Hang Gliding In the 70s (?)

[MajTbird]

There have been more than a few deaths from not hooking in before taking off. Not newbies, either. I guess it's from complacency or distraction.

I always did a hang check before takeoff, and spoke up if someone was about to take off without doing one.

It's like running an airplane out of fuel. There's no excuse for it but it happens regularly.

It sure got my attention. While his dad was a fine man and didn't make us (I bought the wing with a friend) feel awkward buying his deceased son's hang glider it was most certainly a sobering meeting. So I never forgot--either the gentleman himself and or what a tragic oversight could do to a family.

 

[FormerHangie]

There have been more than a few deaths from not hooking in before taking off. Not newbies, either. I guess it's from complacency or distraction.

I always did a hang check before takeoff, and spoke up if someone was about to take off without doing one.

It's like running an airplane out of fuel. There's no excuse for it but it happens regularly.

I favored using what's called the "Australian method". That's where you attach your harness as part of assembling the glider, and climb into it while it is still attached to the glider. You don't detach the harness from the glider until you are ready to break it down. If for any reason you detach it from the glider, you get out of the harness and do a full preflight inspection before climbing back in.

There are some places that have a nice slope launch where if you were unhooked you'd just lose hold of the glider if you started off while not hooked in. But if you did it at a cliff launch or a ramp launch like Lookout's, things wouldn not end well.

 

[Flyhound]

I started building my own hang gliders in 1968. First with bamboo poles and later with aluminum. The sail was 6 mil polyethylene with duct tape reinforcements and grommets for tying the sail to the frame. I finally graduated to store bought gliders. I flew them for about 30 years, but getting caught in a dust devil while setting up for a landing shattered my right arm and I haven't flown one since. The consequences of freak accidents like having a dust devil pop up at the last minute are just too severe and the wing loading is too light to fight it. It was a good ride while it lasted. I also had some wonderful flights off of Sandia Crest. Mostly good memories.

 

[3393RP]

It's nice seeing your shot of the Crest and the microwave towers. It brings back some good memories.