April 2001
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April 2001
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Did you say 65?By Dennis Cavagnaro I looked out from the podium as I was about to talk and all I could see was a sea of people. Pilots I knew, pilots I sort have recognized, pilots I never met, many like myself had brought their mates and children. We have been doing the XC contest since the mid 80’s had get together’s and after season celebrations before but to look at all these people coming from the five states, talking about upcoming trips, buying T-shirts, introducing their families. The little kids running around Keith’s glider set up in the back … well I did a double take or two. We have come a long way from the Bushwhacker days and although it was a simple gathering at Angelo’s Italian restaurant, it was our version of the Dockwater reunion and the great thing is it happens every year. There were 65 paying customers that filled up the conference room. The food was excellent. John Arrison MCed the awards and overcame PA problems like a pro. We all sang happy birthday to him as he has now transitioned from his regular to premium years (I’ll let you all figure that one out). This year we divided the XC awards into three groups. The standard open class one buy err umm…ME with 91 miles! The "50 and under class" was taken by Tom (this websites for you) Lanning at 49miles, (isn’t that convenient he gets to win it again next year). Jim Colella won the rookie class, (less then 25 miles) and will skip into the open class next year with a 50 miler under his belt. We need to take this wonderful event and build on it for next year. Where are the paragliding XC entries? Get that rig over the back because there is a trophy for you and who will be the first VHGAer to claim it? We also need new blood (look at John) and more pilots going for it. I remember in 1993, New Hampshire pilots took 25% of the top 12 places at the Chelan XC classic. We have a history of going long and with the newer pilots coming into their own there should be more Dacron spread amongst the hills and valleys of New England. There will be more information about a regional contest in future newsletters. Other areas of the country are developing their talent on local meets and we can do the same. Many thanks go to the little elves that cause these events to happen. WE think its done by elves but Keith Murray was the man of the hour for organizing the event at Angelo’s, John Arrison ran the show, many thanks to his father-in –law Royal for the excellent work on the trophy’s. Thanks to Scott Leonard for a great job on the T-shirt’s and my wife Anne for the birthday cake decorations. On a personal note my thanks to Steve Arndt for shopping early on that jacket, fits perfect Steve -J There isn’t a nicer feeling then pilots getting together and recognizing their own achievements. That red jacket of mine hangs out in the suit closet with the big coats. There’s one out there with your name on it and a green one for a record-breaking flight! Come to think of it I don’t have anything in green in my wardrobe… yet! Don’t miss next year’s event! Come big or stay home, From The PresidentBy John Arrison We have all used the figure of speech that the snow is up to our derriere. Unfortunately, this year the saying can be used literally. My rule of thumb has always been that ALL the snow has to be gone from my yard and driveway for three weeks before the mountain road will be clear. This year that could be July. Enough whining, now is a good time to review safety for the coming season. Has your chute been repacked? Does your glider need an inspection? Is your harness all ready to go? In the spring it is always a good idea to visit the training hill to practice take-offs and landings. Don't forget the first aid kits are under the ramp at Ascutney NW and Rutland. The kit is the woods just to the right of launch at Ascutney SW. Take note of the meeting and party dates being published in this newsletter and write them on your calendar. Please note that the meeting times vary to take into account the added daylight hours in the summer. Also review the rules for the 2001 XC competition. Please, please enter your flights within two weeks so that the standings can be accurate, and so that we don't have to hunt you down at the end of the season. Check out the VHGA website. I'm not sure if it has been done, but Tom Lanning is working on a way to post your flights there. Tim Donovan will be reviewing the use of aircraft sectional maps at the April meeting. The sectional maps are always changing, so you should have an up-to-date map for reference. I know there is quite often confusion about restricted air space, and Tim is always a big help clarifying what's OK and what isn't in restricted areas. I hope to see a good turnout at this meeting. There will be a BOD meeting at 5PM before the April 28 meeting. All members are welcome to sit in and listen if you wish. Recently I read a poem that I think you will enjoy. It was written by a C.R.A.F. WWII pilot who unfortunately did not survive the war. Here it is: "High Flight" Folded WingsBy Gary Trudeau I am sadden to bring this to your attention. Tom Johnston probably better known as TJ died in an accident of his sailplane in Wurtsboro NY on January 28, 2001. TJ was an accomplished hang glider pilot before buying his sailplane last year. I came to know TJ by flying with him at MT. Greylock for the past few years. I will never forget last year when I saw TJ fly his sailplane underneath me and land at the RC field just to be with his hang gliding and paragliding friends. Condolences may be sent to his wife Barb at 9 Gloucester Lane North Granby CT 06035. TJ we will all miss you as you go over the back for the last time. Cloudbase for the First TimeBy Crystal Winslow On the 25th of January, my dad and I (Crystal and Bill W.) were sitting on the top of the 1470' mtn, Cubuy, in Puerto Rico. After being bummed out and blown out for the past four days, I thought that our last day was going to be even worse. I was VERY wrong though. At the top the average for the week was 27 with gusts up to 31, not your typical day due to a front we brought with us. But our last day was oddly different. The average was 13 with one gust to 22. WAHOO! I was about to have my first solo mtn. flight! I geared up along with one of my awesome (and many ;) ) instructors. My little green HE tracer hadn't seen the light of day for about 2 months, it was in for a shock. Keishya, being the nice one she is, went first to see how the air was before I launched. It was glassy smooth and she was up for about 10 minutes. Her last pass held in it a big sinkhole, which she got flushed in. I was not exactly excited as I was on launch. A thermal came by and I was off in it. (This was my first flight. 25 minutes.) After that flight I was set up back at the top ready to go again. Another thermal came by when I was on launch. BAM! An instant 200 ft. Thermals were waking up as it came to noon. I flew along the sweet spot on the ridge, which seemed to be producing the most thermals. That all paid off. I thermaled about three times and I was hit with a large core of about 660fpm. I stayed with it and got to cloud base. Three red-tailed hawks were sharing the thermals with me. The little white wisps of clouds drifted by me and I was all of a sudden struck with the fear of cloud suck. In a few stalls I was back down to about 300 above launch wham I hit another 660fpm and did an instant replay. (Back to cloud base!) At this duration in time I had been up for 1 hour and 54 minutes which had just about drained the energy out of me. About the last 6 minutes were all at best glide speed as I squeaked into the LZ and plopped down in a half flare. Bobby greeted me as I was half asleep and we broke the glider down. Ending an awesome day. Apostle ListBy Gary Trudeau Here is the updated list of the apostles. Remember if anyone wanting to fly Mt Ascutney before the park opens to the public. You must follow the park rules and hook up with one of the club apostles, Steve Ardnt 603-228-8612 Wills Wing Prototype Glider FailureBy Gary Trudeau This is what I could find out about the new Wills Wing prototype glider that folded up in the air above Wallaby Ranch in March. The new Wills Wing glider is topless and has curved tips. Someone was taking a test flight and did three whipstalls in a row. On the final one the glider slid backwards tumbled. This caused the pilot to fall into the sail and one wing to fold up. This happened at about 1500 FT above the ground. The pilot threw his chute. It got caught in the rigging and only partially deployed. He spun to the ground. The pilot walked away without a scratch but the prototype is toast. Preseason Check ListBy Gary Trudeau No matter what it looks like outside, spring is coming. All we got to do is convince old man winter to let go and stop snowing. I don’t know about you but I still have snow banks 5-6 feet tall on the side of my driveway. Even though it doesn’t look like spring. It is time to start thinking about flying. If you are like me you never stopped thinking about it. While there is still snow on the ground (lots of snow), we should be getting ready to fly. Even though we can’t fly yet you don’t want the weather to change and miss some good spring flying because you are not ready. Every one knows that we should go through our gliders or have them professionally annualed. We also know we should get our parachutes lofted and repacked. Don’t forget to recharge your radios and change the batteries in your varios and GPS’s. How many of you actually check out your harness? I mean really check it out close. This is just as important as everything else and more important than most. Since harnesses are so different there is no set formula for checking them out. The best thing I can do is give you a few suggestions. I have several different harnesses but I basically check them out the same way. I like to start at the carabiner. I use a steel one. The aluminum ones might be more than adequate but I believe the steel ones are stronger and that gives me more sense of security. I look for signs of stress or wear marks. Make sure the clasp closes completely by its spring and the locking mechanism works properly. I also like to use a steel locking chain link between my parachute and the mains for my harness. The reason I do this is because if the carabiner were ever to break I would still be attached to my parachute. I also look for any sharp edges or burrs that might fray or cut my lines to my harness. Carabiners are cheap, If something doesn’t look right change it. The next most important thing I look at is the mains. These are usually 1 inch webbing that connects your harness to your carabiner. I look for wear and chaffing here. One of the primary places to look is the inside surface that hooks onto the carabiner. This spot can wear and you won’t know it till you find your self falling from your glider. Don’t forget to check your parachute at this spot also. I next look at the stitching where the mains attach to the harness. I then check out any other lines that run from the carabiner to the harness. Look for wear and check out the knots where these lines attach to the harness. If you have a problem with these knots coming loose? Try another style knot or try taping the ends to the main part of the line. Some harnesses don’t have these extra lines. The mains run to a back frame. These frames must be checked. Look for integrity of the frame and make sure all nuts and bolts are tight. Some of these have slides where the mains slide forward and backwards. Make sure the slides don’t hang up and there is no wear at this point. Now we get back to where most harnesses are similar. I start at the shoulder straps and work my way to the toe. Most shoulder straps are adjustable. Make sure there is no wear at this point. Also check the adjusting buckle for signs or wear. Moving down to where you get into your harness. If it has zippers check to make sure that they work properly and the stitching holding the zipper to the harness is good shape. Most harnesses with zippers here will also have one or two safety clips. Make sure the spring closing mechanism works properly and closes the clip completely. Also look for signs of ware or stress. Now I can check out the leg straps. I look at the stitching where the leg straps attach to the harness and at the adjusters if you have them. By now you should know what to look for here. Here is where harnesses start to change again. Some will have knee straps and some will have a boot section. The only real thing to check on knee hangers is if the velcro is strong enough to hold. On a pod style harness, there is more to check. Check the zippers to make sure that they work with ease. Also check the lines that work the zipper. You don’t need one of these lines breaking when you are trying to get your feet free for a landing. If that was to happen most harnesses have velcro holding in the zipper. So you might still have enough time to get your landing gear down. Check this velcro to make sure it is strong enough to hold and to allow the zipper to work properly. Now I generally go back and check out everything that I did not check on the yet. This includes the parachute container and the pockets. I make sure the velcro and the slip pins around the parachute are in good working condition and are properly attached. This is a good time to clean off any stains on your parachute container. That way you can get rid of any evidence of that bad landing you had last season. I then check the pockets make sure the zippers close tight and if velcro is used that it work properly. You don’t need to loose the contents of your pockets while flying. That seams to be the only time that stuff falls out of my pockets. The last step is to put the harness on and hang from it. I don’t know if your harness is the same as mine but I think mine shrinks during the off season. I know it couldn’t be me getting any bigger. Any ways I look to make sure it is adjusted properly and the fit is still OK. I also check to make sure the zipper on my pod works properly. A couple of little tricks I found to be useful. I use a wide rubber band at the carabiner to hold all my lines together at the bottom. This also stops the lines from moving around. The next little trick I use is on the leg straps. After I get the length adjusted to where I want them, I use tape to hold them in that position. If not the adjusters tend to constantly be coming loose. Some pilots like to sew them but that make it a little more difficult to adjust in the future. The whole process doesn’t take much more than 10-15 minutes once you know what to look for. It seems with all that snow outside my window. We could all find time to check out our harnesses. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask an experienced pilot his opinion or bring it to any dealer of hang gliding equipment and ask them to address your concerns. If something doesn’t look right to you change it or get it fixed. A good through check of your harness should be done at least once a year. A quick check of your harness should be done every time before you fly. You preflight your glider why not your harness. Remember if something doesn’t look right don’t fly with it till you get it fixed. Your life may depend on it. Let’s fly safe and have many years of fun. Wife Perspective on ParaglidingBy John Gallagher Husband gets up at ungodly hour of 4AM. Drives 5 hours for best thermaling
launch. Either ClassifiedsFOR SALE: Wills Wing FUSION 150 Glider has Approximately 70 hours of airtime. 2000 FUSION SP Modification for improved handling, Comes with a Wing CameraMount and a 2001 Calendar. Asking $2500 - Contact me, Mark Vaughn at (508) 877-8545, cmvjv@aol.com or knowvne@aol.com Accessories: Lambskin/wool barmitts barely used, $20, extra high quality, very warm (not good with folding speed bars) Rodger Furey, 508.880.7709, Furrod@aol.com |
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