launching

General discussion about the sport of hang gliding
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Tad Eareckson
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Re: launching

Post by Tad Eareckson »

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=34512
Crestline pilot killed
If you're gonna go into a tree try to pick one that's not burning.
NMERider - 2016/06/30 02:50:00 UTC

We all are. I last saw him on Sunday. And now this sudden sad news. Image

Slightly updated news:
http://ktla.com/2016/06/29/hang-glider-dies-after-crashing-into-tree-in-crestline-fire-dept/
http://ktla.com/2016/06/29/hang-glider-dies-after-crashing-into-tree-in-crestline-fire-dept/
Hang Glider Dies After Crashing Into Tree in Crestline: Fire Dept. | KTLA
Melissa Pamer - 2016/06/30 01:13 UTC

Hang Glider Dies After Crashing Into Tree in Crestline: Fire Dept.

A hang glider died after taking off from a launch area in Crestline and crashing into a tree on Wednesday, authorities said.

The adult man glided for a short period of time after leaving the glider launch near Playground and Crest Forest drives, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Fire Capt. Dan Nelson said witnesses described the pilot making a 180-degree turn after briefly gliding, then crashing into a lone tree on the side of a hill. The witnesses went to the nearest fire station and reported the crash to the crew on duty.

The victim was initially reported to be hanging from a cliff.

Responding firefighters found the victim deceased, still suspended in his harness. They removed him, and his body was in the custody of the county coroner's office, Nelson said.

The man's identity was not being released pending family notification. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating.

The launch point is linked to the Crestline Soaring Society and is within the San Bernardino National Forest, according to a sign at the site.

KTLA's Scott Williams contributed to this article.
Must've violated the Christopher LeFay Five Second Rule.
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34°14'09.57" N 117°18'46.92" W
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Tad Eareckson
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Re: launching

Post by Tad Eareckson »

http://alpenhornnews.com/hang-glider-pilot-suffers-fatal-injuries-p7272-155.htm
Hang glider pilot suffers fatal injuries
Douglas W. Motley - 2016/06/29

Hang glider pilot suffers fatal injuries
Cause of death: the suffering of fatal injuries. Must've read the u$hPa fatality report - or at least any other u$hPa fatality report from the past decade.
A yet-to-be identified hang glider pilot...
http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5265
Crestline fatality reported in LA Times
NMERider - 2016/06/30 16:14:25 UTC

His name was Larry Heidler. He's the quiet guy who always wore a fluorescent orange T-shirt and smoked little cigars. The glider in the news photo is his. I hope this helps Sylmar pilots recall him. I'm sure I have a photo somewhere. I'll try to dig something up.
...perished Wednesday afternoon when his hang glider struck a pine tree...
Always go for deciduous if you have the option.
...shortly after lifting off from the Crestline Soaring Society Glider Launch site located at the end of Playground Drive in Crestline.

Details about the 1:30 p.m. incident are still sketchy, and more information will be released as soon as it becomes available.
And then suppressed by u$hPa to the greatest degree possible after it becomes available.
"He was killed instantly,"...
...doing what he loved...
...said San Bernardino County Fire Department Captain Daniel Nelson.

Firefighters and paramedics surrounded the tree as a paramedic ascended a ladder to assess the situation. The deceased pilot’s body, which was lodged between branches approximately twenty feet up in the tree, was then lowered to the ground with the assistance of a rope apparatus.

An eyewitness at the scene told The Alpenhorn News that he and his father were returning to their Lake Arrowhead home when they decided to check out the hang gliding launch site they had heard so much about. The son, who did not want to be identified, said they had talked to the hang glider pilot for about twenty minutes before he lifted-off from the over 5,000-foot high...
...foot...
...launching site overlooking Cal State San Bernardino. "He took off, caught an updraft, did a 180 and then hit the tree," the witness said.
Moral of story... Never catch an updraft after takeoff. (Zack Marzec comes to mind.)
The father added that the entire incident happened in a matter of four or five seconds.
At or near the end of the Christopher LeFay Five Second Rule upright interval. SO close!
A nearby neighbor said the father and son came to his door to inform him of the incident and call 9-1-1 for help. According to the unidentified neighbor, Central Dispatch had no idea where Playground Drive was located and said they could not respond without an address for the location. The neighbor gave his address, and shortly after fire and sheriff's units began arriving.

The neighbor said there had been many previous rescues of hang glider pilots that had become entangled in trees at and near the launch site over the 25 years he has lived nearby.
But stay the hell clear of tow launch operations. All that extra complexity makes them really dangerous.
He said the last fatal incident there occurred about eight or ten years ago when a glider struck a tree after lifting off from a launch site near Crestline.
Nothing's coming to mind.
http://alpenhornnews.com/clients/alpenhornnews/6-29-2016-10-53-34-PM-9824120.gif
Image
An unidentified man died Wednesday, June 29 when his hang glider struck a tree after lifting off from a launch site near Crestline. (Photo by Douglas W. Motley)
OK Mitch, all yours. Tell us something about how attractive risk makes the sport to us all.

http://www.crestlinesoaring.org/sites/default/files/CAM01959.jpg
Image
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Tad Eareckson
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Re: launching

Post by Tad Eareckson »

http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20160630/man-killed-in-crestline-hang-glider-accident-identified
Man killed in Crestline hang glider accident identified
Beatriz Valenzuela - 2016/06/30 14:58 UTC
San Bernardino Sun

Man killed in Crestline hang glider accident identified

CRESTLINE - The man killed in a freak hang glider accident...
Really? A ground loop back into the top with a foot/slope launched hang glider is a...

http://alpenhornnews.com/hang-glider-pilot-suffers-fatal-injuries-p7272-155.htm
Hang glider pilot suffers fatal injuries
Douglas W. Motley - 2016/06/29

The neighbor said there had been many previous rescues of hang glider pilots that had become entangled in trees at and near the launch site over the 25 years he has lived nearby.
...freak accident? Guess that makes me a super freak then. I had a handful of such "freak accidents" in the course of my career, with one in particular that I never have any trouble remembering.
...Wednesday afternoon in Crestline has been identified as Larry Heidler, 64, of Corona, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner's website.

Just after 1:30 p.m., Heidler had taken off from Glider Launch in Crestline when he lost control of his hang glider and struck a tree, officials said.
Oh, he was doing fine for two or three seconds then he suddenly lost control.
San Bernardino County Fire personnel pronounced Heidler dead at the scene.
REALLY lost control.
It's unclear if Heidler was an experienced hang glider...
Fear not. I have no doubt whatsoever that all of his dear friends in the Crestline Soaring Society and Sylmar Hang Gliding Association will be rushing forward to provide as many details about this situation as possible in order to make sure everyone learns as much as possible from this latest tragedy.
...or what caused him to lose control of the craft.
Probably an invisible dust devil. Or possibly trying to power an aircraft into light air while running down a slope attempting to keep it doing what he needed it to with his hands on the control tubes. Or maybe a combination of the two.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident.
Oh good. Perhaps we'll find out whether or not the aircraft appeared to have been for recreational purposes.
Steve Davy
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Re: launching

Post by Steve Davy »

http://www.flytandem.com/accident/index.htm
6-29-16 1:30PM. Local Novice HG with a little over 2 years experience drops his right wing at the moment of takeoff and gets turned crosswind then downwind and impacts a tree several seconds after takeoff. Injuries: Fatal. It was typical mid-day summer conditions, warm windy afternoon. Winds 15mph sustained, some gusts to 25. Glider Falcon 195. Non-pilot eyewitness reported the glider launched unassisted, immediately entered a right turn. The bank angle increased to 90 deg and the glider climbed in ridge lift eventually turning downwind and impacting a tree in the middle of the setup area. The glider was lodged in the tree and public emergency responders eventually freed it after lowering the pilot's body to ground level. The impacted tree is located 125 ft from launch at 45 deg behind and right of takeoff. Estimated flight time 5 seconds.
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Tad Eareckson
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Re: launching

Post by Tad Eareckson »

- So NOT light air.

- Oh yeah, California pilots don't use crew 'cause crew is for girly men - like wheel landing.

- Could/Should've launched like:

1-01107
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2910/14159588871_3cd9e23c2b_o.png
Image
Image
http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7414/14162919905_1a667ab879_o.png
2-01320

While standing in place glider's flying at a low angle of attack and locked level as it would be on a cart or platform, both hands are in position on the CONTROL BAR, pilot's semiprone and loaded for bear. Violates the crap outta the Christopher LeFay Five Second Rule.

Instructor needs to be stood up against a fuckin' wall. Ditto for the local culture.

Disrespectfully submitted by someone who's been a girly man his entire career and proud of it.
Dave Gills
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Re: launching

Post by Dave Gills »

Novice + mid-day summer conditions +15mph sustained/gusts to 25 + Falcon 195 + flying alone = WTF!

Well 15-25 is about my limit so long as there are nice fat windows.
No way am I doing it on a Falcon 195 at 185lbs (hook in).

Do H2 pilots fly alone in California?
I've never done it here in Pa. & I don't know anyone who would.
Tad Eareckson wrote:Instructor needs to be stood up against a fuckin' wall. Ditto for the local culture.
No F'n kidding.
No way this is true.
We must be missing some information.
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Tad Eareckson
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Re: launching

Post by Tad Eareckson »

Looking at some of these issues...

- A Two with two years experience... That could mean anything. I'd scored a one hour, fifty minute flight in the South Bowl (Jockey's Ridge) before I got my Three. A Three is now a minimum of ten hours plus those totally useless and dangerous observed consecutive spot landings. And let's remember that he didn't end up any deader than:
-- 2015/08/23 - Rafi Lavin
-- 2015/08/24 - Craig Pirazzi
-- 2015/11/01 - Uli Blumenthal
-- 2015/11/08 - Karen Carra
-- 2016/05/21 - Jeff Bohl
looking at recent launch related fatalities.

- The wind and gust factor... Not a bad limit - if for no other reason than shit like that tends to not be any fun 'cept maybe if you're planning on going over the back and racking up miles. Otherwise you're spending a lot of time pretty much parked way over the ridge holding ground and wearing yourself out fighting for control in the blasts. But I don't think we should be looking too hard at this issue. Launch could and should've been safely managed.

- Falcon 195... 175-275 pounds hook-in.

http://www.crestlinesoaring.org/sites/default/files/10985595_10203738468888893_5921073089346670518_n.jpg
Image

Probably the right glider for him and I don't think a smaller one would've made a difference in the outcome. I think he was mostly fucked the moment he committed.

- Flying alone... He WASN'T.
Non-pilot eyewitness reported the glider launched unassisted...
This is what MOST pisses me off about this one. If there's ANYBODY conveniently close who looks like he or she can walk and chew gum and there's ANY chance of air trying to roll me I'll take the help. It's just stupid to waste energy trying to fight from the fulcrum a force that's working against you with the advantage of a fifteen plus foot lever arm. He could've had people instructed to keep the fuckin' glider level on both wings.
We must be missing some information.
Of course. Openly stated u$hPa policy. I'm really surprised we've gotten as much as we have. But I'd sure like to know who signed him off on his last and final rating.
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Edit - 2016/07/01 16:10:00 UTC

Amendment to second point.
Dave Gills
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Re: launching

Post by Dave Gills »

We will have people at Zirk's, Gap, Pulpit & Hyner tomorrow.
There will be H2 pilots at all 4 places with at least one observer at each location.

If you fly anywhere in Pa. as an H2 without an observer, you are done.
Someone will clip your side wires and escort you off the property.

I know this didn't help Karen Carra or Jesse Fulkersin but we've been keeping our H2 pilots alive.
Wuffo's are not pilots & I'd rather self launch or bag-it than have one touching my wires.
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<BS>
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Re: launching

Post by <BS> »

I live in California and have no problem asking for help with wire assistance. Years ago I'd fly by myself and often recruited wuffos to help. I'd school them as to what would be required. Most were eager to help, but some declined. Never had a problem with the ones that agreed. It's my understanding that one of our club's site policy (maybe all, I don't know) now requires that wire assistants also be USHPA pilots. Maybe Crestline has the same policy.

I like to see the pilot actively directing the assistants to raise or lower their side and move forward or back to achieve balance anyway. Then have a predetermined signal, on which they will let go at the same time.
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Tad Eareckson
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Re: launching

Post by Tad Eareckson »

There will be H2 pilots at all 4 places with at least one observer at each location.
What percentage of the Twos, Observers, other flyers:
- do and look for stomp tests and hook-in checks?
- would consider staying prone on the basetube and bellying in if the alternative were a broken arm or death?

The Gap... Remember this one?:

http://vimeo.com/34757572


http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=24459
Blown launch and crash into trees
http://www.kitestrings.org/post1191.html#p1191

Wouldn't have happened with a wuffo crew.

Hyner on Day Two of the holiday weekend:

http://www.lockhaven.com/page/content.detail/id/589706/Hang-glider-lands-on-tree--escapes-injury.html?nav=5009
Hang glider lands on tree, escapes injury - The Express
The Express - 2016/07/05

Hang glider lands on tree, escapes injury

A hang glider remarkably escaped without injury despite landing on top of tree in Hyner after taking off from Hyner View State Park on Sunday afternoon. As the Renovo Fire Department and Chapman Township Fire Company arrived on scene, they found that the glider had landed and become stuck in a tree just south of the landing field along the Susquehanna River. The hang glider could be seen from the Hyner Bridge. The Renovo Fire Department used their seventy-five foot ladder truck to clear branches, but were unable to reach the adult male that was about twenty feet higher. Station #2- the Lock Haven Fire Department was called to bring their 100-foot ladder truck, seen at left, to the scene. After nearly an hour and a half the trapped man touched down on ground following the rescue efforts of all three companies. Above, it was all smiles on the ground after the trapped hang glider, left, was reunited with his wife and children, after being freed from his glider.

http://www.lockhaven.com/photos/news/lg/589706_1.jpg
ImageImage
http://www.lockhaven.com/photos/news/lg/589706_2.jpg
That's what happens when you miss the runway by a lot. Miss it by a wingtip's worth you get killed instantly.

(And on 1990/05/27 I helped extract Hang Five comp hotshot John Woiwode from rather deep in the forest on the river side of the upstream end of the runway.)

Pretty much total suppression of information on Jesse Fulkersin from close to eight months ago and you can't find out anything other than what's in the newspaper on the 2016/07/03 unless you're on a closed Yahoo group.
If you fly anywhere in Pa. as an H2 without an observer, you are done.
That's not what the u$hPa rating says.
The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc. - 2016/05/11
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
07. Novice Hang Gliding Rating (H2)

-A. General Description - A Novice hang glider pilot has the knowledge and basic skills necessary to fly and practice without direct instructor supervision but within significant operating limitations. The pilot understands the USHPA hang gliding rating systems and recommended operating limitations.

-C. Recommended Operating Limitations for Novice Pilots

01. Should exceed these limitations only after thoroughly mastering all required tasks, and after acquiring a full understanding of the potential problems and dangers involved in exceeding these limitations.

02. It is highly recommended that all flights be made under the direct supervision of a USHPA Certified Basic or Advanced Instructor or Observer.

03. Should fly only in smooth winds of 18 mph or less and gusty winds to 11 mph.

04. If foot launching, should launch only on slopes 2:1 to 7:1, where wind is within 25° of being straight up the slope.

05. Should maintain heading within 90° of directly into wind, and within 45° of directly into wind below 60' AGL.

06. Flight speed. Should not attempt to fly slowly when encountering lift, but instead, concentrate on maintaining attitude, heading, and airspeed. Slow flight must be preceded by stall experience 500' from any object.
(Note that those recommended restrictions preclude one from executing a DBF approach in anything but dead air.)
Someone will clip your side wires...
Someone should be well armed before deciding to clip MY side wires.
...and escort you off the property.
Hyner launch is a Pennsylvania State Park. Somebody should also be well armed and prepared to do some jail time if he attempts to escort me off of it. And when I was still a Two I was ten times the pilot a lot of the fully cleared assholes I've seen at Hyner will EVER be.
I know this didn't help Karen Carra or Jesse Fulkersin...
Exactly. And there's never been a hint of a report that either of them was dealing with Over Two level circumstances and conditions. They could've been carrying Two cards and sponsored by certified Observers and wound up just as dead.
...but we've been keeping our H2 pilots alive.
- How many Twos would that be?

- What's the difference between a club, operation, meet killing a Two and killing a Three, Four, Five? Name some fatalities in which the pilot hadn't temporarily at least reverted to sub Two performance and/or judgment.

- If you prevent Twos from flying you're gonna prevent them from being hurt or killed in hang gliding incidents. You're also gonna:
-- prevent them from gaining experience and developing skills which will increase their chances for long term survival
-- deprive them of flying opportunities they're never gonna get back - and some of them you're gonna help frustrate out of the sport
Wuffo's are not pilots...
Only the tiniest percentage of people who fly hang gliders are pilots. "Wuffo" is derived from "What for" and an ACTUAL pilot never stops being a wuffo - someone who's always questioning how things work and why things are being done a particular way. Hang glider "pilot"...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=28290
Report about fatal accident at Quest Air Hang Gliding
Paul Hurless - 2013/02/09 08:49:22 UTC

If you had been properly trained on how to tow, you would know that it shouldn't be a big deal when a weak link breaks, even just after coming off the cart, if you are doing things right. Maybe you should get some better training instead of just parroting Tad. When you are under tow you should be ready for any unusual event and be ready to deal with it. It's called being a pilot instead of just being a passenger along for the ride.
Using someone else's tragedy to further your agenda is pathetic.
Gimme a wuffo - someone who's EDUCABLE - any day of the week.
...& I'd rather self launch or bag-it than have one touching my wires.
- I want someone with a middling or better degree of COMMON SENSE on a sidewire at any time there's enough going on with the air to make me do any work to get or stay level.

- One need not launch with anyone touching a wire. One can say "Clear!" and quickly glance to the relevant side(s) to ensure that you are before committing. That's not a bad practice under any circumstances anyway. Also a good check for wire deflection before saying "Clear!"

- The "danger" of using a wuffo crew is microscopic compared to going up behind ANY Dragonfly with its:
-- tow mast breakaway
-- tow mast breakaway protector
-- dickheaded driver poised to fix whatever's going on back there by giving you the rope

You're vulnerable to a wire crew for a fraction of a second. A Dragonfly driver can kill you in air you may not be able to assess on up to about a couple hundred feet. And the number of Dragonfly drivers who AREN'T dickheads is too microscopic to be worth mentioning.

- Cite some incidents in which gliders have been crashed due to the actions or inactions of wuffo crews or crew members.

- If you bag it because your only option to get off the ramp is a wuffo crew you're gonna go back on the highway you just used to get you to launch. The risk of being killed in that environment through no fault of your own is not zero. I've been in a crash as a passenger in a glider van that was the fault of its driver. Rear-ended a stopped car in some Interstate mess in Chattanooga and sent five gliders flying off the roof still strapped to the racks.
Maybe Crestline has the same policy.
And we all saw just how well that worked out.

http://recreationrrg.com/rrrg-governance
Board and Governance | Recreation Risk Retention Group
Timothy Herr
Secretary and Risk Management Officer

Tim Herr is a practicing attorney in California and serves as corporate counsel for USHPA.
Oh good. A non pilot professional sleazy motherfucker running our risk management program for us - the son of a bitch who shreds all of our incident reports and whom Mark G. Forbes quotes as saying that u$hPa is and can not be in the business of keeping pilots safe - read competent.

Hang gliding is a massively broken and dying system and there's a real good argument to be made that the higher the u$hPa rating the more the clueless asshole you're dealing with.
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