open phones

[<BS>]

I'm most concerned the Queen has only found Utah unfavourable.

[TheFjordflier]

I did a search. Looks like the letter has been around for several years.
Not even sure if Mr. Cleese wrote it, or has anything to do with it.
But it's still funny, and valid as ever before. Probably even more now.
We could just label it under your new Administration's "Fake News" or "Alternate Facts".
And yes, Mr. Cleese is a great comedian, regardless.

[Tad Eareckson]

Damn...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/revocation.asp
John Cleese's Letter to the USA : snopes.com

Not him. Oh well.

[TheFjordflier]

Sometimes I wish the International Hang gliding comunity had made a list like this one.
The BASE jumpers don't have any National org. to take "care" of them.They have to do it themselfes.
Made and maintained by individuals, independed from any other organisation or entity.(or sleezy lawers)
It's sad to see all those names perished. They're there, for all to see. Uncensored.
And it's also easy to go back and check for causes of accidents (if known), and trends.

Would Hang gliding as a sport be better of today if we had such an overview of all fatal accidents from the start?
Even a list of non fatal accidents, just to see whats going on, and maybe learn something. Without any censoring or shredding of evidence.

http://www.blincmagazine.com/forum/wiki_index.php?title=BASE_Fatality_List

[Tad Eareckson]

Hang gliding WAS pretty much like this AT THE START ('cept stuff was on paper back then). But it didn't take long for commercial interests to start eroding things.

Hard to imagine hang gliding being a much WORSE sport than it is now. But we here at Kite Strings know how to do things right and the information here is free and fully accessible for anyone who cares to take advantage of it.

[TheFjordflier]

But we here at Kite Strings know how to do things right and the information here is free and fully accessible for anyone who cares to take advantage of it.

Yes, I fully agree.
But all this great information are scattered among lots and lots of different topics/pages.
Not easy to find.

For newcomers, and also others, it would be nice to have:

A locked topic (but updated) with all the relevant and "most important" information.
Like advise regarding best/worst technics/methods for landing/launcing/pre-flighting. Best/worst gear/equipment for different type of hang gliding uses.
Towing for example.

Maybe an updated fatality list also. Even with PG's.

Even if I love irony and sarcasm, wrapped in som subtle humour (my understanding of KS), maybe it's difficult for a new visitor to Kite Strings to see it like that.
And thereby get the message totally wrong.
A topic like that would show in clear text what kitestrings.org really stand for.

All the essential information in one place, easy to find.

Silly?

Sorry for the bad English. I don't have the vocabulary needed. Hope you understand what I'm trying to say

[Tad Eareckson]

But all this great information are scattered among lots and lots of different topics/pages.

Yeah, but lots of stuff is interrelated.

- Towing:

Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974

"Never take your hands off the bar." - Tom Peghiny

- Landing:

Same thing, same blindingly obvious reason.

Not easy to find.

Yeah, 9896 posts as of yours. But a helluva lot easier than with The Davis Show - from which the public, quality individuals, and search engines are barred.

For newcomers...

WHAT newcomers? The most recent newcomer first post we've had was 2015/09/19 16:54:58 UTC - yours, over a year and a half ago.

...and also others...

With rare exceptions - fuck others. If they're not talking to us or at least defending our positions on other forums then I'm not much interested in them.

...it would be nice to have:

A locked topic...
Towing for example.

All that stuff's pretty basic, simple, straightforward, obvious. And with foot launching there's little of controversy - other than a hook-in check being the initial action of your launch sequence (rather than some worse-than-useless preflight exercise). I initiated the "launching" topic as a mission to debunk the crap the California assholes propagate about foot launching being so much safer than rolling tow launches because of the equipment complexity of the latter.

Maybe an updated fatality list also.

When I entered the sport in 1980 I LIVED for fatality reports - as I wanted to see the most serious mistakes made by people almost all more advanced than I was in order to not duplicate them. Can't imagine why anyone else wouldn't be so wired. And back then we had two good, conscientious, dedicated reporters - Robert V. Wills and Doug Hildreth. But the commercial interests and other sleazy ass coverers made sure that none of the easily fixable issues ever got fixed and now we've got two total scumbags - Mitch Shipley and Tim Herr - controlling that department.

Same issues though. We're not inventing any new ways to crash gliders.

Even with PG's.

Not very interested in PGs.

- Rick Masters is a mega-asshole but he's spot on regarding PG collapses in turbulence - mostly thermal. Nothing that can be done there - there's no fix. And they continue to fly their birds through landing, both hands on the controls, so there's nothing that NEEDS to be done along the lines of hang gliding's biggest crash issue.

- I totally kicked their sleazy asses on the Infallible Weak Link scam...

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=28641
Weak links in towing paragliders with pay out winch
http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=28697
Weak links why do we use them. in paragliding.

...over seven years ago so they banned me - but history's already had me solidly on its side for the last laugh.

Even if I love irony and sarcasm, wrapped in som subtle humour (my understanding of KS), maybe it's difficult for a new visitor to Kite Strings to see it like that.

Low double digit IQ types already have a good home with the Jack Show Mutual Masturbation Society.

And thereby get the message totally wrong.

And then I get more really valuable videos and fatality reports to better illustrate the important points.

A topic like that would show in clear text what kitestrings.org really stand for.

Zack C spelled things out pretty well with the forum's opening post:

http://www.kitestrings.org/post2.html#p2

All the essential information in one place, easy to find.

Silly?

No. But let's say there's a hundred people who don't understand how to calculate how much load a two point aerotow release (or bridle end weak link) feels with two hundred pounds of towline tension and a sixty degree bridle apex angle. (Half of two hundred plus fifteen percent of that half (115 pounds).) Pretty safe bet that at least one of them is gonna register and ask, right? So where is he?

I'm pretty confident that we already have all of the individuals who should be participating and benefitting participating and benefitting. (And once someone with a functional brain engages he tends to get the picture pretty quickly. All this stuff is pretty simple and straightforward.) The other 99.99 percent are just gonna go along with whatever some douchebag like Davis, Rooney, Ryan says.

Sorry for the bad English. I don't have the vocabulary needed. Hope you understand what I'm trying to say

Anybody who's communicating here in a second language is head and shoulders above Yours Truly in that department.

From my perspective the mission of Kite Strings has (d)evolved since its inception over half a dozen years ago. The original goal/hope was to reform the sport. "We" now understand why things are like they are and that reform on any significant scale is not a possibility. I now see the primary mission as doing as much damage as possible to the corrupt commercial motherfuckers who hijacked the sport from the recreational pilot decades ago - and ditto for their enablers (99 percent of current participants).

I think your suggestions are fine but don't see ANYTHING we'd be able to do pulling in more participants and/or increasing our effectiveness. And - as I'm sure everybody's noticed - I entered a phase of serious burnout (and (even more) substantial depression) months ago.

But nothing's stopping any Kite Strings member from setting up anything along the lines of what you're suggesting and I could help with such an effort.

[<BS>]

And speaking of corrupt commercial motherfuckers, the...
http://www.whca.net
is currently experiencing a HUGE workload increase covering them. This year's dinner should be good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUymQKZqP6w&feature=youtu.be&t=18m17s

[<BS>]

Hasan Minhaj COMPLETE REMARKS at 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7oG74nHSTQ

[bobk]

For the record ... my posts to this topic (which were in direct response to Tad's post above) have been moved to another topic.

Mutilation of history often starts with the smallest of steps.