[Spitfire]

First, let me say I'm ecstatic and inspired by Dustin Martin and Jonny Durand's record breaking flights. It was great watching the tracker website and seeing history in the making. Hopefully Thursday will see the record broker again. I wish there's a way we could get this new record out to as many news sources as possible to help grow the sport.

I'm curious as to what it takes to spend 11 long hours in a tight harness, having to focus constantly on your glide and your next thermal. What do you eat before/during the flight? Is a camelbak enough water for the Texas heat? How do you take care of bodily functions? How do you prepare physically and mentally?

This seems a world apart from soaring my local site on my SS, landing after an hour, content and done for the day.

[Fred Wilson]

1. Carry wads of money for food, booze, bribes and hotel accomo for your driver...

2. Male Catheter insertion training pic.
http://www.anatomystuff.co.uk/repository/product/user/img_img_26104_male_catheter_model.jpg

If you've got the guts to use this, you're a braver man than me, Gunda Din.
Gross you out or what???

You, each and every day before suiting up...



The more liveable solution is, of course, male external catheters:
http://www.hollister.com/us/continence/products/male.html

[Odakyu-sen]

[FMAN]

On topic, (cough, cough,) Jonny and Dustin are more devoted to flying than most of the people on earth can even fathom and they have fun doing it. They've been flying for years and have somewhat conditioned their bodies to excel in a format like this event. I can only think of a few others who might have the abilities they display in our community of hang glider pilots. [Thank you!]

[rongleason]

As stated above both Jonny and Dustin spend a lot of time flying and tuning their equipment. Their harnesses are quite comfortable and fit well.

When I flew at Zapata, I went for two years, I did the following;

- Spent as much time in hot humid conditions for conditioning
- good physical shape for 10+ hours of flying and potential long walk for retrieve
- I carried 400 ounces of water. 4 100 ounces camelbak's, 2 above the back plate and 2 near the bottom of the harness in zippered pockets. I added hoses so that I could drink for any one of them and if needed to dump them. This was about 25 pounds of ballast. I wanted this amount of water for a long flight and if I had a long retrieve or was stuck in the wilds.
- Either unzip and pee or use an external catheter with an extension tube. A few guys ran the extension down their leg past their foot. When they went to the bathroom they also used the opportunity stretch their legs.
- Good breakfast, diet depends on your individual needs. I had a number of cliff bars stored in the harness for easy access to eat. I would try to eat one every 90 minutes
- Habits while flying. Once I got down course line past Laredo and started thermalling I would find a thermal, get centered and then rock up in the harness, stretch the back, move the neck around and relax. When needed I would unzip the harness to stretch the legs, go vertical and up on the DT's to change body position(s) and even climb in the control frame.
- some folks would tape Ibuprofen to their control bars to consume during the flight.
- Radio. get a great setup that works all the time. I added an external battery pack, added an extension tube to the volume knob so I could adjust it in flight and added a switch in the helmet so I could turn off the speakers in the helmet. Transmissions could still occur.
- clothes. I wore layers of poly an light wool fabrics that had minimal seams to reduce pressure points.

All of this takes time to plan and practice.

[FMAN]

Not being a Urologist or internal MD myself, I would say an internal catheter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catheter without an I.V. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intravenous_therapy or excessive fluid consumption would be contributing to dehydration.

[Spitfire]

Thanks for all the responses. Think I'll stick with my club's facilities for now, when I need to pee!

[andylongvq]

When I started to do long flights, I just used to whip it out and go to relieve myself. More of a mind over matter thing than when you are on the ground but it gets easier the more you do it. I found it's still the best, simplest method.

Towards the tail end of a long flight, it's very much a matter of will power to just keep pressing on when you are tired, sore, thirsty, hungry and ready to land, etc. The brain starts to give out shortly after the body reaches a certain point. That's when you have to shift gears and tell yourself you're almost done so finish up strong.

8-10 hours in the air XC would be interesting. From a mental standpoint.

- Andy

[davisstraub]

Having flown a number of 10+ hour flights all I can say is that it is quite easy as long as you have a comfortable harness and water. It is very comfortable flying in the air here in Texas. Of course, you just pee in the air.

Dustin had been flying with a lots of clothing in Arizona for the high flights, and had adjusted his harness for that amount of clothing. It was quite loose in the shoulders on Tuesday and there was an inch between him and the straps. Very comfortable.

He also had half a dozen Balance bars stuffed in his speed sleeve arms, half a bar every half hour. Jonny didn't have that and was tired at the end of the flight. Dustin was revved up.

You'd be amazed at what you can do when you are crossing hundreds of miles of territory.

[knumbknuts]

[Fred Wilson]

Read Cross-Country Flying 101 by Will Gadd.

Will Gadd is a Canadian Paragliding legend and renowned adventure sport film maker with repeated awards to his credit.
An all round terrific guy and one flipping amazingly good pilot.
He set the PG world distance record at the 2002 Zapata WRE.

More of his excellent coaching articles can be found at the bottom of the page at:
http://willgadd.com/flying/

[tom emery]

Congratulations you guys. This sport is like climbing Everest. Very few do it. Fewer still, do it well...and the general population don't have a clue.