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Seaeagle
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Location: Gold Coast Australia
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 Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:30 am Post subject: Greetings!!! |
 #1 |
Greetings and thank you for all the information your sharing.
I am a complete newbie to hang gliding and really looking forward to flying.
Have been up the mountain a couple of times to watch and it looks like a lot of fun and theres a really good instructor.
Grew up by the ocean and have spent my life surfing, sailing, windsurfing, mountain biking and heaps of other sports, even motocross and thought its time to learn hang gliding.
I am studing Dennis Pagen's "Training Manual" and doing lots of research. Today I made a simulator in the garage and it works really well. I have attached a photo of it.
Im going to wait until I've completed the training with an instructor before I decide what glider. There is one glider that really stands out to me and thats the North Wing "Freedom" Looks like a lot of fun and has good performance, yes/no?
Again thanks for all the info and appreciate any advice!
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red
3 thumbs up
Joined: 13 Aug 2007
Posts: 2730
Location: Utah, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sol III
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 5:43 am Post subject: Re: Greetings!!! |
#2 |
| Seaeagle wrote: |
Greetings and thank you for all the information your sharing.
I am a complete newbie to hang gliding and really looking forward to flying.
Have been up the mountain a couple of times to watch and it looks like a lot of fun and theres a really good instructor.
Grew up by the ocean and have spent my life surfing, sailing, windsurfing, mountain biking and heaps of other sports, even motocross and thought its time to learn hang gliding.
I am studing Dennis Pagen's "Training Manual" and doing lots of research. Today I made a simulator in the garage and it works really well. I have attached a photo of it.
Again thanks for all the info and appreciate any advice! |
Seaeagle,
 to the HG forum !
to the sky !
You get ten points for effort, with that simulator . . .  . . . 'WAY to go, mate!
The WIKI here has more good stuff, for a HG Simulator:
http://www.hanggliding.org/wiki/Soaring_simulators#Real.2C_Hands-On_HG_Simulator_:
You can learn a lot, before and during HG lessons, by driving the retrieve vehicle for other HG pilots. Given your background, you should have a good time learning all you need to fly. It takes some effort, but the pay-off will be in having the sky as your new range, much like windsurfing has given you the sea. (That's a good analogy, there.  )
You can fly with Group One for now, stick by your wingman,
and the only dumb questions here are the ones that do not get asked.
_________________
Cheers,
........Red.........................
Pssst! New pilot? Free advice, maybe worth the price,
http://www.xmission.com/~red/
H4, Moyes X2, Falcon Tandem, HES Tracer, Quantum |
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Windlord
3 thumbs up
Joined: 20 Nov 2007
Posts: 4702
Location: Montana
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:21 am Post subject: |
#3 |
I like the simulator, good job. 
Your instructor should provide all equipment that you will need for you're training.
When it come to purchasing a new wing, sales and service are very important factors. Waiting months on end for parts, just doesn't cut it.
Most important, "Try before you buy". You're instructor will be a good source for this.
Good luck and keep us posted
_________________
H-4 (1976) UP Saturn 147 & UP Axis 13
The Cloudbase Foundation
Learn to fly hang gliders (click here}
Torrey Hawks #208 |
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Fletcher
3 thumbs up
Joined: 13 Oct 2009
Posts: 350
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:38 am Post subject: |
#4 |
Welcome
Red and Windlord gave some good advice.
There's a great site for inland ridge and thermal flight in Canbera.
Contact Nicos on this site and he can introduce you to it if you venture that way.
Hope you have room for a new addiction in your life, you're gonna need it.
Fly high be free
Fletcher
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TomGalvin
3 thumbs up
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 3546
Location: ............... Pagosa Springs, Colorado
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 8:22 am Post subject: Re: Greetings!!! |
#5 |
| Seaeagle wrote: |
| There is one glider that really stands out to me and thats the North Wing "Freedom" Looks like a lot of fun and has good performance, yes/no? |
I own it and love it, but listen to your Instructor's advice since they will know which wing will suit you best in a variety of ways(Ability, cost, service, lifestyle).
_________________
Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization.
Charles Lindbergh |
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Seaeagle
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Location: Gold Coast Australia
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:55 pm Post subject: |
#6 |
"Copy"
Thanks guys
Questions:
In hang gliding is the wind measured in knots or mph?
Can you take the "Training Manual" as gospel or are there new and better techniques?
I managed to get a glider with a harness for $150 and have it set up in the shed, I also put some castor type wheels on it.
Don't worry I have no intentions flying it!
Thought it would be good opportunity to get acquainted with one and practice pre flight inspections and running with it etc. So far having quite a bit of fun and I'm amazed at how easy Dennis Pagens book is to follow. "My new bible" and it's easy to go back to find and review information.
My learning philosophy, is to strongly etch as much information and practice on the ground as much as possible, hence the $150 glider. Then expand on everything in due course and time with an instructor.
In other words growing really deep roots!
Rather then rushing through and having shallow roots, growing to tall, to fast and falling over!
It seems like a very friendly community 
Really looking forward to flying high 
Gary
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red
3 thumbs up
Joined: 13 Aug 2007
Posts: 2730
Location: Utah, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sol III
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:38 am Post subject: Greetings!!! |
#7 |
| Seaeagle wrote: |
"Copy" Thanks guys
Questions:
In hang gliding is the wind measured in knots or mph?
Can you take the "Training Manual" as gospel or are there new and better techniques?
I managed to get a glider with a harness for $150 and have it set up in the shed, I also put some castor type wheels on it.
Don't worry I have no intentions flying it!
Thought it would be good opportunity to get acquainted with one and practice pre flight inspections and running with it etc. So far having quite a bit of fun and I'm amazed at how easy Dennis Pagens book is to follow. "My new bible" and it's easy to go back to find and review information.
My learning philosophy, is to strongly etch as much information and practice on the ground as much as possible, hence the $150 glider. Then expand on everything in due course and time with an instructor.
In other words growing really deep roots! Rather then rushing through and having shallow roots, growing to tall, to fast and falling over!
It seems like a very friendly community
Really looking forward to flying high
Gary |
Gary,
Knots or mph? Never been to Oz, so go with what the local pilots use. In the low ranges of velocity which we use, there is not enough difference to notice, anyway.
There is not much I would change in Pagen's books, but bring specific questions here, and/or to the local HG pilots and instructors, to validate your concerns. Do not assume that the words you see printed will have no alternatives. Some of our "traditions" of HG language can mean more (or less) than you might think.
Now, we want to see the $150 glider and kit, anyway. No joke. Post some pictures of it here. New guys here (with less than five posts) can not post links, but you can make a "fluff" post or two somewhere here, if you need to get to five. "I like that video" will count, as well as questions about the pilot's experience, wind conditions, locations, glider type, et c.
The decision NOT to fly an old junk glider will be tough to stick with, I know, now that it is in the shed for you. Please resist that temptation. It will make a good HG Simulator for you (and others), so the money was not wasted.
I would disagree with trying to learn much alone, with some books. Your knowledge will increase greatly (and in the right directions) when you are dealing with experienced HG types. Do NOT believe that you need anything more than a pure desire to fly, to be welcome among us. The HG community, with a few rare exceptions, will be a friendly mob. Any pilot assembling their glider will not welcome any distractions at that time, as you might expect. Other than that, you may get a "business-like" reception with an instructor, but most of us are quite open and welcoming to the potential pilots. Find a local HG club, and hang out at HG flying sites when you can, to meet more pilots. The landing field at the end of a good day can be the friendliest place on Earth.
_________________
Cheers,
........Red.........................
Pssst! New pilot? Free advice, maybe worth the price,
http://www.xmission.com/~red/
H4, Moyes X2, Falcon Tandem, HES Tracer, Quantum |
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peanuts
3 thumbs up
Joined: 08 Jul 2008
Posts: 1880
Location: virginia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:52 am Post subject: |
#8 |
| just a little precaution about the path you're on. maybe nothing to worry about BUT.....if you are relying upon your best guess as to how something is done, i.e. glider assymbly, and you are incorrect in assumptions, then it may be difficult to unlearn bad habits and relearn correct way of doing something. get yourself a mentor. they're usually pretty cheap, about a six-pack or so around here.
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Fred Wilson
1 thumbs up
Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 1534
Location: Vernon BC Canada
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psilyguy
3 thumbs up
Joined: 13 Sep 2011
Posts: 278
Location: ON, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 2:02 pm Post subject: |
#10 |
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Seaeagle
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Location: Gold Coast Australia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 3:22 pm Post subject: |
#11 |
| Fred Wilson wrote: |
Where abouts in the Gold Coast are you?
There is some FABULOUS scenic sites nearby.
php |
Great links Fred thanks
There's no shortage of flying sites to choose from around here 
I live north east of Mt Tamborine about 30min drive to the site.
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Seaeagle
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Location: Gold Coast Australia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: Greetings!!! |
#12 |
[/quote]The decision NOT to fly an old junk glider will be tough to stick with, I know, now that it is in the shed for you. Please resist that temptation. It will make a good HG Simulator for you (and others), so the money was not wasted.
[/quote]
I was amazed at how many problems I found with it on doing a pre flight
Even has a nice ding in the leading edge.
I will post a link of it and maybe someone can identify what it is? 
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Seaeagle
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Location: Gold Coast Australia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:04 pm Post subject: |
#13 |
Great advice guys Thanks!
I think it's a good Idea to join a club and get involved, even if it's just to watch and drive at first 
It should give me a greater perspective on the sport
This is my $150 hang glider.
Can you Identify what it is?
Note the bent crossbar.
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jjcote
3 thumbs up
Joined: 01 Dec 2007
Posts: 3216
Location: Lunenburg, MA, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:50 pm Post subject: |
#14 |
I don't know what it is, but it looks like an excellent find, in the sense that you can have a lot of fun taking it apart and putting it back together, and there's no way you'd be tempted to get in trouble by trying to fly it, because it's so obviously seriously damaged. It's modern enough to have a lot in common with the kind of gliders that people actually do fly these days.
_________________
H4 + various skills (only foot-launch so far)
WW UltraSport 147, WW Falcon2 170, PacAir Vision Mark IV 17
My HG wiki profile and my flying blog |
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Fred Wilson
1 thumbs up
Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 1534
Location: Vernon BC Canada
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:51 pm Post subject: |
#15 |
Do Not Know what it is... There should be a placard on the keel, telling you everything you need to know.
But any Moyes or Airborne School / Dealer could fix that up for you and it would be perfectly good to train on. I would use something that modern for a training hill.
You got a good deal, IMH0 - depending on what else the shape is
- and you will not know until an expert pulls the sail off it.
One of my favorite all time memories is arriving at the training hill, for 1st day instruction,
with my own high tech ground school Hang Glider... as good or better than anything he had.
To this day, I still remember his eyes, like saucers! 
The story is Here
_________________
Thermaling Tips + Cross Country Coaching Manuals + RASP Wiki
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lafe.williams
3 thumbs up
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 92
Location: Tamworth NSW Australia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:52 pm Post subject: |
#16 |
just to feed your addiction,
state titles are on the 19th of this month at mt borah, manilla nsw.
even though it says "state" anybody and everybody flies there.
2 years ago, I came out as a noob to watch and that afternoon I was booked in for the very next course. really neat environment.
for one week a year the pgs yield the launch to hgs from all over.
http://nswst.williamolive.com/
if you have a couple of days, get there, if nothing else to see it, cheap camping ($9) at the rivergums caravan park in town or at godfreys ($6) farm. Fred Wilson posted a bunch of info about flying at manilla if you don't make it here, someday you might find that info useful.
I'm not entered in the comp, free flying (or wind dummy), btw telstra has best coverage so if you're using optus buy a prepaid sim ($2) and charge it up.
maybe I'll see ya around, good luck, welcome to the addiction
lafe
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red
3 thumbs up
Joined: 13 Aug 2007
Posts: 2730
Location: Utah, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sol III
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:16 pm Post subject: Greetings!!! |
#17 |
| Seaeagle wrote: |
Great advice guys Thanks!
I think it's a good Idea to join a club and get involved, even if it's just to watch and drive at first It should give me a greater perspective on the sport
This is my $150 hang glider. Can you Identify what it is?
Note the bent crossbar. |
Gary,
I think you are missing some important parts, out near the wing tips. Look into the sail, and see if there are holes (or machined fittings) in the leading edges, maybe within one meter (+/- a bit) of the wing tips. The damage can be fixed by replacing the bad parts, but it may be too expensive to do that. Sounds like you need half of a leading edge, and one crossbar, at a minimum. Once you find out what you have there, the factory may (or may not) still sell those parts. Some hardware at the crossbar center may be needed, as well. Any bent bolts will need to be replaced, with AN-grade hardware.
I'd want to see all of those sail patches, very clearly, before any repairs start, though. No sense in even thinking about airframe repairs, if the sail is trash. You did not say how much you weigh, but you can measure the area of the sail with this method:
http://www.hanggliding.org/wiki/Measuring_the_Sail_Area_of_a_glider
You want to relate your body weight to the sail area, at the ratio of about one pound of body weight per square foot of sail. If I got my metrics right, that may be about five kg per square meter, but I do not live in a metric world, so check that with local pilots. If the glider is too big or too small for you, by sail area, it will never become a serviceable glider for you, no matter what. For now, just use the junk glider as you intended, and not for flying.
I still want to see the harness, and any other stuff that came with the glider. I'd also like to see the list of glider problems that you found on your "pre-flight" inspection. This could still work out well for you, but it's too soon to tell, yet.
_________________
Cheers,
........Red.........................
Pssst! New pilot? Free advice, maybe worth the price,
http://www.xmission.com/~red/
H4, Moyes X2, Falcon Tandem, HES Tracer, Quantum |
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