Trying to Soar Hang Gliding and Getting a Little Too Low 

So much about your flight and what you say reminds me of my experience getting too low on my 51st mountain flight. I didnt make it to an LZ, and flew through a gap in the tree line to land in a tree tunnel. I got extremely lucky. Breeming full of adrennaline, I walked away unscathed feeling bewildered, angry, and humbled. I had no idea what happened. I remember days, weeks, and months went by as I gradually learned more and applied what I knew to understand my decisions that led up to my dire flight. Five years and hundreds of flights later it was still THE flight I learned the most important lessons from. Thanks for posting! Love the stoke! Fly safe!

Great video and commentary dude. Great to see more young newbies in the sport. I'm a bit further along, just approaching 10 hours soaring over here in the UK. relate to many of these feelings from the early flights! Keep it up and keep sharing your progress!!

great to hear your mind games and thoughts. very useful for the psicological training, as knowing what to expect in advance

Excellent commentary John! I remember making similar decisions in front of the round house/antenna farm ridge and clinching the whole way down the ridgeline to Parma. It's a bit hard to tell, but if I had to guess, it looked like that Alpha was flying faster than trim speed, and potentially even a bit faster than best glide speed. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe you were flying best glide speed, but to provide my feedback, in case it's helpful... when I was in those situations I can remember my body tensing up. This could cause me to unconsciously grip the base tube tightly and pull it in more than I needed to to maintain the speed for best glide ratio. Pulling in more and flying faster than best glide (although in the moment may feel helpful in getting to the LZ quicker) looses altitude faster and intensifies the discomfort, thereby causing me to tense up even more. My suggestion would be to continually remind yourself during flight to check how fast your going. I do this by feeling for trim speed by loosening my grip and releasing the bar pressure momentarily, and then pulling in just barely to speed up to best glide. This is especially important on an Alpha, where the drag from flying faster has a huge impact on performance. I think having a more head-down flying position is an important part of being able to have a lighter grip and a better feel for where trim speed is, so I would recommend doing all that you can to get your feet up and your head down. Again, the impact on performance of the drag inherent to an Alpha is exacerbated by a draggy, head-up flying position. There are some suggestions I have regarding how you can do that for these trainer harnesses, but I imagine you'll probably soon be getting a sized-to-fit new harness for yourself. Anyway, cheers for posting this video with you commentary! Brought me right back to those moments of adrenaline and got my heart pumping a bit.

Wow, bro. I have 56 flights, mix of mountains and desert aerotow. I would have chosen the bailout early and stuck with it. I have never been that low and not be in an approach. Good on you and always remember, it's the decisions that matter. Also, go to Crestline, it might be a bit better for us new guys.

nice flight mate. Keep at it. The first few hours in a hangie are the hardest... steep learning curve. You landed well and you took off well. Specifically about you point on confidence of lift being everywhere. Yes you're right - often I'll think the lift is crap and then when up in the air its magical and vise-versa. As you say the important thing is to remain flexible. If you're ever in the French alps, give us a heads up if you want to fly!

Great video, Thanks for sharing

I have this great home in the hills and I can’t even walk around naked with all these peeping Tom hang gliders 🤡 I thought I shaved close with my razor 🤡 That was a little low, kinda like like my comments 🤡 …but you followed the ridge line which may have saved you from a dip in the pool/tree inspection. You might have been able to emergency land in one of the back yards as an option. If you know you’re going into a tree, I’ve seen some pilots put their feet onto the control bar for the last moment flare to protect the head from trauma. Know those wind directions and speeds for ridge lift/rotor avoidance. Takeoff and landing were good! I’ve been flying for 6 months now myself and really appreciate the learning experiences you share, thank you and fly safe.

I don't know why this showed up on my feet but I watched it. And yeah. I can see why you are a little bit nervous at that speed hitting anything. You can check that off your bucket list

I hope you gave whoever was steering via radio a big fat tip.

Stop throw your self to the luck be professional ❤ tnx for sharing

Looked like your body was perpendicular to the air flow. Head lower than feet will make for marked L to D increase.

legs together when you come out of the stirrups Looks light Do you think you were at min.sink - hands off? You don't look fat, so you should have plenty of sail cover Doing good Enjoy