[n16ht5]

I really dont know why I waited so long to try to learn HG. I have watched gliders sometimes growing up but thought of it as a something that takes years of training and looked extremely risky. I never considered backcountry skiing, dirt biking, or climbing mts at the same risk level (fav hobbies)

I thought powered fixed wing was the way to go... Took some lessons, but it felt more like flying a school bus than free soaring the sky. Gas went up to $5 and I lost interest when I figured the cost per hour.

Watched some gopro vids of people HG the cascades about a month ago..
I HAVE to do this. Forget those gyrocopters, this is it. I am so ready that if I had a glider I would probably

I ride a lot and sometimes go up to launching spots to watch.. Sauk, Frailey, Tiger... Generally how experienced do you need to be to fly from Sauk, Chelan, (what happened to Frailey?) around the mts? I am well aware of the dangers of mountain flying from planes.. I just want to set a goal to aim for, and know what I need to learn before hucking a cliff into difficult air conditions. Also, has anyone ski toured pulling a glider for mountain launches?

Old frailey

Sauk Mt above launch site

[pjwings]

It's a difficult question to answer. Every site is different, and I'm not familiar with the sites you listed. However, there are some basic truths to learning HG...

- It takes what it takes.... you can't rush aviation.
- Everyone is different... it may take you longer or shorter than it took me, or anyone else.
- It's not very safe, although if you're good at managing risk you can make it safer for you.
- Mountain launching safely is first about judgement, secondly about skill. A novice may be able to launch a given site in very calm conditions, while later that day the experts decide to pack up and head home because it's too dangerous.

So, keeping that in mind, I'll share some details from my training. I live and fly here in Tennessee, so conditions are bound to be different where you are. I took about 50 flights on the training hills before I ever mountain launched. I had about 3 months of training behind me at that point. After my first launch, I continued to hit the training hills for another couple of months while simultaneously logging as many mountain launches as i could in very mild conditions. All that got me to the level of 'novice'. I still wasn't soaring. My mountain flights were averaging about 6 minutes long.

Now, three years into my flying, I am able to have some extremely rewarding flights. I can ridge and thermal soar. I have the judgement to see the difference between a fun day and a scary day... and most of the time I'm smart enough to decide wisely based on the difference! I've flown with Bald Eagles a number of times... I've climbed up beside a cloud as it was forming.... I've gotten cold on days when the ground temps were approaching 100 degrees. In short, I've had more life changing experiences in the last 3 years of flying than I had in the 10 years prior to that.

[FMAN]

[ChattaroyMan]

Hard to add much to the great posts so far! I'm in Eastern WA. Haven't flown over there yet. When I fly mountains here a primary concern of mine is the landing area - can I reach it? How do I approach it in various wind conditions? Will I even land there or opt for another location? With some flying sites the LZs are big and right below launh. With others they stretch our's and our glider's capabilities to reach and to land well within their small size. Loosing a LZs due to land ownership or other reasons can effectively shut down a great place to fly.

Once a pilot has the experience/skills/knowledge/equipment we sometimes get the opportunity to pioneer new flying sites. It is diificult to explain/describe how rewarding flying a hang glider can be. For mountain flying - dues must be paid. The costs/value of those dues rely on a pilot's own personal judgement/decision making. There is a lot to learn and put in play well to make hang gliding rewarding. The allure is that it can be VERY rewarding.

[Dan Harding]

The answer to the ? about Frailey is, the road we used for years was closed to us by a new land owner that bought property along the road and claimed it was their road and closed the gate . since then we found an alternate road that tied into that one further up and flying there continued untill that road washed out during a very rainy period. We then started using the road up from the Cavanaugh side, then that road washed out, and so on, etc. The last I heard is there is a new road being punched in from the east end of the ridge.
Sauk Mtn is a fun place to fly untill it is time to land and then you have to deal with the valley winds blowing up the river into the Cascades, most time it is very turbulent and risky . The launch at Sauk is also becoming more risky with the treeline getting taller, fixing it will require DNR permission, "ya right"
We have other places to fly, and I could ramble on listing them but not today.

[Erik Boehm]

[gsxrpilot]

Good questions, but seriously, just never mind. Get an instructor and get started. I've flown airplanes, sailplanes, paragliders, ultralights, and skydiving rigs. Nothing beats a hang glider. Get started because like most of us here, your only regret will be not starting sooner.

Many beginners, including myself, have learned to fly at mountain sites.

Just my $0.02

[paulroys]

It can be as dangerous or safe, calming or scarry, as you want it to be. You need to identify yourself first though.... there are two types of people: those that freeze under pressure and those that hone in, and you need to identify which type you are. If you are a freezer you probably won't last long in this sport. And the first step to safety is picking the appropriate conditions for your skill level.