I Was Supposed To Land The Hang Glider Over There... 

At 3:45 you entered thermal column at 'antenna farm' and vario is going crazy next 10 sec. You should start turning left after 3-5 sec but instead you do not anything but fly right, away from thermal, right into big sink that was caused by same that thermal. I wrote you in last comment. Just next to every strong thermal is also big sink area. Each time you hit sink, increase speed to leave that area soon as possible. If you are aware that you dropped from thermal, try to get back into same area. If you are not sure on which side is thermal , best is fly straight. In your case fly stright toward landing area to minimize lost height. And hope to find next thermal on way there. Next situation at 'A brief moment of hope'. That looks like usable thermal. More narrow than first. At 2-3 seconds in that I would sharper turn left, into wind. You opted right. Probably too much downwind of thermal. As for landing. I do not what to say. You were lucky that 'clean' patio was there. I would rather pick spot somewhere way before. That was safer and with plenty of altitude to adjust approach. Like first comment. Very demanded site for flying. Not to much safe areas. We call it sos landings.

Some fairly strong comments here, all of us that fly have had that flight. You will have learnt a great deal and thats cool. Safe landing is all that counts crashing because you are trying to get to a place and are goal obsessed is a terrible way to go. Well done chalk that upto experience.

Geez, butt puckering flight dude. Glad you made it to an open spot safely.

Nice safe , pretty sporty condition I say , looking at that landscape , a no flight to day decision would be appropriate .

This style of video with narration is more interesting than most Hang Gliding videos, and a great way to review your flight. The landing was well done and in control, even if it was at last possible moment, being aware of other alternatives was great. I haven't flown Santa Barbra yet or an Alpha, my impression of sharing the air with Alphas is that they are PGs that look like HGs... they can go slow and exploit lift, but sink like a rock. The only question and suggestion I have is - we can't tell from a video - are you pulling in most of the flight? That would contribute to "overcorrections" and prevent you from taking advantage of lift. It is really easy to get tense and pull in without being aware of it when worried. Any kind of tension will reduce your sensitivity and precision, I can't say this is happening but it is something to keep in mind, but I saw several moments where you could have gained more altitude just by slowing down. Obviously, you need the speed for safety and control, but when you are safely clear of terrain and there is a little lift relax and let it go to trim and even push out a bit. There was a fair amount of both lift and sink out there, slowing down in the lift would have helped you. I don't know if the Alpha has the performance to escape sink by pulling in a lot... it might go down faster than it goes forward! Of course, listen to the experienced locals instead of internet people. As someone else commented, the real mistake was missing that thermal at the Antenna Farm and going into the sink that is always next to a thermal and staying there, that is what ended your flight. Learning to thermal and navigate lift and sink is probably the most difficult and rewarding thing to learn, and you will keep learning it forever. Keep up the good work!

It would be helpful to know which wing you are flying (model and area) and also the wind direction; looked like penetrating was a challenge, and overall if this was you 9th flight, sketchy if you ask me. At least it looks like a slow wing and if worse came to worse, you could always land in the scrub, which of course, is not ideal. Squeaked out a decent landing, but too advanced of a site for your skill level; I would suggest in conditions like that, that you just best L/D a flydown if you feel compelled to fly, and use 'dolphin' flight, push out during lift without turning and pulling in a bit during sink areas to max your L/D and make it out over the LZ with significant altitude so you can set up and approach at the place you pre-determine to land, rather than to HAVE to land, like where you did. The wing you are in does not penetrate for crap, and with that kind of head wind, you are pushing it. Not saying I have not done the same thing, but I would find a bit kinder site where the LZ is an easy make (unlike this site), or determine to not fly here above a certain wind velocity. Also, have great respect for the powerlines. On the plus side, with that wing in a wind, you can land in a very short distance, but you are definitely not going to cover as much ground to the LZ. (been an HG pilot since 1972, here, btw)

Thanks for sharing. I was right with you all the way. I've been in that situation many times, and that is when you learn the most. You thought it was a bit rough, but given where you took off and the ridges etc. in front of you, I was surprised it wan't bumpier than it seemed. Nicely handled though.

Sick composure, that pool was looking enticing for a landing

Sweet landing!

Be safe. Flew with Bob Wills n the 70's.

I realised that you dont have a nose cover I met a friend who flew an air glider, he forgot to put a nose cover on the glider and said that his entire flight was full of jerks, it was difficult for him to control the glider and he is a professional who flew for years on the same glider .. you had to keep the glider in the first tarmac you met! Some food for thought. thanks for sharing

Nice landing!

Wow you really stretched it 😅 I once tried the alpha after starting flying with an impuls14 (30% double surface) and got struck by how little the alpha penetrates. Hat off for sharing your experience 😊

Jesse could never do this. Sick ride!

Nice landing What seems like a lack of planning is somehow disturbing I think that an alternative landing field, closer to the launch, should be decided prior to launch. If you didn’t take such an option into account, you should find one the moment you realize the original landing field may be out of reach. It sounds like you left it to chance

I agree with scyz2807. You should fly at Marshall instead. Its a whole lot better for landing. If you like to keep a hang glider flying.

Glad u pulled that off. Does the vario you're using allow u to plug in waypoints? It's nice to utilize waypoints because it gives you the numbers & U know fairly quick if you've got the glide by a safe enough margin or not. Have your instructor show u how that works.

The powerlines looks scary. how do you make sure you don't sink near the powerlines?

I've got to say that I wouldn't recommend/allow a Novice HG pilot to fly that site. Now I am an east coast pilot but have flown all around the US. Similar to Brilliant Design Online's experience, I've been flying since 1975. I've held a USHGA (now USHPA) Master rating and also various Instructor ratings. After watching this I think you need to curb your enthusiasm - just a bit. I've flown in California but not at that site. I flew at the site where Wills Wing used to test fly their gliders (can't remember the name right now) and at Dunlap, CA. Both those sites were so much simpler. I was probably an Advanced rated pilot at the time and LOVED the big smooth California thermals. But here I am looking at this site - as you are flying it - and what the f**k! 8 - 0 The glider you have is far better than any I owned when I was a Novice/H2 but still I would call the "Eliminator" an experienced Intermediate/H3 level site. I kind of wonder where it got its name? I wouldn't want it to eliminate anyone. My advice is to fly at sites with a big hill/mountain with a straight line of site to the LZ. And where your glider can ALWAYS reach the BIG LZ even if you get zero lift or even sink for much of the flight. Continue flying such sites until you are confident and skilled at 360 thermaling. Where you can reliably catch/locate and center in the thermal's core. You should also get good at ridge soaring. Being able to ridge soar can allow you stay up and possibly hook a thermal that breaks off in front of the ridge. That can make it possible for you to safely reach a GOOD LZ. At a national competition back in 1990 (?) I was able to out distance a number of other good pilots by soaring low on a 2,000 foot ridge and gained at least a mile or two in additional XC distance while other pilots went out to land because they weren't as skilled/confident at ridge soaring 400 feet above the valley. BTW - I also always had an LZ I could make within an easy glide for my wing. That should be the case every single time you fly. If you ever get into XC flying, the skill you need there is identifying a good LZ without ever landing there before. But that may be in your future. We'll have to wait and see.

What an awful site to fly 😆. You got a good thermal on the way 3:50, right before you say "big sink" a 360 would reveal it, big sink surrounds thermals. I still think you flying slowly particular when going through turbulence. Keep them coming

I'm curious...how many flights did you have before this flight? Not counting training hills. It looked like you weren't in good control of the glider during most of the flight. Is that a hang 2 rated site? I'm an instructor at Lookout Mountain Flight Park in Georgia...