Hey gang,
Hope to learn a few things here, and maybe I can help out, now and then. I was on the Yahoo FJ forum for a while, then came here.
Been ridin' a while, had a few bikes, but never been rich. This FJ1100 is the best I ever had. Don't have a lot to say for myself. Did some aircraft maintenance, car mechanic, some electronics, and still tinkering. Kinda thin in the wallet, now, so there's not a lot left here, for mods, but I can have fun on what I got.
Been flying hang gliders for these last thirty-mumble years. A guy's gotta do something for fun, and I sure can't dance . . . Still cruising the skies, when I'm not on the road.
http://www.xmission.com/~red/history/history.htm (http://www.xmission.com/~red/history/history.htm)
Cheers,
Red
Hey Red, welcome!
Since your all ready are familiar with the comunity, theres no need for me to warn you of the moditus bug :good2:
I all so see you are a fellow aviator :yahoo: The only difference is that i fly with an engine.
Did some skydiving some tome ago, but got to my senses :good:
Cheers
Ken
Welcome to the group :hi: lots of good information and members here. Post some pictures when you can . :bye2:
George
Welcome, Red! :good2:
Quote from: keand3 on June 19, 2013, 11:34:31 AMHey Red, welcome!
I all so see you are a fellow aviator :yahoo: The only difference is that i fly with an engine.
Did some skydiving some tome ago, but got to my senses :good:
Cheers
Ken
Ken,
Skydiving? "Oh, that's not flying, that's falling, with style!" -
Sheriff Woody, Toy Story.Here at the base of the Rockies, a six-hour hang glider flight raises no eyebrows. Going UP! Bring yer oxygen! :yahoo:
What do you fly?
Cheers,
Red
Nothing fancy, just those common c172 and c210. Some pipers and a few others.
Mostly singel engien piston.
Welcome to the group Red. :hi:
Fred
Welcome Red, glad you joined us.
Kurt
Welcome mate, glad you could join the camp fire :good:,, 6 hours of hang gliding, sounds like fun, ,, wonder how many 1100,s we have with us now :scratch_one-s_head:
Quote from: fj11.5 on June 19, 2013, 05:04:50 PMWelcome mate, glad you could join the camp fire :good:,, 6 hours of hang gliding, sounds like fun, ,, wonder how many 1100,s we have with us now :scratch_one-s_head:
FJ11.5,
Maybe we should start a sign-in log for the FJ1100s, so we will know. I like to think I'm just another one of the FJ clan, really. :yahoo:
You might get a kick out of this flyin' video. This a flight made with a GPS/altimeter/recording unit. It's about 2.4 hours of cruising the mountains, being shown in a four minute video. Red and orange trails show the glider going up, blues and greens are just gliding, descending slowly. A white dot tracks under the pilot, so you can see how far above the ground he is. We circle in lift like the hawks, to climb out. I have a decent old hang glider, but I do not have the expensive tracker unit, so this is another HG pilot, making an average fun afternoon flight. You can click the Full-Screen button, lower right, for a sit-back view. Some HG pilots fly for distance; I think the record now is over 500 miles, Texas to Kansas. Me, I just fly for
FUN.Seeyou track - 3 - 24 - 08 -- Good day to miss work (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84tkQEt4rMA#)
Cheers,
Red
have to admit that was pretty interesting, do you wear a parachute or are they fairly safe
Welcome to the group Red ..This site rocks!!!!!!!!!! :music:
MarkG
Red, that is some interesting stuff! Welcome!
I always wondered, can you FEEL the lift of the thermals when you get in, so you know to keep spiraling up?
Welcome Red, I like the color Red. Nice that you get fly two different ways. :drinks:
.
Thanks for the welcome, all.
Nice place you have, here. :drinks:
Quote from: ken65
have to admit that was pretty interesting, do you wear a parachute or are they fairly safe
Ken65,
Yeah, fairly safe, but like a car or a bike, the driver's experience and skill will count for a lot. They try to break these gliders with a truck, usually, and sometimes the front of the truck gets lifted. If the glider passes the truck test, then they do the flight tests. Everybody flies with a chest-pack parachute, besides. Lotsa flyin' videos (adventures, not tracklogs) here:
http://www.hanggliding.org/videos.php (http://www.hanggliding.org/videos.php)
Quote from: Firehawk068
Red, that is some interesting stuff! Welcome!
I always wondered, can you FEEL the lift of the thermals when you get in, so you know to keep spiraling up?
Firehawk068,
Thanks. You can feel the first surge of lift, sure, like when the elevator starts. Then it's a steady climb, and you can't feel the lift, until it ends (same with elevators). You can watch a nearby hilltop, though, and if you can see more scenery behind the hill than a minute ago, you are climbing. Most HG pilots use a small gadget that beeps going up (variometer), to stay in lift. The expensive vario models can also include GPS, altimeter, tracking, and even maps. My old vario just beeps. I have
fun.Quote from: FJmonkey
Welcome Red, I like the color Red. Nice that you get fly two different ways.
FJmonkey,
True, that. Riding is the flying that I do near the ground. Everybody here knows how it is. Humans can now fly in formation with eagles and hawks (same speeds, same glide ratios). If the hawk can climb without flapping, then I can too. We sometimes call this Personal Flight, because it's like having wings in your shoulders, not steering a vehicle across the sky (and I can't afford planes, period). As long as I can have a good bike and decent wings, I'm a happy camper. :good2:
Cheers,
Red
Red,
Is there somewhere that someone(like a newbie who's never done it) can get an intro to hang-gliding weekend class, for relatively little money?
It's something I've always dreamed of trying (one of my bucket list items)
Also, where do you hail from? (I can't remember if you stated it anywhere her already) :drinks:
Quote from: Firehawk068 on June 20, 2013, 11:34:14 PMRed,
Is there somewhere that someone(like a newbie who's never done it) can get an intro to hang-gliding weekend class, for relatively little money?
It's something I've always dreamed of trying (one of my bucket list items)
Also, where do you hail from? (I can't remember if you stated it anywhere her already) :drinks:
Firehawk068,
Sure. Depending on where you live, the quickest way to fly is usually to make a tandem flight. The experienced HG pilot deals with the launch and landing, and when you two get away from the dirt, you can do some real flying for yourself. Some new guys do not want to try that, but talk to the tandem pilot about it, and that can happen, no sweat. I taught HG for a living for more than a decade, so I wrote up this FAQ sheet to answer a lot of questions. Click on the first topic there, for some information, and on the Lessons topic, for more. Take your time with it, because I put in stuff for lots of pilots, at various levels of skill. I live in Utah, near the Rocky Mountains.
http://user.xmission.com/~red/ (http://user.xmission.com/~red/)
I started flyin' back when sex was safe, and hang gliding was dangerous. Now, we joke that the reverse is true. :biggrin: It costs a fair bit more to start out now, but we have a lot to teach, and 'way better gliders, to keep new pilots a lot safer than in the bad old days. Even crossing a street is not risk-free, but most HG pilots like what I wrote there, as the best
and cheapest way to go. After your flight, don't walk into any light-poles, watching the sky. This flyin' stuff is risky, but not in the way you might think. :drinks:
Cheers,
Red