Was that John H.in the background at launch?
If so his input is all you need.
One suggestion though, watch how much you smile during the flight since ladies don't like kissing guys with bugs in their teeth.
Oh yea Nice landing!
John releases another fledgling here in San Diego.
Between John, Rod and of course Mr SG himself, Hanggliding is indeed making a come back here in San Diego.....
Won't be to much longer till it starts to tricke down to my home site too. Way to go guys... _________________ Help preserve Hang Gliding at Torrey Pines
Join the Torrey Hawks (its free)
If I was your instructor, I would probably talk about letting your angle of attack come up a little during the launch. This is a common mistake people make, and you BARELY did it at all... but it's there. Like someone said, "walk, jog, run" is usually an easy way to fix this. The problem is actually from pushing the glider with your hands more than your shoulders during the first few steps, but a slower start with a "falling forward" first step usually solves the problem. If you prefer to accelerate as quickly as you do here, that's cool too... just find another way to keep your angle of attack constant through the launch. By the time you're feet are off the ground, you should have EXTRA speed that can be turned into altitude once you relax and let the bar slowly return to trim. This launched looked like you were AT trim, more or less, as you cleared launch. More speed means getting more ground clearance sooner, and also more roll control. If there are thermals, that roll control can come in handy.
On the landing, you transitioned your hands from the base tube to the uprights early/high. This is good, and generally recommended for newer pilots (I recommend it for most pilots, actually). But one thing you'll notice is that you pull in while you're still on the base tube, THEN you do your transition to the uprights. Once you pull in, you have more speed, and therefore more bar pressure. The added bar pressure makes it really difficult to transition smoothly. As you can see you pop up a little as you transition here. If you go to the uprights while still at trim, it's much easier, and makes for a much smoother transition.
That's about all I've got. Heiney knows what he's doing, so listen to him (REALLY listen!). Do what he says... don't do what he says not to do... and you'll be just fine.
Thanks for all the input, and yes that is John in the background.
Airthug
-John also mentioned slightly high angle of attack on launch and I'll work on it.
-You make a great point about transitioning earlier to avoid the awkward transition due to the high pitch pressure on final, thanks!
NMERider
-I value Johns opinion and advice above all others, he is a great instructor and I respect him dearly. However, regarding the "avoid shopping for advice on the internet" If this is your philosophy, in my opinion, you're missing out on a great deal of information. Taking information from a single source is as close to indoctrination as it gets. I say take advice from everyone and weight it accordingly, some a grain of salt others a pound of gold.
Nice launch, great flight, good landing, but you need to lube your hangstrap and any moving parts. I'm sure your instructor sells Hang Lube or similar grease.Axle grease will work in a pinch.(use a lot).
Or add some music.
Airzoneallen
....However, regarding the "avoid shopping for advice on the internet"...
Please allow me to clarify as follows:
'Shopping' is a lot different than 'Asking'.
People 'ask' when they want to learn
People 'shop' when they want validation for something they already have in mind.
One of the problems with bulletin boards such as this is we can't see each other faces and interact back and forth and so it's often difficult to tell what somebody really means. When I see a post from someone who I don't know personally and they show a video where it's obvious to me that this person has been expertly trained and they're seeking input from people who they don't know, the first thing that comes to mind is that they are 'shopping'.
I have pilots come up to me and start commenting about so-and-so instructor at such-and-such site and rather than just 'asking' me for a recommendation for a new instructor they're 'shopping' me so I can tell them what they already want to hear rather than trying to learn something new.
I'm thrilled to know that you're asking for input. I suggest you heed Ryan's input. He knows what he's talking about. And BTW - He pays me a 10% commission for playing his whipping boy for new business he generates as a result.
So I've had pilots come up to me and start 'shopping' me rather than just 'asking' me and I start making inquiries and it turns out they've been black-balled by most of the local instructors because they really don't listen.
I hope this explains my comment.
Glide On!
Last edited by NMERider on Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
Taking information from a single source is as close to indoctrination as it gets. I say take advice from everyone and weight it accordingly, some a grain of salt others a pound of gold.
That's called having an open mind — right on With that attitude and an amazing instructor as you do, things should go well!
Your flight looked pretty good to me all things considered. I'll be looking John Heiney up when I get to SD too. It would be an honor to have his name in my logbook. _________________ Freedom 170 FR
Yeah what Nicos said: walk, jog, run. Here's a launch tip: focus on keeping the wings level and pitch correct (aka nose down) and NOT running as fast as you can as soon as possible (jack-rabbit). A GREAT walk/jog/run tool is static flying on flat ground like a park lawn. Ask your buddies and give it a try; you'll see what I mean _________________ Laminar Z9 Carbon(I wish.) Life is short. Hang gliding is sweet. Screw life, I'm hang gliding.
If you think the "wire crew" in the video is distracting there, you should see her when she climbs up through your thermal like you were standing still.
If you think the "wire crew" in the video is distracting there, you should see her when she climbs up through your thermal like you were standing still.
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