Well done Doug ,,seems like all those Tailbridge flights have paid off,,dont know how you do it,I cant get away from family taxi,.shopping, drains blocked,car repairs,I need to put my foot down.
That first swoop on launch looked a bit hairy! I have taken the lazy route, just finished building a Sub70, Ill be launching just around the corner at Edisford... Not in 25+mph winds though :)
Yes, I launched into some bad air there. It was much the same for the whole flight but certainly not much fun when it's that close to the ground. Good luck with the sub70 - there are quite a few based up at St Michael's airfield near garstang
@@dougneil3431 I have looked at St Michaels... Not sure how kindly they would take to a somewhat rouge pilot. I have 20+ years Paragliding and Paramotoring but very little experience hang gliding (nothing with power) Need to cut my teeth at Pilling (make sure I can accurately place my landings) I might head up there if I find the sport reasonably trivial... Experienced pilots are worth their weight in gold for inspiring confidence in mixed conditions.
Ah yes, no problem. All my stuff is covered with smelly mud though - it's taken all afternoon today cleaning my electronics. It was always going to be a tricky landing in that wind direction, but after 6 weeks without a flight I wasn't going to miss the day. Puma is great, getting used to it now.
Back in the day, I had a similar 'nose a little too high, stall after takeoff' crash only it was a 40' bluff launch with 15kt wind and I was a little higher when I blew over and landed upside down back in the set up area. No injuries, only a broken leading edge on my glider, and tiny tear on the sail of someone else's glider. I was very lucky and the lesson was learned.
Well done Doug,,,looks like you hit a bit of sink on that 2nd landing,,,,gotta get up there and get back flying,,,with some help from your good self,, Regards Tony Brownhill.
Yes, a bit of turbulence stopped me turning into wind when I wanted so ended up further back. Virtually no wind down at ground level back there. You're more than welcome to come up - that telegram group is where the good days are mentioned first.
Great location for landing practice, really big top and bottom landing space. It can get busy with PGs in a lighter wind. The ridge at Tailbridge isn't massive but if you get high and fly over to the Mallerstang ridge then there is tons of room (6km ridge).
This terrible takeoff/crash was actually salvageable, but a pilot with the skills needed to do that would have never ventured into strong conditions without launch assistant or moving to the actual launch point without being hook-in. At .39 seconds the pilot is actually so far out of shape that he is actually accelerating the crash. Pro tip. If you don't have an assistant, move to your launch position and hook-in there. If you can't safely hook-in then conditions are screaming at you that you shouldn't be trying to launch.
Great footage Doug youre gonna have to help me get back in the air not flown for 3 years covid,lack of drive,old age,,will you let me know when you are going again,,so I can tag along, Regards Tony.
Thanks for sharing Doug, you managed to get to the cloud base at Mynd. I was frustrated to endlessly punt along the ridge so I went down to the task when I was still well below the cloud base, I was in the decent thermal and didn't want to lo lose it though. It paid off. I was in the cloud base and on the way to goal shortly after.
Cheers Maciej. Yes, if I had just flown straight after getting to cloudbase I'd have got much further. Been checking your track and you did really well.
Thats a 50 min drive from my cabin Doug I am to do my first xc,,,landing outside my home thats about 50 miles ,,ps I dont expect to do it first time,next time youre down this way let me know and I can help with retrieve,or just phone me and I will take you back to your car.
The title is misleading. The wind lifted the hang glider before he attempted to takeoff. All of the comments suggesting how to correct his flight in the air aren't hitting the mark.
Thanks Justin, its not an easy thing to learn how to hang glide but absolutely well worth the effort. There is no better feeling than reaching cloudbase using just the power of nature.
If the left wing is lifting, point he glider to the left. If the right wing is lifting, point the glider to the right. When the wings are level and the direction your pointed isn't good for launch, don't launch.......
This was just beautifully done. Thank you sir, I've enjoyed watching you gents flying the gorgeous Yorkshire slopes since the mid 1970's, and I've been envious ever since. Carry on mates. Matt Hall - your biggest fan in Alabama USA