weesplat Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Well are you? I know I was. So when I got home from work at 7.30 this evening and noticed that the wind had died to a gentle breeze I realised there was a chance so a bit of a rush and a quick call to Simon w to check it was ok to use the Lambourn site saw me on my way to THE FIELD about half hour drive for me. Arrived and got the motor assembled and run up, spilled the wing out on the deck, untangled lines etc, the Sun sinking toward the horizon at a rate of knots or so it seemed, flight suit on, strapped into the motor, hooked onto the risers, aimed into wind, even tension, two steps back and go go go, I'm up and away. Total flight time about 15mins got a bit blustery about 150 feet and the sun was on and sinking below the horizon so only got to circle the field 2 maybe three times before I had to land. Was it worth it. You bet!!! Cheers for the hand folding the wing Simon and for the chat which saw us leaving in total darkness. So are you desperate for a flight? or have you got a story of a mad scrabble to get one. Put it on the forum for us all to read/relate to. Again Cheers Simon I needed that. Col.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvingair Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Desperate allright, but still not worth a story like "I was in air that was UNFLYABLE" ...I got a call a few nights ago from a pilot who picked a "not so perfect" window of flight in this springtime mix - he took off in 10-12km/h winds that increased to 24 with gusts to 30 or more...when the glider blew behind him in what he described as a dynamic stall, and the telephone poles started moving back to front, his spot on thinking pushing the A's to bring the wing back overhead and then braking a swift moving glider from a possible frontal, he wrestled the wing to the ground in elevator fashion to a bit of a hard landing. All is well, especially the respect for spring nastyness in the air and flying in what you KNOW are compromising conditions. Gust fronts can be scary . I repeat myself when I say "a reflex wing does not turn you into superman" although it can make you lean that way. Pitch roll yaw, Marko D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weesplat Posted May 4, 2007 Author Share Posted May 4, 2007 Hi Marco, I agree with what you say but it was perfectly flyable just ran out of light. Sun went down darkness decended. So had to land. It was more to do with the amount of effort for a 10-15 min flight. Cheers Col.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvingair Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Hi Marco, I agree with what you say but it was perfectly flyable just ran out of light. Sun went down darkness decended. So had to land. It was more to do with the amount of effort for a 10-15 min flight. Cheers Col.... Right you are on the light Col, we found that when having fun run late at 2000', things are much darker where we land, seems to take all finesse out of our landing technique - bonk slide splat - ahh ahhh oww. That's my experience anyway, it takes a lot of car lights to cover the flair of incoming reflex, but some days it is just hard to land when you have gas left (and yer belly's full of lobster soaked in garlic butter). Who's the lucky one's EHH? Springtime caution, Marko D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_andrews Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 (edited) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lV7FkbjyKkQ Nothing like reaching safe haven with the devil snapping at your heels is there? Edited December 22, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Absolutely crazy! these guys were lucky to get back safely. I'd rather see people land out safely than trying to push home in conditions like this. You can't be lucky everytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_andrews Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 So much for subtle.... Definitely a good news story, please limit the questioning of judgement as I'm certain these pilots have rethunk this flight many times in their heads and know how lucky they are. One point though, when it went black on the ground and the last daylight pilots landed, we knew these little sparrows were not too far behind, so the wagons quickly got circled and this instantly became the best landing zone option for kilometers. All it takes is a few minutes of distraction to make it dark on the ground. This was pretty dark though, like half an hour after dusk at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Two things that catch people out most- 1. When you're at altitude the sun appears to set later than on the ground. So if you're at 3,000ft and the sun is setting, then it has already had a head-start on the ground. 2. People often underestimate the time it takes to descend safely with a paramotor. Accomplished pilots can use 'bigears' and 'spirals' perhaps, but a novice pilot could be in diffs if the leaves it too late. If you get a combination of both factors- you're almost certainly landing in the dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_P Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Just as a reference, with quite a bit of speed bar, trim out, and some steep (for me) turns, it took me 11 minutes to descend from 3500 feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Back when i was 'new' to PPG, i almost got caught out... admiring the scenery at 400ft close to sunset- took me 20mins to get down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantheman Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Power and telegraph lines are a bugger to spot in the dusk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Ps... my last post should have read 4000ft, not 400ft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I did wonder how long it was going to take you to edit it SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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