Thursday, November 6, 2008
New Camera
I picked up a Sanyo HD1010 this week as well as the "semi-fisheye" lens adapter for it. I can't wait to put it on my keel and try it out! There were a couple features that sold me on this particular model. I wanted a flash memory based unit--but the vast majority of flash-based HD camdorders record to an AVCHD codec that evidently requires re-encoding before it can be used anywhere. The HD1010 records in h.264 and plays back immediately on my Mac and PC. Another issue for me is that I need to be able to put a wide angle lens on it. Luckily relate2 over on hanggliding.org has the same camera and made me aware of the "semi-fisheye" attachment. You see, Sanyo doesn't sell this item in the states for whatever reason. Relate2 is in Australia, but his posts made me aware of the product's existence. A few web searches later, and I found a company that ships the unit to the US (at a premium, mind you). Warehouse123.com is the company. My transaction went as advertised, and the lens will be fun to use!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Altinator - First SB flight
October 17, 2008
My first flight in the mountains of Santa Barbara was a 13 minute sled run--but also the most dramatic terrain and vistas I've flown over. I continue to put off landing at Parma while I get more airtime at other sites. John introduced me to a less popular LZ that is an easy glide from the Altinator launch. Conditions were very light, and there were a few paragliders at launch when John and I arrived. This made it necessary to set up on the road above launch. We watched as the PG pilots eeked out some airtime in the light thermals south of launch. After the last 3 flights I've had, it was a treat to set up and break down without 15+ mph winds to contend with. By the time we were set up and ready to go, the launch area was empty. The walk from the road down is along a steep dirt path that tends to crumble and slide under one's feet. I found that even without gusty winds to deal with, it was a real challenge to carry my glider down the hill without getting wingtips hung up in the bushes or falling on my ass. I sure wouldn't want to try it in much stronger conditions...
Altinator October 19 2008 from henderthing on Vimeo.
I wanted to see where I should fly to find lift--not to mention the LZ, which is not visible from launch--so I asked John if he wouldn't mind launching first. I watched him take off and head straight south. I started up the camera, hooked in, and took a few steps down to the launch. It felt really strange being on top of this mountain all alone with my wing, and I realized that I'd never launched without other people around before. Nonetheless, I shouted my "hooked in, balanced, and clear" to any wildlife within earshot--and launched. This time I managed to zip into my harness. I can't believe what I've been missing comfort-wise and am embarrassed to admit that this was the first time I've used the zipper in the air. My flight was uneventful but spectacular. I cleared the front ridge with hundreds of feet to spare, which surprised me a little. I thought I might have to fly around it. I seem to have a consistantly pessimistic estimation of my F3's glide ratio in the real world. The LZ was easier to recognize from the air than I had imagined. As I arrived, it took me a while to spot John, who had flown well past the LZ and was circling back for his landing. I followed him in--needing to add an extra turn to my final to lose a bit more altitude--more reason to wait a little for Parma. Having the video is great, as I can see that I was gripping the bars and oscillating on my final approach--a couple bad habits I thought I had licked. I promised myself not to repeat them.
This is my last catch-up post. Hopefully from here on out, I'll be posting within a few days of any future flights.
My first flight in the mountains of Santa Barbara was a 13 minute sled run--but also the most dramatic terrain and vistas I've flown over. I continue to put off landing at Parma while I get more airtime at other sites. John introduced me to a less popular LZ that is an easy glide from the Altinator launch. Conditions were very light, and there were a few paragliders at launch when John and I arrived. This made it necessary to set up on the road above launch. We watched as the PG pilots eeked out some airtime in the light thermals south of launch. After the last 3 flights I've had, it was a treat to set up and break down without 15+ mph winds to contend with. By the time we were set up and ready to go, the launch area was empty. The walk from the road down is along a steep dirt path that tends to crumble and slide under one's feet. I found that even without gusty winds to deal with, it was a real challenge to carry my glider down the hill without getting wingtips hung up in the bushes or falling on my ass. I sure wouldn't want to try it in much stronger conditions...
Altinator October 19 2008 from henderthing on Vimeo.
I wanted to see where I should fly to find lift--not to mention the LZ, which is not visible from launch--so I asked John if he wouldn't mind launching first. I watched him take off and head straight south. I started up the camera, hooked in, and took a few steps down to the launch. It felt really strange being on top of this mountain all alone with my wing, and I realized that I'd never launched without other people around before. Nonetheless, I shouted my "hooked in, balanced, and clear" to any wildlife within earshot--and launched. This time I managed to zip into my harness. I can't believe what I've been missing comfort-wise and am embarrassed to admit that this was the first time I've used the zipper in the air. My flight was uneventful but spectacular. I cleared the front ridge with hundreds of feet to spare, which surprised me a little. I thought I might have to fly around it. I seem to have a consistantly pessimistic estimation of my F3's glide ratio in the real world. The LZ was easier to recognize from the air than I had imagined. As I arrived, it took me a while to spot John, who had flown well past the LZ and was circling back for his landing. I followed him in--needing to add an extra turn to my final to lose a bit more altitude--more reason to wait a little for Parma. Having the video is great, as I can see that I was gripping the bars and oscillating on my final approach--a couple bad habits I thought I had licked. I promised myself not to repeat them.
This is my last catch-up post. Hopefully from here on out, I'll be posting within a few days of any future flights.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Cayucos - My first soaring flight
October 12, 2008
Saturday was looking good for Cayucos according to NOAA, so John Bill and I met in the morning. Jen came along to take pictures and drive. When we arrived, the winds--which were forecast to be over 15mph--were pretty much nil. We hung out on the beach for over an hour watching the flags at the fire station across the street hang almost completely slack. Just when I was wondering if we would fly at all that day, the wind started to pick up. It built to 20mph in barely a half hour. We drove to the top and set up.
Since I was the beginner, it was agreed that I would launch after John and before Bill. John launched his Eagle with some assistance. He immediately floated up and began crabbing around in front of the hill, hanging out about 100' over launch. It was my turn. I was pretty nervous walking to launch. Bill was holding my nose wires--but the wind was gusting from 18-22 mph, and as I approached the shallow part of the slope, I found it was more and more difficult to hold my nose down. It didn't help that I'd decided to mount my vario a little bit too high on the down tube. I hooked in and prepared to launch, shoving the vario down a bit. We stood at launch for a little while with Bill holding my nose wires. It just felt too erratic. I felt like I had I had the basetube pinned to my legs, and the nose still wanted to pop. We set the wing down for a minute. After collecting myself, I picked it up again. It felt better this time. I waited until Bill showed me that he was not holding the wires, and the wing was balanced. I shouted "clear!" Bill sprang out of my way and off I went, pulling in for all I was worth. In 3-4 steps I was off the ground.
Cayucos Ridge Soaring from henderthing on Vimeo.
The nervousness of launch quickly gave way to the elation of actually gaining altitude. It was a great sensation to feel the glider quickly rising above launch altitude. My first order of business was just to get a sense of my mobility in this wind. I flew back and forth in front of the hill, and started working my way several yards back around the side of the hill. I could make progress in any direction--but flying directly into the wind gave me a ground speed of only a few mph. I also noticed that flying downwind over any of the ridges radiating from the hilltop launch--even if I was well over them--slowed my upwind progress considerably. I decided to play it safe and not stray far from the front of the hill. If the wind got much stronger, I wouldn't be able to make any upwind progress without losing lots of altitude. At last--I had the opportunity to just spend time getting a better feel for my wing! The air was very smooth, and I could easily maintain an altitude of about 800'. It was a beautiful day, so I was quite happy to fly my pedestrian little figure 8's and a couple circles over launch. I was having a great time.
A while later I watched as Bill managed to get himself and his U2 into the air with no assistance. I was impressed! I continued my non-adventurous patterns as John and Bill explored the back bowl and surrounding areas. After about 45 minutes, I flew about 1.4 miles south to re-join them at "the knob." I arrived at about 250 feet, and managed to get back up to about 500. Earlier, I'd made one quick attempt to yank my harness zipper up. It didn't go on my first try--so I forgot about it, opting to jam my feet into the bottom of the harness instead. I also happened to have a little irrational fear of not being able to unzip for landing... Well, by now my feet and legs were getting a little uncomfortable. Just when I started to think of landing--I watched as first John, then Bill flew over Route 1 and landed on the beach. I followed, although my approach probably looked a lot different in very vertical way. I had a smooth, light landing--and was greeted by Jen. What a great day. I'm so glad I met these guys. They have been nothing but helpful, patient and supportive--not to mention fine company. This is the beginning of what I'd been training for.
Airtime: 1 hour 15 minutes
Saturday was looking good for Cayucos according to NOAA, so John Bill and I met in the morning. Jen came along to take pictures and drive. When we arrived, the winds--which were forecast to be over 15mph--were pretty much nil. We hung out on the beach for over an hour watching the flags at the fire station across the street hang almost completely slack. Just when I was wondering if we would fly at all that day, the wind started to pick up. It built to 20mph in barely a half hour. We drove to the top and set up.
Since I was the beginner, it was agreed that I would launch after John and before Bill. John launched his Eagle with some assistance. He immediately floated up and began crabbing around in front of the hill, hanging out about 100' over launch. It was my turn. I was pretty nervous walking to launch. Bill was holding my nose wires--but the wind was gusting from 18-22 mph, and as I approached the shallow part of the slope, I found it was more and more difficult to hold my nose down. It didn't help that I'd decided to mount my vario a little bit too high on the down tube. I hooked in and prepared to launch, shoving the vario down a bit. We stood at launch for a little while with Bill holding my nose wires. It just felt too erratic. I felt like I had I had the basetube pinned to my legs, and the nose still wanted to pop. We set the wing down for a minute. After collecting myself, I picked it up again. It felt better this time. I waited until Bill showed me that he was not holding the wires, and the wing was balanced. I shouted "clear!" Bill sprang out of my way and off I went, pulling in for all I was worth. In 3-4 steps I was off the ground.
Cayucos Ridge Soaring from henderthing on Vimeo.
The nervousness of launch quickly gave way to the elation of actually gaining altitude. It was a great sensation to feel the glider quickly rising above launch altitude. My first order of business was just to get a sense of my mobility in this wind. I flew back and forth in front of the hill, and started working my way several yards back around the side of the hill. I could make progress in any direction--but flying directly into the wind gave me a ground speed of only a few mph. I also noticed that flying downwind over any of the ridges radiating from the hilltop launch--even if I was well over them--slowed my upwind progress considerably. I decided to play it safe and not stray far from the front of the hill. If the wind got much stronger, I wouldn't be able to make any upwind progress without losing lots of altitude. At last--I had the opportunity to just spend time getting a better feel for my wing! The air was very smooth, and I could easily maintain an altitude of about 800'. It was a beautiful day, so I was quite happy to fly my pedestrian little figure 8's and a couple circles over launch. I was having a great time.
A while later I watched as Bill managed to get himself and his U2 into the air with no assistance. I was impressed! I continued my non-adventurous patterns as John and Bill explored the back bowl and surrounding areas. After about 45 minutes, I flew about 1.4 miles south to re-join them at "the knob." I arrived at about 250 feet, and managed to get back up to about 500. Earlier, I'd made one quick attempt to yank my harness zipper up. It didn't go on my first try--so I forgot about it, opting to jam my feet into the bottom of the harness instead. I also happened to have a little irrational fear of not being able to unzip for landing... Well, by now my feet and legs were getting a little uncomfortable. Just when I started to think of landing--I watched as first John, then Bill flew over Route 1 and landed on the beach. I followed, although my approach probably looked a lot different in very vertical way. I had a smooth, light landing--and was greeted by Jen. What a great day. I'm so glad I met these guys. They have been nothing but helpful, patient and supportive--not to mention fine company. This is the beginning of what I'd been training for.
Airtime: 1 hour 15 minutes
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