[HangDiver]

[Holger]

I like the unexpected encounters. A bird joining my circles, turning its head and probably wondering about this drunken sailor...before zipping off to a better place. Crossing lines with a solitary seagull while cruising down the coastal ridge. Chasing it a little until it, too, shows me who's really at home up here. A sailplane drawing concentric circles together with me...and I catch a glance of the pilot in his fishbowl.

Racing along a track with others during a competition is great, but even better is flying cross country together with a buddy, branching out to snoop for lift.

My favorite encounter was on a flight in the Bavarian Alps. At the launch I met an real nice HG girl, and it was just the two of us on that mountain. We set up, said our "Have a good flight!" and flew off. I went for a short O&R and when I came back she was circling over one of the ridges. I joined her and together we played almost until dusk. After landing we shared a beer...and I never saw her again (perhaps she's reading this here? )

Holger

[CHassan]

The best part for me is when I get to fly with other pilots.


I've done most of my long(ish) XCs alone. They were great fun, but nothing beats hooking up with another pilot or two and creeping out over the land.
I flew with 3 other guys for 3 hours, and we only made 20 miles, but man was it fun!


I guess the point in a lot of flights I most enjoy, is that first or second thermal where you realize "Hey, this is going to be a good day!"

[curly_cue]

I haven't thermalled yet, so this answer may change one day. But right now my favorite moment is the few seconds right after I release from the tug. Following that thing is a little stressful and I remain extremely focused. So the moment I hit the release and start really flying as I pin off to the right is a pure moment of joy.
My second favorite moment follows right behind the first. Being high and relaxing and just taking a few moments to look around and enjoy the scenery with my hands resting lightly on the bar.
Geeez, this thread really makes me want to hit the sky. Good topic WS!

[jjcote]

The moment on the way to launch (sometimes as early as when I back out of my driveway) when I turn off the cell phone. Once that happens, what lies ahead is just flying and not all that other crap.

[MorphFX]

Spain 2001; lost all perspective as the landscape is sooo much bigger than what I normally fly in the UK. I didn't really have an idea how high I was until I spotted a black 'dot' moving across the mountain.... it was my shadow!

[DocSoc]

I'm not going to read the entire thread... Since you asked "What's YOUR favorite"

So I'm going to say flying in close proximity to my pilot friends! Lobido can vouch for this one! So can HeavyPilot, Rad, KK, AXO, and others...

[Skyhighwoman]

[Wingspan34]

Getting really high, flying in close with other pilots, . . . they are all great moments.

Has anyone else gotten a thrill from getting SO high that it seems as if you can see the curvature of the earth? I can't say that it's not just an optical illusion, but it seems noticeable. It begins to appear somewhere at or above the 1 1/2 mile high (~ 8K ft above the terrain) altitude range. It makes you feel very big and very small at the same time.

[red]

Wingspan,

Yep, I'm a high-altitude freak. Put my 'biner at 17,999' (5,5km) MSL, and I'm a happy camper.
The view brings all of life's problems into proper perspective. The earth's curvature IS visible, then.

[CRV]

It's hard to narrow this down to one aspect of HG...

I love launching...that transition from having our feet on the ground to navigating the air is a crowd favorite at the observation deck at Funston.

I'll second the low save...nothing beats that...

I love thermaling with another pilot where the two of you are at equal banked turns and looking at one another working the same thermal...Noman and I had that this past weekend...that'll stick with me for a while.

But, I truly love landing...depth perception, speed control, and navigating the terrain to what we hope to be a no-stepper or at least a clean landing. I literally lay awake at night thinking of various landing approaches at my favorite flying sites...

[Wingspan34]

What about you coastal fliers? "Dune gooners"? What's your favorite part of that kind of flight?

I haven't had a lot of experience at the coast, but remember one memorable time. It was out at Cape Cod during the yearly Halloween Trip. The wind was blowing in at the Sea Scape Motel (the launch was right behind it) but there was also a good bit of fog. You could see about 200 feet up and down the bluff.

People said you can't fly because "You can't see beyond there!", pointing 100 feet away, in either direction. But some of us realized, everywhere you were you could see 200 feet around you. A few of us launched.

As we flew, our "bubble" of visibility always followed us. Even if the motel and our pals on the ground disappeared in the fog as we flew along the bluff. It was easy to see another pilot coming our way, even if they did tend to appear first like ghosts in the distance. Of course I appeared the same way to them. Spooky.

This is by no means a "regular" part of the "average" flight, but it was one of those experiences that you just don't forget. It was my favorite part of that flight.

PS - If you can see where you were going it's not IFR conditions is it?

[TomGalvin]

I love the groupies.

[CRV]

[Wingspan34]

[jjcote]

Actually, a post on another thread just reminded me of my real favorite part of a hang glider flight, in sort of an inside-out way. It's the part where I'm not waiting in a long line to go through a ridiculous TSA check that would prevent me from bringing things like knives and liquids.

[Wingspan34]

[Eteamjack]

It doesn't happen often, but on some flights factors are such where either the conditions or I"ve not flown up to my standards and I find myself very low thinking about my landing options almost from the get go.. At the very last possible moment I core a consistent thermal and work the hell out of it managing to climb out and have a great flight.

[Jason]

[AIRTHUG]