Progress of new pilots.

by **Bill Cummings** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:13 pm

Progress of New Pilots:
Sunday Feb. 21, 2016 there was a caravan from Las Cruces to Anapra, New Mexico (USA).
DC's last words to me earlier were, "Take a chain saw." At the time I thought, Why? (It's okay at launch.) But he was talking about the bottom close to the base of the hill. I even cautioned myself, thinking, [When DC talks BC listens.] I had learned that long ago when he had told me to get high when flying north from Dry Canyon and crossing the gap over hwy 380.
Many pilots in the past had broken themselves and their gliders while landing and not expecting the change of wind direction that sometimes happens near the mountain "Gap." Forgetting his instruction and on my own and in the very last minute I landed okay but was perplexed as to the wind shift. Then, bang, I remembered DC's instructions.
So Sunday, years later, blissfully headed for Anapra without the chain saw along we couldn't use the bottom of the ridge. Too much brush. (I'm a slow learner.)
We went farther out to the clearing ahead of the ridge and did some more wing running on the flat LZ. First without a harness and then while hooked to the glider while in the harness.
Below is a YouTube video, less than a minute, of a few of the many wing running runs that occurred.

: Anapra.PNG (383.95 KiB) Viewed 11213 times

https://youtu.be/KKa_rEEma0o

by **Bill Cummings** » Wed Feb 24, 2016 12:28 pm

: Playing..PNG (437.86 KiB) Viewed 11196 times

We had to wait on the wind Tuesday mostly to die down and make the switch back to straight into the hill. Gusty conditions makes it difficult for a new pilot to know, "Did I cause that or was it the wind?"
https://youtu.be/Pq3i9imoH9w

by **Bill Cummings** » Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:01 pm

: x marks the spot.PNG (447.03 KiB) Viewed 11185 times

The biggest problem that I have watched new pilots struggle with while learning to fly a hang glider is over controlling.
On par with over controlling is not anticipating that the control input will give results way slower than a car, bike, boat or even walking.
It wouldn't be a good idea to start someone out on a motorcycle if they had never been on a peddle bike. Therefore it must also be a good idea not to start out hang gliding on a high performance glider but use a beginners glider first.
If one would walk up to a stranger and quickly kiss them right on the lips if you're normal you might well expect to duck a face slap.
That is thinking ahead, It's also called foresight.
Since a slap response will usually happen faster than a gliders response you have to be thinking further ahead of the glider than you would the stranger.
In the picture above the wind is coming from the road intersection and passing just to the left of the three people visible to the left of the pilot's helmet.
(The pilot is to the right of his desired flight path.)
The idea is to land in front of the three people and to the left of them in case the pilot would be carried beyond them.
That would have the pilot landing into the wind heading toward the road intersection.
With this task in mind the pilot already has enough bank to the left going on and instead of being left of center in the control frame the pilot should be centered in the control frame and even starting now to move to the right of center. The lag in response to control input would then have the pilot lined up with his desired landing spot and not way off to the left of the spot.

by **RobinHastings** » Sun Feb 28, 2016 8:33 pm

Bill and I went to the Mesquite Dam site today with Nathan, Patrick and Dan. The forecast was for west winds, 5-10 mph, but someone higher up couldn't put that into his weather budget - what we got was 0 to 2, from any direction at random. The time was not wasted, though. We had everyone hang in my See-Saw Simulator on the back of the pickup truck, using the downtubes, to simulate a training flight and the response of the glider to turn inputs. Each of the three students got in some runs with the Gemini as well, and we were able to correct some launch techniques. We quit about 4:30, when Nathan had to drive back to Alamogordo, and the rest of us reached Las Cruces a little after 5:00. Though the winds were uncooperative, it was still a lovely day, clear and warm. Let's see what winds the week to come will bring us.
-Robin

by **Bill Cummings** » Mon Feb 29, 2016 10:50 am

RobinHastings wrote:Bill and I went to the Mesquite Dam site today with Nathan, Patrick and Dan. The forecast was for west winds, 5-10 mph, but someone higher up couldn't put that into his weather budget - what we got was 0 to 2, from any direction at random. The time was not wasted, though. We had everyone hang in my See-Saw Simulator on the back of the pickup truck, using the downtubes, to simulate a training flight and the response of the glider to turn inputs. Each of the three students got in some runs with the Gemini as well, and we were able to correct some launch techniques. We quit about 4:30, when Nathan had to drive back to Alamogordo, and the rest of us reached Las Cruces a little after 5:00. Though the winds were uncooperative, it was still a lovely day, clear and warm. Let's see what winds the week to come will bring us.
-Robin

: Mesquite Dam Area.PNG (358.01 KiB) Viewed 11155 times

(For full screen viewing and also more control of play back options click on the URL address above the YouTube video screen.
That will take you directly to the YouTube Website. It may also shorten the YouTube down load time and reduce buffering.)
https://youtu.be/qKq3DWc3D90

by **Bill Cummings** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 6:22 pm

Robin and three new pilots and I met at the Mesquite Dam area and I'm sorry but the forecast was normal. (Wrong that is.)
So it was too light to make it as enjoyable a day as the forecast lead us to believe it would be.
A few runs at the base of the hill didn't get any of the new pilots airborne.
We did pick up a pickup box full of trash and hauled it to the waste center back in Las Cruces.

: Hill before RGSA.PNG (406.02 KiB) Viewed 11139 times

: Before RGSA 2.PNG (345.33 KiB) Viewed 11139 times

: After RGSA.PNG (208.81 KiB) Viewed 11139 times

: After RGSA 2.PNG (277.15 KiB) Viewed 11139 times

: Pickup load by New Pilots..PNG (909.58 KiB) Viewed 11139 times

Thanks for the help Dan, David, Patrick.

by **Bill Cummings** » Sun Mar 06, 2016 6:25 pm

billcummings wrote:
x marks the spot.PNG

The biggest problem that I have watched new pilots struggle with while learning to fly a hang glider is over controlling.
On par with over controlling is not anticipating that the control input will give results way slower than a car, bike, boat or even walking.
It wouldn't be a good idea to start someone out on a motorcycle if they had never been on a peddle bike. Therefore it must also be a good idea not to start out hang gliding on a high performance glider but use a beginners glider first.
If one would walk up to a stranger and quickly kiss them right on the lips if you're normal you might well expect to duck a face slap.
That is thinking ahead, It's also called foresight.
Since a slap response will usually happen faster than a gliders response you have to be thinking further ahead of the glider than you would the stranger.
In the picture above the wind is coming from the road intersection and passing just to the left of the three people visible to the left of the pilot's helmet.
(The pilot is to the right of his desired flight path.)
The idea is to land in front of the three people and to the left of them in case the pilot would be carried beyond them.
That would have the pilot landing into the wind heading toward the road intersection.
With this task in mind the pilot already has enough bank to the left going on and instead of being left of center in the control frame the pilot should be centered in the control frame and even starting now to move to the right of center. The lag in response to control input would then have the pilot lined up with his desired landing spot and not way off to the left of the spot.

https://youtu.be/sXk5Bg3QvMY

by **Bob Kuczewski** » Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:45 pm

Wait a minute now ...

You mean that you guys are helping teach new pilots how to fly and you're cleaning up your local site ... all without a grant - or even permission - from USHPA or the "Foundation for Free Flight"?!?