Fly Safe Folks!

Not long since the last safety bulletin, but a few things have happened:

I had the horrible experience of being dragged towards the fence at the top of Parlick West. The wind was fresh, and I top landed but failed to kill the wing, which inverted and dragged me away. Thanks, Tim for coming to my rescue. The cause: Straps and buckles on my nice new xmas present gloves, which tangled in my speed system line on one side, meaning I couldn’t move my hand far enough to control the glider. Lesson learned – if it can snag it will snag. I’ve cut them all off and am now looking around for anything else that can catch. Please take a careful look over all your kit to see if there is anything that can snag a line, because it will one day. Of course, you don’t still have that camera on your helmet do you . . .?

A few reports of careless airmanship – whether turning in the wrong direction when joining pilots already thermalling, or not turning and flying straight across the diameter of a circling pilot, or keeping to your course when it means a hang glider is pushed out and is forced down to the landing field, these are all potential dangers which shouldn’t happen if everyone is keeping a good lookout. In the HG incident I watched the PG pilot, who had right of way, continue on course towards the HG, so the HG had to turn away from the hill but as the lift was weak, he had no option but to go for the bottom landing. It takes a lot of effort to carry up and rig a hang glider, so please try to remember this in scratchy conditions, and consider a slope landing rather than push then out. Possibly the HG wouldn’t have made it back up anyway in this case, but that’s not the point.

Tight lines everyone,

Brian

Safety Officer

Fly Safe Folks!

So how was it for you? I think most people have had their feet off the ground post lockdown, so maybe time to have a look at what that has brought. From my own perspective it’s been a rather rude awakening: I think one of the issues is that my muscle memory is still flying the Sigma 10, so my initial landing judgements were poor to say the least. First day out at Parlick gave me three lessons:

· Brake lengths mean more motion to get the same result on the Swift

· The bottom corner of the lower Parlick landing field is notorious for sink near the ground

· When rusty, don’t do the usual of trying to do a show-off landing in the middle of your mates! Fortunately, Dave made a great crash mat. Sorry Dave.

Day 2 on Winter Hill gave me a harsh lesson in strong wind handling when one wing tip leapt into the air while I didn’t have hold of the brake. Instant dragging, thanks Phil and Kev for rescuing me. Next attempts were little better, firstly letting one of the C risers slip through my hands, giving me an asymmetric launch, then nearly launching with a brake line wrapped around the riser. I can put some of this down to differences between the gliders: on the Sigma the rear risers have handles for a positive firm grip and the risers are wider and stiffer, easier to grip and less easy to twist and get the brake line wrapped. I can’t blame the glider – it’s the pilot’s responsibility to be aware of these things and deal with them.

I also discovered that I couldn’t get into my pod, still not quite sure why as it’s been easy in the past. Possibly because I was wearing my flying suit, which allowed me to slip a little further down the leg straps (non-adjustable, ☹) I may need to put a bungee on again – thought I’d got past that extra faff. One consequence of this was that in struggling to get in, I get my feet badly tangled in the speed system and other lines in the pod, which could have been disastrous if I’d needed to land – fortunately I had plenty of height, time and room to deal with it.

So, lessons to take away:

· A paraglider is like a loaded gun, the stronger the wind, the more sensitive the trigger. The brakes or the rear risers are your safety catch and need to stay on until you’re ready to fire.

· Changes to equipment mean changes in the way you use them – make sure you’re on top of what you need to do.

· If at any time you had the thought “got away with that” or “dodged a bullet there” make sure you review it in your mind, and with anyone who saw it, to prevent it happening again.

Tight lines everyone,

Brian

Safety Officer

Jocky Sanderson has done a useful YouTube video about getting back into the air.

Fly Safe Folks!

Here we go – I can feel the excitement building as we get ready to hit the air again and try to avoid hitting the ground. I was halfway through writing a ‘get ready’ post when one popped up on the CSC forum from Tim Oliver. I couldn’t improve on this so I’m grateful to Tim for permission to reproduce it here. There are countless sources of advice on how to get back to flight currency, but I think Tim’s approach sums it all up clearly and concisely. Also look back to my January notes and the flying currency calculator.

Before you dive straight in, take time to reflect. Staying current is a key part of staying safe. Yet NONE of us are current. Many of us have not flown for almost a year. You are not the pilot you were! Think about taking a planned, staged, and safe return to the air.

Before getting out on the hill, consider using visualisation techniques to refresh your memory and rehearse the process. Work your way through laying out, getting kitted up, securing the harness, switching on instruments, pre-flight checks, lifting the glider, turning, take off and flight. Visualise active flying and dealing with collapses. Visualise grabbing and throwing your reserve. Visualise landing and killing your wing.

Before you set off to fly for real, get your kit out, check the wing, lines, harness, and reserve closure. Charge your instruments and radio and remind yourself of the key functions.

Remind yourself of the air rules. Which side do you pass when ridge soaring?

If you have bought new kit since lockdown began, think twice about using it for the first few flights. Better to start with what is familiar. Fiddling around with the adjustments on a harness or scrolling through shiny new screens is distracting. You need your focus to be on piloting and observing.

Make a plan for your return to flying. Think of the key flying skills and commit to working your way through them methodically before you seek out that rocket thermal.

Get out and ground handle, ground handle, ground handle.

For the first few flights, pick familiar safer sites and friendly conditions. It’s probably best to avoid cheek clenching take-off sites like Walla. Remember to check specific site status on the club website. Not every site may be open. It’s spring so be aware of the potential for rough air. It it’s sunny, consider avoiding in the middle of the day.

• Aim to get some smooth soaring time before tackling thermals again.
• Make a few practice grabs at your reserve handle.
• Practice pitch control and get familiar with the brake positions.
• Practice flat turns then tight turns with weight shift.
• Put in some 360’s away from the hill and then closer to the hill.
• Try some gentle wing-overs.
• Practice using speed bar.
• Then big ears and speed bar.

Watch out for other pilots, everyone is rusty so give all pilots plenty of space. Follow the air rules. Look before you turn and exaggerate your movements to make it obvious to others when and which way you are turning. Keep your head up and look around, don’t faff around with your instruments.
Be safe and enjoy!

Finally, remember the CANP procedure for mid-week flying. There was an update about the Low Fying Booking Cell (LFBC) in Skywings this month, but in case you missed it:

· (LFBC) Operating Hours: 0700 – 2000 Mon – Thurs; 0700 – 1500 Fri

· Email SWK-MAMC-Lowflying@mod.gov.uk

· Phone: 01489 443100 or 0800 515544

· Web: https://canp.logans.me.uk/bookings.php (recommended method of submission)

Tight lines everyone,

Brian

Safety Officer