after strong winds dragged him off a cliff as he was trying to take off, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.

No.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=32864
Bad news

Craig Pirazzi - 2015/05/10 19:25:38 UTC
Paradox, Colorado

For certain we will all die, leaving a hole in someones life that part is beyond our control but our business is to live to the fullest and flying is a dam fine way to do just that! Living bravely always comes at a cost.

He lived bravely and living bravely always comes at a cost - like dying stupidly. Wire assistance is for girls and fags.

This guy was REALLY brave! He was being dragged off a cliff as he was trying to take off. Name one other person you know who wouldn't be trying desperately NOT to take off as he was being dragged off a cliff. Tears come to my eyes thinking about that kind of bravery.

What was the weather like at the time?

A Colorado man who was hang gliding east of Canyonlands National Park died Monday after strong winds dragged him off a cliff as he was trying to take off, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.

Windy.

etc.

Search and rescue crews worked through the night to hoist Pirazzi's body and the two hang gliders who had tried to save him back up the cliff, the sheriff's office said.

Got everything ya need now?

NMERider - 2015/08/26 01:30:24 UTC

Zippy is looking into it.

The same way Mitch Shipley looked into the Kelly Harrison / Arys Moorhead?

If I learn any details I'll pass them on if I can.

Why wouldn't every shred of information be released immediately directly to the public? Why is it felt that we need you as a privileged information decimator?

Brad Barkley - 2015/08/26 02:06:50 UTC

WTF is going on this year???

About what we should be expecting in a sport that tolerates scum like you and anybody who'll have anything to do with you.

Very sad, and my condolences to all who knew him.

The two or more hang glider guys who were there knew him. Fuck them at a bare minimum.

Please, everyone: let's be safe out there.

That's most certainly not what Craig would've wanted. Let's show some respect for him and live our lives to the fullest and die bravely doing stupid shit. Let's keep telling crew to go fuck themselves; skipping stomp tests and hook-in checks; towing with Rooney Links, easily reachable bent pin releases, and pro toad bridles with Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney up front as our Pilot In Command ready to fix whatever's going on back there by giving us the rope; treating the top of the wheat as the ground; and nailing our spot no steppers on the old Frisbees in the middles of our narrow dry riverbeds with large rocks strewn all over the place.

Jerry Suneagle - 2015/08/26 09:47:39 UTC

My sincere condolences to the family and friends of those lost to the love of this wonderful sport we all pursue.

That was never the wonderful sport *I* was pursuing, motherfucker.

Please be safe and choose your days.

Or do what Craig did and promoted. Be brave and tell Mother Nature to go fuck herself.

Better to not fly than risk your life when conditions are not optimal.

Or fly and NOT risk your life by using a fuckin' crew when conditions are NOT optimal.

Craig Pirazzi - Telluride / Paradox, Colorado - 43151 - H4 - 1989/03/27 - Luigi Ciaran - AT PL ST AWCL CL FSL RLF TUR XC

Craig had the Cliff Launch and Assisted Windy Cliff Launch Special Skills signoffs. He ELECTED to use his Cliff Launch Special Skill in a Windy Cliff Launch environment 'cause he wanted to fly as bravely as possible in order to fulfill his obligation to live his life to the fullest. If he'd elected cowardice and an Assisted Launch he'd have lived twice as long but only half as full. Fullness is the same either way. I really don't see what all the fuss is about.

These incidents remind us that we participate in an extreme sport.

BULL FUCKING SHIT. I don't need these stupid incidents to remind me of ANYTHING. This is ten year old kid common sense bullshit and anybody who wants to participate in hang gliding as an "extreme sport" can go fuck himself.

Please be extremely careful.

Pick one. Do we want to be extremely careful or do we want to participate in an extreme sport? John Heiney's name is synonymous with aerobatics. I've read him, watched him, talked to him. He's a fuckin' coward - totally into being safely in control at all times. If he detects the slightest late morning bump as he's setting up for a routine he scrubs. Uses one of those mouth releases that don't work for balloon drops so's he can have BOTH hands on the basetube as he falls away.

And Craig didn't die because he wasn't being extremely careful. I suspect that a solid Hang Two with solid Hang Two skills and judgment could've had a nice day. Let's give common sense and an adequate amount of carefulness a shot before we go nuts with extreme carefulness.

You assholes wanna tolerate, encourage, promote, glorify all this extreme testosterone bullshit then please spare me all the expressions of shock, horror, grief whenever the inevitable kicks in at its regularly scheduled intervals.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31041
Genuinely advanced pilot

Craig Pirazzi - 2014/04/06 17:00:07 UTC

The Best pilots are those whose awareness and decision making skills are in the moment, and so remain flexible, able to adjust at an instant and have access to the most options and skills available to safely fly in an ever changing environment.

Didn't do that, did ya Craig? On the ground in high winds when no one was holding a gun to your head to force you to fly you threw away the crew option and after that you were a passenger on flight that wasn't gonna end well and none of your skills were worth shit to you.

I could've wired a wuffo with a bit of aptitude off that cliff after five minutes instruction and stood a fair chance of getting him back in one piece.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=33319
Moab accident, Craig Pirazzi

Tom Galvin - 2015/08/27 00:34:41 UTC
Pagosa Springs

We had been trying to schedule getting back out to fly Canyonlands together. When I talked to him on Sunday, he was very excited and happy to be going out with Dave Gibson...

C. David Gibson - Utah - 16985 - H4 - 1985/05/16 - Erik Fair - AWCL CL FSL RLF TUR XC

...and John Heiney...

Not listed. (And I was just citing him as an example of someone with the right attitude and approach to this sport.)

...for a Utah tourism shoot. They had seen his videos online and contacted him. He asked me to come drive, but I had a visiting pilot with me, and they were only taking crew along.

Apparently not enough. At least not enough to be able to run the cameras AND get all the gliders off safely.

I said next time.

Gotta be careful about assumptions in this sport.

He told me next time he would get me to finally fly Telluride.

Maybe John can get you going there.

I can't believe that this kind, funny, generous, thoughtful man is gone.

- Why? You didn't read his post about living bravely?
- And T** at K*** S****** is still around and posting. Life really sucks sometimes, don't it?

Rest in peace my friend.

Yeah, he's doing that alright.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htFwyh_IXI
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htFwyh_IXI[/video]

I like the way none of you is getting any false senses of security by doing any hook-in checks before running off that cliff. Keep up the great work.

Rich Jesuroga - 2015/08/27 18:42:17 UTC
Salida, Colorado

This is very sad indeed.

Shouldn't be. That's not what Craig said he wanted.

My understanding is that Craig was acting as a site guide for other pilots participating in filming a Utah tourism video.

Can't wait to see it. Also looking forward to the release of the fly Vegas tourism video.

Filming crew were near launch taking video when the accident happened.

When the what happened?

Craig helped the others off and was the last to launch.

Oh. So the Dave and John needed help getting off but Craig didn't.

As he walked up to the cliff to launch one wing lifted, turned the glider sideways and was sucked off the edge from the cliff-lee-rotor.

Sounds like there was a pretty good breeze at the time. And I'm not hearing anything about a gust.

The nose of the glider struck the rock face wall well below the cliffs edge, broke and dropped into the canyon.

Sounds like he smacked back into the cliff hard enough to take the parachute option out of the equation.

While the description above is third hand, it originated from the film crew who witnessed the accident.

And not from Dave and John - who haven't so much as admitted being there.

I enjoyed reading Craig's posts and watching his videos of his flying trips to Moab and Paradox. My sincere condolences to all that knew him and enjoyed his company.

And said nothing appropriate about the attitude he expressed in that post which would get him killed three months and fourteen days after he clicked it into the record.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=33319
Moab accident, Craig Pirazzi

voo - 2015/08/27 21:05:50 UTC

Link to a good article

Depends upon how you're defining "good".

Hang-gliding legend dies in Indian Creek accident
Reading Rich's post above leads me to ask why the needs of the film crew took precedence over the safety of the pilot?

I didn't hear that the needs of the film crew took precedence over the safety of the pilot. Craig was SUPPOSED TO BE the Pilot In Command and I didn't hear that anybody on the film crew was forcing him to launch at gunpoint and/or refused a request for wire assistance.

Condolences to Craig's friends and family. Sad for sure.

Craig needed much better friends than he had in you Jack Show assholes.

http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_351f7d98-4cd0-11e5-bb39-db1f7c4fcf26.html
Hang-gliding legend dies in Indian Creek accident

Story Highlights
Craig Pirazzi remembered for diverse interests, helping others

2015/08/27 09:28 - Posted
2015/08/27 09:39 - Updated

Rudy Herndon and Andrew Mirrington / Moab Sun News
---

Craig Pirazzi
Hang-gliding pilot Craig Pirazzi launches off a cliff near Moab in 2014. Pirazzi was killed in a hang-gliding accident in the Indian Creek area near Canyonlands National Park's Needles District on Monday, Aug. 24. [Photo courtesy of John Heiney]
---
A Colorado resident who died this week during a hang-gliding accident near Canyonlands National Park's Needles District is being remembered as a pioneer of the sport and an all-around Renaissance man.

Craig Pirazzi, 50, of Paradox and Telluride, was dragged off a cliff when strong winds swept through the Indian Creek area just as he was attempting to take off at about 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24.

The San Juan County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that Pirazzi spiraled uncontrollably, falling an estimated 300 feet.

According to four separate accounts of the incident, Pirazzi and others were working with a commercial filming crew in the area.

Four-time world aerobatic hang-gliding champion John Heiney - a close friend of Pirazzi's from San Marcos, California - launched off the same cliff just minutes beforehand.

According to Heiney, wind gusts were worsening when Pirazzi launched.

"It was maybe getting to be too strong (in terms of) conditions," he told the Moab Sun News.

"The idea is to launch into an updraft," he said. "You want an updraft, but not (one that's) too strong. The wind does weird things and swirls around (then). That's what happened to Craig, and it pulled him over the edge."

Others at the scene, led by Moab Cliffs and Canyons Executive Director Brett Sutteer, rappelled down to Pirazzi in an attempt to render aid. It took Sutteer about 15 minutes to reach him, and although Sutteer administered CPR for more than 30 minutes, Pirazzi did not respond and was pronounced dead due to serious head and body trauma.

San Juan County Search and Rescue crews worked through the night as they hoisted Pirazzi's body and two other gliders back up the cliff, the sheriff's office said.

Heiney said that Pirazzi had a real passion for flying in the desert terrain around Moab, and described his friend as a "much-loved, good, honest guy."

Along with Heiney, Pirazzi was featured in the 2014 documentary "Free Flyers," which chronicles their adventures with other hang-gliding pilots as they launch from some of Utah's most iconic flying sites.

"Craig had a passion in particular for doing cliff launches throughout the beautiful canyonlands," Heiney said.

The ruins of an ancient cliff dwelling beneath the launching site seemed to have special significance to Pirazzi, according to Heiney.

"He knew the canyonlands well and studied the history," he said.

Brett Schreckengost of Ophir, Colorado, said that his friend pioneered many of the cliff launch sites around Indian Creek, and agreed that the area had a special place in Pirazzi's heart.

After a friend and hang-gliding pilot from Durango, Colorado, took his own life last year, Pirazzi was the one who released the man's ashes during a memorial ceremony above Indian Creek, Schreckengost said.

"I know he had a deep connection to the area," he said.

Tim Territo of Telluride said Pirazzi was always there to help people who were less fortunate, including a paraplegic friend from Durango and a friend who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease.

"He had a huge heart and really cared about the underdog," Territo said.

Territo, who introduced Pirazzi to his future wife Heidi Attenberger 22 years ago, said he first met his friend during a snowstorm in Telluride. Pirazzi was digging his motorcycle out of the snow to go for a ride, and Territo thought to himself, "I knew I'd be friends with this guy."

San Miguel County Coroner Emil Sante, who serves on the Telluride Ski Patrol and local Emergency Medical Services crew with Attenberger, called Pirazzi a true Renaissance man.

Although he may have been known for his "off-the-wall stuff," Pirazzi was a carpenter by trade who built his own house, as well as an accomplished "prop master" and special effects wiz who was active in the film industry.

Most recently, he worked on Quentin Tarantino's upcoming movie "The Hateful Eight," which was filmed in the Telluride area. According to Territo, Pirazzi built the haberdashery and barn sets for the production.

"He knew the film business well - not just as a talented pilot," Schreckengost said. "He also knew the production side of things."

Schreckengost first connected with Pirazzi through his involvement with the Telluride Air Force, and he said his friend was instrumental in keeping the club of hang-gliding pilots and paragliders active and adequately funded.

In the 15 years that they were friends, Schreckengost said that Pirazzi stood out as one of a kind, both as a person and as a hang-gliding pilot.

"He was very true to himself and humble in what he did, and also big in the adventurous stuff he pulled off and did over his lifetime," he said.

Territo said that Telluride community radio station KOTO has been inundated with calls in the time since residents first heard about the accident. Many of his close friends, meanwhile, are still at a loss for words.

"I'm feeling for his wife Heidi and all of his friends and family members," Schreckengost said. "That's all I care about right now."

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_351f7d98-4cd0-11e5-bb39-db1f7c4fcf26.html
Hang-gliding legend dies in Indian Creek accident

Rudy Herndon and Andrew Mirrington - 2015/08/27 09:39
Moab Sun News

Craig Pirazzi, 50, of Paradox and Telluride, was dragged off a cliff when strong winds swept through the Indian Creek area just as he was attempting to take off at about 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24.

Bullshit. He was dragged off just as he was trying to move his glider up to launch position. If he'd been dragged off just as he was attempting to take off he'd have had a reasonably good chance of coming out of this in one piece.

The San Juan County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that Pirazzi spiraled uncontrollably, falling an estimated 300 feet.

Uncontrollably? After smashing back into the cliff, breaking his glider, probably getting knocked out or killed... Yeah.

Four-time world aerobatic hang-gliding champion John Heiney - a close friend of Pirazzi's from San Marcos, California - launched off the same cliff just minutes beforehand.

With assistance from Craig, I heard.

According to Heiney, wind gusts were worsening when Pirazzi launched.

Just minutes later. Bummer.

"It was maybe getting to be too strong (in terms of) conditions," he told the Moab Sun News.

Was it maybe getting to be too strong (in terms of) conditions for you to continue soaring the cliff? Were you trying to penetrate out to land just a few minutes after you launched?

"The idea is to launch into an updraft," he said.

Yeah John. We really talk like that.

"You want an updraft, but not (one that's) too strong.

So that was the problem? Craig tried to launch into an updraft that was too strong?

The wind does weird things and swirls around (then).

The updraft coming up the cliff at launch position does? Can you draw a diagram of that for us and show us what it is that the wind is swirling around?

That's what happened to Craig, and it pulled him over the edge."

- Isn't that where he was trying to go anyway?

- Here's Craig's rating card:

Craig Pirazzi - 43151 - H4 - 1989/03/27 - Luigi Ciaran - AT PL ST AWCL CL FSL RLF TUR XC

What's "AWCL" mean?

Others at the scene, led by Moab Cliffs and Canyons Executive Director Brett Sutteer, rappelled down to Pirazzi in an attempt to render aid.

They rappelled DOWN to him? How did he get down after being pulled over the edge into too strong an updraft? How come he wasn't blown up and back?

It took Sutteer about 15 minutes to reach him, and although Sutteer administered CPR for more than 30 minutes...

Stupid waste of time.

Pirazzi did not respond and was pronounced dead due to serious head and body trauma.

I'll take a chance and pronounce him dead when he smacked back into the cliff. If I'm wrong it won't matter.

San Juan County Search and Rescue crews worked through the night as they hoisted Pirazzi's body and two other gliders back up the cliff, the sheriff's office said.

Well, the important thing was that he'd lived his life to the fullest and flown bravely. The San Juan County Search and Rescue crews need to respect that while they're working through the night hoisting Pirazzi's body and two other gliders back up the cliff.

Heiney said that Pirazzi had a real passion for flying in the desert terrain around Moab, and described his friend as a "much-loved, good, honest guy."

Sorry, that's not enough to cut it in this game.

"Craig had a passion in particular for doing cliff launches throughout the beautiful canyonlands," Heiney said.

Launches - 'specially foot launches - are dangerous necessary evils in this game. Do them right, get them out of the way, then start appreciating the cliff launches from safe distances.

The ruins of an ancient cliff dwelling beneath the launching site seemed to have special significance to Pirazzi, according to Heiney.

Now augmented with the ruins of his glider.

"He knew the canyonlands well and studied the history," he said.

Should've studied the history of cliff launch disasters instead.

Brett Schreckengost of Ophir, Colorado, said that his friend pioneered many of the cliff launch sites around Indian Creek, and agreed that the area had a special place in Pirazzi's heart.

Now forever stilled.

After a friend and hang-gliding pilot from Durango, Colorado, took his own life last year, Pirazzi was the one who released the man's ashes during a memorial ceremony above Indian Creek, Schreckengost said.

I'd LOVE to see the statistics on glider people suicides. Seems to me like we're off the scale.

"I know he had a deep connection to the area," he said.

Does now, fer sure.

Tim Territo of Telluride said Pirazzi was always there to help people who were less fortunate, including a paraplegic friend from Durango and a friend who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease.

"He had a huge heart and really cared about the underdog," Territo said.

I don't recall ever getting any covering fire from him.

In the 15 years that they were friends, Schreckengost said that Pirazzi stood out as one of a kind, both as a person and as a hang-gliding pilot.

"He was very true to himself and humble in what he did, and also big in the adventurous stuff he pulled off and did over his lifetime," he said.

That living bravely crap that he wrote was not the mark of a humble pilot.

Territo said that Telluride community radio station KOTO has been inundated with calls in the time since residents first heard about the accident. Many of his close friends, meanwhile, are still at a loss for words.

Yeah, they always are. Fortunately we have Kite Strings to take up the slack.

"I'm feeling for his wife Heidi and all of his friends and family members," Schreckengost said. "That's all I care about right now."

Oh. You mean other people can pay big prices when we live our lives a little too fully and bravely? Shouldn't we have some consideration for them when we're making some of our more critical decisions?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_351f7d98-4cd0-11e5-bb39-db1f7c4fcf26.html
Hang-gliding legend dies in Indian Creek accident

Rudy Herndon and Andrew Mirrington - 2015/08/27 09:39
Moab Sun News

Craig Pirazzi, 50, of Paradox and Telluride, was dragged off a cliff when strong winds swept through the Indian Creek area just as he was attempting to take off at about 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24.

Whoa! Bummer. Just as Craig was attempting to take off at about 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24 strong winds swept through the Indian Creek area - without any warning. There was no time to abort the launch attempt, unhook, and secure the glider.

The San Juan County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that Pirazzi spiraled uncontrollably, falling an estimated 300 feet.

According to four separate accounts of the incident, Pirazzi and others were working with a commercial filming crew in the area.

Four-time world aerobatic hang-gliding champion John Heiney - a close friend of Pirazzi's from San Marcos, California - launched off the same cliff just minutes beforehand.

According to Heiney, wind gusts were worsening when Pirazzi launched.

Really?

- I thought that strong winds swept through the Indian Creek area just as he was attempting to take off at about 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24.

- Launched? I thought he was dragged off the cliff. Those are pretty much opposite procedures. When you're launching you're trying to get OFF the cliff, when you're being dragged you're trying to stay ON it. Pick one.

"It was maybe getting to be too strong (in terms of) conditions," he told the Moab Sun News.

So was he launching or being dragged? In my experience when it's maybe getting to be too strong (in terms of) conditions we pick a lull and launch while we still have the opportunity.

"The idea is to launch into an updraft," he said. "You want an updraft, but not (one that's) too strong.

Was there ever a moment in the course of that session when there wasn't an "updraft"? Was the wind cycling ninety cross and/or over the back?

The wind does weird things and swirls around (then).

How? Here's your photo of Craig:



doing a cliff launch at undoubtedly ANOTHER Moab area site. He's coming off the edge and the streamer well behind him and the cliff face is blowing up and back. Explain to me how/why the wind is gonna do weird things.

That's what happened to Craig, and it pulled him over the edge."

- So? The whole idea of a launch is to go over the edge, you said he was launching, ramp suck is a familiar phenomenon and nothing detrimental when we've committed, he's in a too strong updraft, there's no indication that he stalled (and stalls are harmless anyway)... So what indication do we have that he was dragged against his intent and will?

- So regardless of whether he got into the air as a result of launching or being dragged tell me how that puts him into an uncontrollable spiraling plummet for three hundred feet in a too strong updraft. Maybe that puts him into a 180 but after that he should be able to get things under control. Of course he might smack into the cliff first and break his glider and fuckin' neck but nobody's made a mention of anything remotely like that happening. So what's the deal?

According to four separate accounts of the incident, Pirazzi and others were working with a commercial filming crew in the area.

So what was it that the commercial filming crew in the area - which, according to four separate accounts of the incident, Pirazzi and you others were working with - commercially filming? A documentary on Turkey Vultures?

Others at the scene, led by Moab Cliffs and Canyons Executive Director Brett Sutteer, rappelled down to Pirazzi in an attempt to render aid. It took Sutteer about 15 minutes to reach him, and although Sutteer administered CPR for more than 30 minutes, Pirazzi did not respond and was pronounced dead due to serious head and body trauma.

So who was it who swallowed the video card out of Craig's GoPro? Don't try to tell me that the motherfucker was moving to the edge of the cliff without a wing camera running - 'SPECIALLY on THAT particular mission. If that were the case you'd have jumped on the "detail" the same way the Zack Marzec cover-up team did.

So how come you had time to spew this bullshit to the mainstream media and present this as another inherently-dangerous-sport/sometimes-shit-just-happens unpreventable accident but not time to present a solid incident report to the hang glider pilot crowd and engage in a discussion? Ditto for Dave and any other assholes who showed up with wings that afternoon/evening.

This is a cover-up. No mentions of the facts that all the other gliders went off with wire assistance from Craig and this one would've never happened if one of the film crew had be been given fifteen seconds worth of instruction and served as wire crew for thirty seconds.

There's at least one high quality video of this event and that one is absolutely horrendous. It shows how easily that incident would've been prevented by one wire guy and Craig slamming back into the cliff face just below launch. May also show the subsequent three hundred foot spiraling plummet of the broken wing with Craig's limp - possibly lifeless - body hanging underneath it.

Also...

The film crew may or may not have gotten the incident but there's no question whatsoever that it got all the previous launches - including yours
I know EXACTLY what you are and aren't saying and doing and why. Every one of you motherfuckers bears a share of the responsibility for this one. Ditto for the assholes who aren't pressing you on anything and letting you get away with this crap.