I got up early and met Rob Nordlund at 6:00am. The air was still and humid. He set up on the road and was off quickly. I followed about 5 minutes later. Take off speed was high, probably due to 100% humidity. I was surprised by the slow climb out and probably should have stayed on the ground longer.
As soon as I was up and had done the post launch checklist, I tried out the Bluetooth cell phone. It worked perfectly. Rob pick up right away and reported that my signal was crystal clear. Success! My chase cam, not so much. Seems I didn’t flake the tow line properly because it wrapped 3 or 4 times around the camera head. It also doubled up which shortened the tow by at least 5 feet. I didn’t save the video which was shaky and erratic. I did keep a few screen grabs .
The flight was good. Despite or maybe because of yesterday’s hurricane, the air was as smooth as butter. Nil wind at the surface and a steady 12 knots above 400 ft.
Rob and I didn’t fly together today but I look forward to seeing some of his LZs south of us.
It took all week to get this flight, three rainy days and two mornings at the field. Yesterday was a washout. The sky’s were blue except for one little cell parked over The Meadows. It was calm and the air would have been butter, except that every time I found a dry spot to set-up, the sky would open and start sprinkling.
Like yesterday, I woke up before the alarm and was at the LZ by first light. Yesterday it was rain, today the challenge was wind. I knew it was going to be iffy this morning because last night, the apps were forecasting a breeze between 6 and 10. I was betting on less than more.
At 6:00 it was blowing 7, gusting to 12. I set-up hoping to launch between the gusts. Previously I’d attached the chase cam three feet in from the tip, on a “D” line, so that it wouldn’t crash into the rig during landing. The GoPro mounts, as configured, only allows for straight forward positioning. So…. I attached to the center right, “C” line and then, positioned the cam for launch, in front of the wing, it was right in the middle with the line flaked out to run. I envisioned it would begin loading the line just before the wing was fully overhead.
The video corroborates this and the cam goes to its flying station quickly. On the other hand, videos of the arrow cam show it swinging wildly before it settles down.
The launch was interesting. I’d noticed that the wing was turning 20 degrees to the right after inflation. But I didn’t “get it”. My wall was consistently forming straight down the runway and that was my intention. When I started the launch it came up fast and turned 20 degrees to the right. Go Figure? Then, when I applied some brake to dampen the surge, I felt the rig jerk back and the front wheel pop up a few inches So … we turned 20 degrees to the right. I rolled through the cul de sac and onto the field. The breeze was a big help, I was up shortly after applying power.
It was twitchy and bumpy up to 700 feet and even then, it was bumpy. I took a few laps to test the camera but there wasn’t a lot of incentive to keep flying. The sky had lost all the color from its earlier glory and there was a very serious possibility of rain so I turned back to the LZ.
The landing was great except that the wing decided to keep flying despite what I though was a wing dropping flare. It floated happily overhead in the breeze while the cam swung forward lightly tapping the cage. When the wing is flying the camera is hanging straight down it is almost exactly in the thrust line.
Reviewing the video; the new cam works fine . It doesn’t seem to fly much different than my old arrow cam. It does have more drag which makes it fly higher and farther back. I remember looking over my shoulder and being able to see the arrow flying off to my side like a tiny wingman, this one is out of view. I’m going to review older videos for comparison. I don’t think the drag is a problem. I do, remember the time I picked up my big wind indicator complete with gallon jug and lots of colored tape. I didn’t even notice it was there, so the asymmetric drag shouldn’t be a problem.
I think it was a more interesting perspective with the cam off to the side. Several viewers assumed the video was being shot by a second pilot. Next flight I’ll move the attachment point out a little farther from center and find a way to point the camera in toward the rig.
PPG Smoke Chase CamOld Arrow CamFirst flight with PPG Smoke Chase Cam right center “C” line
Probably the best thing was getting off a high wind launch. I’ll get a lot more airtime if I can get past being freaked out by a little breeze. It would take a lot to turtle the rig.
The first take off was aborted when the wing came up crazy to the right. Wind was 30 degrees off the runway so I reset launching off the cul de sac into the field. Second attempt was fine.
It was mostly cloudy and rated a 6 on the bump meter and the wind was 15mph so after 20 minutes I decided to land.
I really didn’t expect to fly today. Yesterday was brutal. Surveys, kids sailing camp and processing mangos wore me out. I fell into bed at 11:00p and set the alarm but I also expected to turn it off and roll over when it went off at 5:00a. Big surprise…. I was feeling good and so….. “what the heck”.
It was much like the last flight. High clouds, nil wind and 100 percent humidity. I wasted time obsessing about finding a runway that lined up with the scant breeze eventually opting to launch in the same place as two days ago.
The wing came up clean but the runout was long with one touch and go before finally getting up. I tooled around the patch for 30 minutes and greased the landing. The landing was great. I started the final from 1/2 mile out, landed 100 yards short of the truck and taxied the last stretch. I was surprised and abashed when the left wingtip clipped a tree 100 feet from the truck. The gap looked big enough to easily clear the trees on either side of the road. Lesson learned … no damage.
It’s taken far too long but I’m finally getting the feel of the rig and wing. The throttle is still a little too touchy but at least I’m not bumping between 2800 and 3800 RPM every time I change hand positions.
Weather- Hot, 78 degrees. Humidity 98 percent. High cloud layer with some wispy bands at 150ft. It was so hot and muggy that I chose not to wear the flight suit.
This was the maiden voyage of the Bluetooth helmet. It connected very quickly to the phone and pad and Seri was able to play a specific album on request. The sound was good. I tried to place a call but was not able to get a response from the assistant. Need more practice.
The wing was heavy and sluggish during inflation but it eventually stabilized overhead. The run up and takeoff was fast. The wing oscillated 3 or 4 times, (as predicted by APCO), so I reduced power and raised my hands which allowed it to calm down pretty fast.
Tha air was very stable making for a greasy landing using both WTS and Brakes
Good Flight, No Drama. Nil wind . Let trimmers out one notch and the wing behaved much better. Alvaro arrived as I was packing up. I watched him launch and took some video.
The launch was bizarre. Nil wind, trimmers in one notch. The wing would lag back or drift off to one side or another. It almost felt like a downwind launch. I drug and fought the wing for several hundred feet before I was able to get it overhead and the eventual launch, was at a very fast speed. Next time in light air ….try letting trim out a notch instead.
BUT….I did blow the first launch. Somehow I neglected to have the left brake in hand with the A’s and throttle. The wing came up fine but when I went to damp the surge, it was only right brake, my left hand came down and “surprise” …. No pressure. Immediate abort.
I reset into the wind and prepared for a forty degree left turn either on the runway or in the air, depending on launch distance. The APCO behaved nicely, coming up straight and turning quickly above the trike as I steered to a better course for launch and climb out. Takeoff was quick and the climb rate was impressive.
The pond where I spotted a family of wild bore a couple of days ago is dry. I was expecting to see it filled from the recent rains. Surely, this area got dumped on like everywhere else. Why didn’t it retain any water? Its a mystery.
I tooled around the patch for half an hour climbing above 3000ft. The cool air felt good. I started encountering bumpy air at 700ft and it was downright rowdy at 200. My plan had been to go low and practice power management for awhile but the thermals were popping and the wind was building. It was time to get down ….now.
Using both WTS and brakes, I made one pass by the truck to confirm wind direction, then powered through a 360 turn and used the energy from the turn to swoop the landing. I popped up , lined up and greased the best landing this machine has had. It took conscious effort to get the last couple of inches of brake and I had to work the shoulders and position my arms for maximum effort but it paid off with the rig bleeding off speed nicely. Despite the rough surface I barely felt the rear wheels touch and the front came down very gently.
The wind had come up considerably and continued to build while I packed. When I was ready it leave it was a steady 15mph.
Light breeze from the east. 30 minutes of “church” around the patch. Stayed below 1500 ft. Toward the end it was getting bumpy. Puffs blowing through.
I was able to get more strength into the flare. It was just a matter of planning on using serious force and having the correct arm position to apply pressure.
Walking back to the rig after landing and retrieving the wing bag I discovered that my wing had caught a puff and turtled the Falcon. It cast a funky silhouette and for a second , it looked as though the entire unit had been town apart and was laying in pieces. The rear wheels were in the right place and the seat bottom could have been the motor. It sure looked like something had torn the cage and prop all to hell and gone. Before I could react, I realized what had happened. It just fell over backwards into a turtle. So…. Big Smile and apology to “buddy” because I had seen the possibly of exactly that, right after landing and ignored it. No Damage ….Non event.
There was a nice breeze but the wing was so heavy from the humidity that I couldn’t keep it aloft.
While putting everything away, I received a text from Andy saying that 20 weeks was optimistic for receiving a new Colorado. I asked him to check on availability for a substitute , perhaps a large Charger 2.
Powered Paragliding. A most Personal form of Flight 
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