Magdalena Rim NW of Las Cruces NM (USA)

[Bob Kuczewski]

A fun and educational day! Thanks so much for your help Bill and Robin! Stoked for more.

The RGSA is a super club.   

Welcome to the US Hawks, Ann!!!!

[Bill Cummings]

I watched as Ann set up her glider and I have adopted her method of installing the radial tip fiberglass tip wands.
I had posted a Youtube video in the Training Manual thread, if memory serves me, of how to install the tip wands that another pilot uploaded.
I have to say Ann's way has the installation process far easier than any other method that I've seen so far.
Maybe Ann could do a video showing the way she installs the fiberglass tip wands.
Maybe I could upload a video about, "Ann's Way," before she does but I think she flies more than I do and can post before I can.
In the same video she/I/we could demonstrate a better way of folding the sail into the leading edge Mylar.
Had I used, "Ann's Way," all these years, my sail cloth would look as unwrinkled as hers.

[Bill Cummings]

I got a call from Hadley this afternoon from Mag Rim (Matt's Mountain) it was strong enough for HG but he and three other pilots were going to wait for later in the day to fly their PG's.
Maybe Hadley has it up on his El Paso Paragliding website.

[RobinHastings]

Friday, Feb. 3, 2017:
With Hadley's encouragement to try some flying yesterday, Bill Cummings and I decided not to let another unflown day go by, and we headed to Matt's Mountain at 1:00 pm today. As we put up a flag in the landing zone we saw a PG pilot coming out from the mountain peak to land - though not in the Arroyo LZ. We watched his touchdown, and picked him up a few minutes later - Andrew, from Saskatchewan, Canada, on a flying tour with his wife Shelley. Hadley Robinson, Shelley, Andrew, Bill and I all congregated at the launch a few minutes later, and about 3:45 MST I took off in a 15-20 mph wind. I flew my old Airborne Blade and borrowed Bill's harness, since both my U2 and my parachute went north with Ann, for routine maintenance. My takeoff was good, and I went up a bit, and made a smooth pass across the ridge - but smooth can be too much of a good thing. Not much lift, so I headed out along the ridge, looking for that one thermal one would lift me to the big time. Alas, not to be found. I came to the Arroyo LZ with plenty of altitude, set up a west-southwest approach, and landed reasonably well using my wheels, after a flight of, oh, five minutes. Still, the weather was great, the people were nice, and a day in the air is well worth the time expended. We're looking at Dry Canyon (meet in the LZ about 11:00) for this Sunday. Come and join us if you're ready to fly!
-Robin

[Bill Cummings]

Friday, Feb. 3, 2017:
With Hadley's encouragement to try some flying yesterday, Bill Cummings and I decided not to let another unflown day go by, and we headed to Matt's Mountain at 1:00 pm today. As we put up a flag in the landing zone we saw a PG pilot coming out from the mountain peak to land - though not in the Arroyo LZ. We watched his touchdown, and picked him up a few minutes later - Andrew, from Saskatchewan, Canada, on a flying tour with his wife Shelley. Hadley Robinson, Shelley, Andrew, Bill and I all congregated at the launch a few minutes later, and about 3:45 MST I took off in a 15-20 mph wind. I flew my old Airborne Blade and borrowed Bill's harness, since both my U2 and my parachute went north with Ann, for routine maintenance. My takeoff was good, and I went up a bit, and made a smooth pass across the ridge - but smooth can be too much of a good thing. Not much lift, so I headed out along the ridge, looking for that one thermal one would lift me to the big time. Alas, not to be found. I came to the Arroyo LZ with plenty of altitude, set up a west-southwest approach, and landed reasonably well using my wheels, after a flight of, oh, five minutes. Still, the weather was great, the people were nice, and a day in the air is well worth the time expended. We're looking at Dry Canyon (meet in the LZ about 11:00) for this Sunday. Come and join us if you're ready to fly!
-Robin

https://youtu.be/WmnLFqEO1R8

[ARP]

Bill,

Just an observation from the video:- The lower rear rigging wires look very slack although control does not seem to be compromised.

Tony

[RobinHastings]

Thanks, Tony, for the observation - and thanks very much for the video, Bill! I learned a lot by watching it.
-Robin

[Bill Cummings]

I've been wondering what are the things, besides the lower rear flying wires being made too long, would make the wires slack?
The thimbles at the cable ends don't look stretched.
That Airborne Blade has a king post and top wires so I would only expect a topless glider to exhibit slack at times when cranking on the control bar.
Okay then -- maybe if home made downtubes were installed a pilot could look up the specks and find out if the bolt holes were drilled too close together on each downtube.
Maybe a keel was replaced at one time and the rear keel anchor bolt hole was drilled too close to the nose plate holes. (Requiring another specification measuring check.)
One would think that the basetube being raked forward would have the wing flying wires putting the slack in the nose flying wires and keeping the rear flying wires tight. (?)
This Airborne Blade does not have the two rear flying wires terminating both at the keel but to a short single one foot cable that then attached to the keel tube.
Any other suggestions out there?
Ah Hah! EDIT:
Another possibility could be a splice in the keel tube where a kink was hack sawed out and a bigger sleeve put over the removed kinked part, then a hard nose in that sheared an Aluminum pop rivet allowing the stinger to slide forward in the sleeve. (Seen that one before.)

[RobinHastings]

Here is a brief video from Shelley McKinlay of our flights at Magdalena Rim on Friday, February 3. Pretty nice! Shelley and husband Andrew are down here for a PG flying & sightseeing excursion, from Saskatchewan, Canada. They both got some airtime at the site that day. (Andrew got almost 3000 ft over launch!)
https://youtu.be/nKXTI4W4QFY

-Robin

[Bill Cummings]

I'll be the second man for Buzz Nelson (PG) at 10:00am. I'll be stationed on the road for line of sight radio communications.
Windytv shows a short launch window around 9 to 12 am.