This narrated video is intended to give other pilots an idea of what it's like to be faced with gliding one's way out for 7 miles to reach an LZ after getting badly flushed. In this case I am near Keller Peak.and am 14.3 miles East of Crestline launch but all the way back against the ridge line. After 6 miles of gliding I clear the last foothill ridge obstacle by ~50'. This is part of the reason I fly with a $400 satellite beacon that is registered w/ NOAA. http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/
Not only did I get flushed out but so did many other pilots 14 miles to my West approximately 20 minutes later. I learned about these other flushes once I was back in the LZ. It is a hazard of the sport. 10 days earlier, 4 very experienced pilots at another site all got flushed into a wash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agKddMl4kZ4
My worst glide angle ever during a severe flush was a little over 2:1 and that was on my T2C 144 w/ Covert harness. I'm sure there are many members of this forum who have had similar and worse experiences than Saturday's white-knuckler.
Aspiring XC pilots need to know about this. Please don't think that it can't happen to you. Be prepared.
Way to preserver. Glad you made it out to an easy retrieve and a safe landing.
Thanks for sharing that, Brian
You're welcome, Brian. I had mixed feeling about sharing the video but I want pilots to realize that this can happen at nearly any thermal-flying site. I do a fair amount of low-level XC flying and have practice at dealing with similar situations. I don't recommend it and the few other pilots I know who make similar flights have been doing so since long before I came back on the scene.
Good thing I was flying w/ oxygen. I had my system set for 5K and it meters out O2 above 4700'. That extra boost makes a tremendous difference on my mental state and cognitive functions under stress. Too bad it shut off 2 minutes after the flush began.
The forecast was showing 12K and we planned to go OTB. I was on my way to the last jumping off point when things went all pear-shaped.
Anything else is mixed in with your oxygen for your nerves system
What sort of satellite beacon did you purchased? Many pilots I believe use SPOT !
Have you or any other pilots landed out this tiger country ??
Well, I did mix in 3 bottles of this after I returned to the LZ:
About half-way into my second bottle, I called up a mate on his mobile, who I knew was in hospital after fracturing his wrist at the club's landing clinic. I told him that I'd landed out and needed a retrieve ride. Me and Bruce, who you saw pass me in the video had a real good piss over that prank.
The big advantage of the Spot is that you can subscribe to a service that tracks your movements and if you don't show up, all anyone has to do is see where your movements stop. But someone needs to monitor your location page and call SAR w/ your coordinates.
Either system is infinitely better than nothing.
Yes, we did have a local pilot land in the bottom of the valley floor and he got retrieved. I have a mate who lives across the valley who offered to fetch me w/ his 4x4 if I ever hit the deck. But I'll need a mobile connection in order to reach him. I can get a service for $60/year that allows me to use the self-test feature on my ACR 406 to broadcast up to 6 SMS message w/ my coordinates. So that's another option.
The best thing of course is to avoid getting into these situations. I could crack jokes about it, but it stops being funny when you get bitten by a rattle snake in the bottom of one of those ravines and they are loaded w/ assorted predators too.
My worst glide angle ever during a severe flush was a little over 2:1 and that was on my T2C 144 w/ Covert harness. I'm sure there are many members of this forum who have had similar and worse experiences than Saturday's white-knuckler.
Try loosing 4000k in less than 2 minutes, less than a 1 to 1 glide, and a broken elbow from getting violently slammed into the control frame while still in the air....
YES, TRUST ME ROTOR SUCKS!!!!
I have flown in the mountains many times since, but that was my LAST cross country flight...
(I may want to persue XC again someday, but NEVER in really strong wind in the mountains again)
Quote:
Aspiring XC pilots need to know about this. Please don't think that it can't happen to you. Be prepared
SOME WORDS OF WISDOM THERE _________________ Help preserve Hang Gliding at Torrey Pines
Join the Torrey Hawks (its free)
Try loosing 4000k in less than 2 minutes, less than a 1 to 1 glide, and a broken elbow from getting violently slammed into the control frame while still in the air....
Wow. (that doesn't seem adequate) WOW. (better) Where was that? Did you LAND at that sink rate? (surely not- you're still typing!)
____
Watching some of Jonathan's other XC recordings, my wife asked "where can he land if he gets drilled here?" A: "Not at a brewery."
Try loosing 4000k in less than 2 minutes, less than a 1 to 1 glide, and a broken elbow from getting violently slammed into the control frame while still in the air....
Wow. (that doesn't seem adequate) WOW. (better) Where was that? Did you LAND at that sink rate? (surely not- you're still typing!)
Mt Timponogas, Utah: Ridge soaring the Wasatch Range @ 12K from Camels, Stayed up TOO LONG, and the result was late evening Catobatic East wind mixing with 25-30 MPH southwest wind. Not a good recipe.....
It was a pretty turbulent landing, but the sink rate got better as I reached the ground and some how I managed to pull it off....
What saved me was that I realized what was happening before the SHITT hit the fan and got way out over the valley...
Only glider damage: a broken tip batten on landing..... _________________ Help preserve Hang Gliding at Torrey Pines
Join the Torrey Hawks (its free)
Last edited by fly,surf,&ski on Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:58 pm; edited 1 time in total
....Watching some of Jonathan's other XC recordings, my wife asked "where can he land if he gets drilled here?" A: "Not at a brewery."
Fire cuts along spines and hillsides w/ low scrub near decent hiking paths are always in my cross-hairs. Soft-looking bush tops are another item I keep in my sights. I avoid anything that looks like it could grab a wing and spin the glider into the ground or would stop the glider then let me drop. It's all nerve-wracking.
Nice save usually mean something different. Nice save!
Had a similar experience at King mt. Got into a canyon and got drilled.
Only spot to land was the flat top of a hill encrusted with dozing cows. The hike out was going to be about a mile to the nearest dirt road. I unzipped and started final when the vario began to sing. I flew that thermal from 200 to 12.5k Some of the best thermalling I've ever done. I think someone heard me crying Momma. _________________ H4 (1979) Lake Elsinore. Ca. U2 160 (Sweet)
....I unzipped and started final when the vario began to sing. I flew that thermal from 200 to 12.5k...I think someone heard me crying Momma.
Honestly Jack, they heard you crying Moo-Moo and released a warm cloud of methane. Now I understand why you bear the faint scent of bovine flatulence. But seriously, that's the way it often goes when you drop your gear and set up. Glad you avoided that hike!
BTW - Those same cattle are alive and well and performing...
I am typing this as the PF (pucker factor) has gone down to about 3 from a full 10 after watching your vid! Obviously a combination of luck, skill and a cool head got you out of that situation, but this brings me to the question: In your opinion did you adequately assess the conditions once in the air, and make an acceptable decision to continue early on? I am certainly not questioning your general skills and judgement as I admire your obvious flying talent, but just on this one day......? I know anyone can fly into an unexpected situation, but basically, flying into the same conditions (that you experienced early in the flight, disparate wind directions, etc.) again, would you continue?
Thanks for posting the vid and commentary. It should make all of us think twice when flying over "no man's land," that you can never count 100% on conditions staying consistent.
(Oh yeah, glad you made it!!!!!!) _________________ USHPA #15895 (1976)
If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.
(Benjamin Franklin)
....In your opinion did you adequately assess the conditions once in the air, and make an acceptable decision to continue early on?....
Honestly, things could have been as much worse as better. I know the risks involved in low-flying XC as do the other pilots I fly with who make similar flights and many have been rescued and lost/abandoned equipment. One thing you don't see or hear about in the video is the dozens of other flight paths that I chose not to take during this flight. All you see is what I did do but you don't see what I consciously avoided doing.
Nobody advocates this to others. It's not 'cool' or 'bad-ass' in any way. It's just something just we naturally gravitate toward. I have been doing this since the 70's and at some point, I won't be able to pursue it and will become a fishbowl pilot like many former XC pilots I know. It's just nice to be able to capture some part of the expereince and share that.
Dustin and I were chatting in the club LZ later and comparing notes about how much lower and farther it's possible to fly w/ the current gliders and harnesses. Check out Dustin's landing approaches:
Link
Unanswered
Highest rated...
Topics
