Category: log entry

Flight 984

This was a good one.  Launched Into light easterly and climbed 6000 on the way to Gaspirilla.  Then I turned back to South Gulf Cove and climbed to 8000.  Averaged 225 ft/min climb.  The decent was lovely.

Below are quotes from the Facebook Group “Paramotor self trained”.  Doh…  These guys are going to be the reason the FAA STARTS TAKING INTEREST IN US…..

Pilot A

Have any of you has close calls that scared the crap out of you?I want to get into this but saw a wing collapse on you tube.Its looks fun besides the falling to your death part.I think I will just fly low over water to be safe unless that thing makes you sink like a rock
Pilot B

I’ve had a couple of close calls while training without even ever taking off. But that was to be expected going into this (I fully understood and accepted the danger I’d be putting myself into before starting). One time, the winds picked up a little bit and it was getting afternoonish and I got swept up while ground handling and there were three sequential gusts in a row that took me way up above the tree line long before I could react and kill the wing. Luckily instead of panic, I was able to let go and focus and pull on the brake toggles to feel the controls and turn the glider around to have more room and glide down and flare for the landing and run it off. Another time I was practicing free flying and clipped the tip of my wing on the very top of a very tall light pole (I was certain I’d clear it but the wing is bigger than expected). I was totally fine in both cases but did have to send in my wing for repair on the second one. Accept these things as a possibility (or far worse…. or smooth sailing for that matter) and proceed, or like other said if you cannot accept that and don’t feel comfortable with every fiber of your being, try an instructor in a more controlled environment.

I’ve been blessed with great wingmen.  In Colorado it was Mike Bennett and here it’s Mike Lange.  Both are great pilots with enormous mechanical ability.  

This morning was picture perfect.  Light breeze from the East and not a cloud in the sky.  It was bumpy up to 100 feet and smooth as silk after that.  I flew along the North Gulf Cove canal and out to the Gaspirilla causeway.   No Drama.

Light winds made for an easy launch.  Mike and I flew out past the Reservoir, he stayed mostly low and I alternated between 2500 and chasing the animals down low.  Saw deer, sand hill cranes, a gater and lots of live stock.  The radio worked better with the resistor plugs.  Landing was tricky with bumpy air near the surface.  At the very end I hit lift, sink, lift, sink, and again after touching down some more lift that brought up the rear right wheel.  No damage.   Good fun.

No Drama.  Mike Lange and I.  One thing of note was that I set up so that the trike was going to roll on a hard surface for the length of the cross street, width, approx 20ft.  The Idea was that I could build up some speed right at the start and complete the rollout on the grass.  What I didn’t expect was that the wing came up as fast as the trike but when I hit the grass my acceration slowed whereas the wing did not.  I looked up and saw the wing was just about to tuck.  I applied brake, hammered the throttle and it was all good.

I haven’t flown for a couple of weeks , mostly due to weather.  After 10 months of drought we now have daily downpours.    Yesterday morning, I was met with 6 inches of standing water at the Peachtree LZ.  The thermals would have been popping within an hour, so there wasn’t time to try Placida.  I had to drive home unsatisfied.  No big deal just a No Fly Day.

Placida is 20 minutes farther away but the surface has good drainage and the asphalt  has just been resurfaced.  It’s a wonderful place to fly , a couple sections of mowed fields and miles of fresh runways that point in every direction.  It just doesn’t get any better.  If you want to do a cross country, the Gaspirilla causeway is a couple of miles to the west.  From there you can follow the beach for miles down Gaspirilla Island or go North up to Englewood.

I launched just after sunrise, right down the runway into 6 mph of wind.  The air was mildly bumpy with wispy little clouds at 1000 feet.  I could feel the moisture being pulled from the surface as the sun started cooking.  A haze developed between the surface and 500 feet within 5 minutes of launch.  Among the building cumulus clouds there were a few tall structures that looked like albino man-o-war jellyfish, the tendrils of virga hanging down.  Twenty-five minutes was enough to scratch my itch and the air was starting to get rowdy so I decided to land before it got a little too thrilling.  Good call, I flew through sinking air on final and dropped from 40 to 5 feet in a heartbeat.   With brake and throttle I leveled out and floated two feet above the surface, right up to the truck.  Sweet!

The winds had been blowing like stink all week but this morning was predicted to be 4 mph at 7:00.  When I arrived at the field I was pleasantly pleased to see my first and last student, Tony unloading his Falcon.  We probably haven’t flown together three times since his “solo” and it’s always more fun to share.  

I’m wearing Pink Flippers.  😎

No Drama.   34 minutes.  Still looking for a good shot of the ferral pigs on the run.