[CHassan]

I bet that one didn't feel good!

[Tex]

I hear ya Red, I hear ya!

Yeh I got this guys number now I seriously thought he was some go get 'em teenager, young dumb and full o cum' at least worth nudging the right way.

I see what is going on. AUDI's CBR's, crashed cars, Paragliding (WTF ) Hot young scantly clad chicks over bonnets eeerrr actually aahemm,... Flying RC aircraft from roadways and buzzing traffic, wheelstanding Lawnmowers blah blah, - a flash in the pan. HG will be boring once he has 'mastered it' in 2 more months and moved onto the next fad that flashes the neurons and excites the hormones into some new activity. Of course there will be a vaild reason, someone elses fault of course Can't wait to hear about that first thermal at 100' Justin Here I was towing to 1500'.. what a fool I have been

[Jason]

I can't say Im not impressed by your videos

but seriously, get some training, and get something(much) newer, you will be glad you did

[Windlord]

Red-
Gotta hand it to ya, my friend. The pics in your site bring back alot of memories.
The "Manta" standard rogallo is what I started on and if I remember semi-correctly, it was pushing an 8 degree billow (no battens) with an 85 degree nose angle @ 18ft in length.
Never had a RW, but I did get a chance to fly an Icarus bi-wing and a Eipper Quicksilver a few times.
Your dream machine? Outstanding!!
One of the good things about this thread is that it was great to see one of the
ol'birds back in the air again. Just wish all of the components were there.

[knumbknuts]

One last comment, in case you wonder why some of us are busting your chops so much, I'll give you an example from the BMW world:

Here's a 18 year old talkin up an M5... some older farts express concern....

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=111454&page=1

Here is the same board realizing that the young man killed 4 others and himself.

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=111545

I really don't ever want to have that second thread here.

It seems you are determined to fly, that's a great thing. Please, please, be as careful as possible and know that learning through an instructor, especially from a place as great as Cloud 9, is even more fun than learning on your own. You will get higher and fly farther and land better than you will teaching yourself.

Finally, go to this page
http://www.flytandem.com/accident/index.htm

Read the accident reports. Note the "Intermediate" and "Advanced" pilots and the extent of their injuries. On the recent red dot thread there are two pilots, each more experienced than I, each known for their fun and daring spirits, who have made hospital trips this week.

Has my experience been boring? Not even close. In less than 2 years, I have over a hundred mountain solos, I have been to ten thousand feet, flown for 3 hours, flown over an airliner, flown into the sunset on the Big Sur coast, had two dozen foot launches in a day, had a conversation with a guy right off my wing tip, thermalled with birds, and boated around as if I had superpowers.

Mine has not been the experience of a boring, stick in the mud, old fart. But, even being careful, I've been in two situations that easily could have led to serious injury or death. I have been at 9000 and going up so fast I couldn't come down. I have flown for 500 yards less than 200 feet over a crowded residential area.

Reading your posts, I am convinced: it's not a question of if you will injure yourself, but how soon and how badly.

The only way you won't is if you are superman, but then why would you need a wing?

And, by the way, at this point, I am writing mostly for the next guy who comes down the line with a duck and finds this thread. Maybe, I can get *him* to see the light.

[rafaelcjr]

[jjcote]

I think it's an interesting measure of just how misguided this is, that we're already on page 7 after less than a day and a half, and nobody has even mentioned concern about the fact that at least some of this is taking place with no helmet (the video quality isn't good enough for me to tell whether you're using one while towing). I was going to ask what kind of antique harness you're using, but I noticed the lack of head protection first. You might want to think about something that would go well with that glider, like:

(for display purposes only).

[HangDiver]

[Jake 526]

I'm editing my original post and simply calling BS

[jbaloh]

[jbaloh]

ps look at that harness! its a tie down!

[xerxes]

[hgflyer]

[HangDiver]

[hgflyer]

[jbaloh]

I have already played with a parpglider... not for me

I keep saying that i will in fact get proper training tandem shortly so you can stop telling me im going to die or that i know it all.

I have said everytime that i dont in fact know anything about it, i just explained what i did know and why we havent already died.

thanks for your support and you have in fact talked me out of flying like we have been

[Wagner24314]

these guys all mean well but at time there to much

im your age and we are the future of the sport so we must be careful. even though we learn at rates that most of the guys here dont quite get.
the first thermal your in and you climb youll love it such a challenge and everyday is diffrent

p.s. listen to HG flyer he knows his stuff and has helped me greatly

[AP]

Ignorance is bliss. Advice given has been forthcoming despite disregard for it. Why? Primarily no one wants to see anyone else get hurt and secondly the image of our sport doesn't need an accident advertised on the evening news. We've also seen other better equipped and better trained individuals than yourself come unstuck and do a lot of damage. Believe it or not some of those victims probably had more natural ability than you too. You are not bullet proof or superman, you're just like the rest of us.

Hang gliding is unforgiving so I hope your road ahead cuts you some slack, you're more than likely going to need it. Arrogance and ignorance is a lethal combination in our sport and I hope you interpret future near misses correctly i.e. you are no different to anyone else, approximately the same skill and same natural ability, but more importantly the same inherent falibility. You have little experience and less knowledge but if we can't guide you I genuinely regret that fate probably will.

Good luck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards

[hgflyer]

[Radwhacker]