Crestline Soaring Society
Serving Hang Gliding and Paragliding in the San Bernardino Mountains
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well that was interestinganother beautiful day. launched into 15 mph south winds, headed east to santa's village and then west to cajon pass. practiced my speed gliding into goal from 5 miles out using my 6030 glide slope. amazing how fast one can fly and still get 10 to 1 on a t2. from below the 750, i climbed back up and headed back to crestline, then landed safely at andy jackson after a 3 hour and 1 minute flight. the "landed safely" part of this flight report is why i'm writing this. i did something today i've never done before. as i transitioned upright while setting up for my landing, i noticed a little discomfort in my... well, let's say, "sensitive region". this happens on occasion and it's usually not too uncomfortable, so i just deal with it, but since i had two more 360's to do before i would enter the downwind portion of my approach, i thought i'd make "an adjustment". i reached down to try to spread the leg loops of my harness apart (they had overlapped a little in the center) and while doing so, somehow i managed to unclip the buckle! feet still in the boot of my harness, i watched as the leg loops were now both flapping in the wind! amazing how time slows at a moment like this. many thoughts went through my head. first things first: fly the glider! now, do i have time, and enough altitude to climb back up, and deal with this? nope, you're landing, and seriously, how well is that going to work while you're hooked in? the upper zipper is holding a lot of my weight nicely, so let's zip it down a little more. if i stay prone, i seem to be in good shape. i suppose i could do a belly landing. hmmm no wheels, so i'd rather not. i could leave one leg in the boot of the harness to support my weight, and use the other to land! that seems reasonable. testing this concept, i took my left leg out of the harness, leaving my right one in, and decided that staying prone as long as possible was my best bet. ok here we go! i set up the standard, left hand approach. the wind was a very kind 10 mph from the west-southwest. got into ground effect while still on the base bar. started to slow, pulled myself upright using the down tubes, and offered a gentle flare as i let my right leg out of the harness too. as my weight transferred to the ground, the wing started to fly up and away, so i had to pull it down and chase it for a few steps before it settled onto my shoulders. i'm pretty sure that unless you were really paying attention, you saw what looked like an odd, but reasonable landing. i spoke with rob mckenzie afterward, and we both agreed that there are an infinite combination of things that can go wrong while flying a hang glider, and there is no safety manual that covers all the variations. stay cool, fly the glider, weigh your options, and maybe even be creative. i had a great flight, and a safe landing today. just thought i'd share. Forums > Pilot Reports Flight > HG Sites > Crestline Gets Your Attention, Don't It???!!!!!! Now you have a whole new definition for "hang check"! Glad you stayed cool and dealt successfully with the problem. Maybe rig a safety sleeve for the buckle, and consider rigging some small bungees to keep the loops spread so you can avoid discomfort? Joel Gets Your Attention, Don't It???!!!!!!I was going to say the same thing. That's the opposite of not hooking in. Unhook in flight. Glad you made the LZ Owen. Just think if you did that at 17,999 ft. How about a velcro shirt and line your harness with velcro. No leg loops required:) Buckle up, It's The Law. Click it or ticket. No mistake or big pancake...... nicely handeled.I did see you landing and thought something was odd when I didn't see your legs out of your harness way up high. Thought maybe it was someone else flying your glider. -Dave Nice!!We are all grateful things worked out for the best. So what was the problem with the leg loops? How come they came undone? Hey!You told me that your sensitive area could perform tricks like an elephant's trunk. I think you need to teach your little buddy how to buckle up on its own. Mine can tie a knot in a cherry stem. Good Job + OptionsGood job keeping cool and dealing with it Owen! I noticed those buckles down there the other day while watching DbyD's latest video (he has a Rotor harness too) and thought about the virtue of harnesses without buckles in the leg loops for a minute. Belly landing is actually a good option, except that in those sleek harnesses you don't have that parachute in front of your chest as a cushion. Still, you can stay prone and flare with your hands a little way up the downtubes then let go as the glider settles and you swing forward. Or you could stay prone and flare from the rear wires (gloves would help). A very good option is to land prone going up a fairly steep slope. When I was teaching myself to top land Marshall years ago I used to land more on the west-northwest slope than around back, where it was steep but clear farther down. I had a number of landings where I was too low (down by the steep part) and rounded out and flared only to find myself laying on the slope in full flare position, downtubes high overhead. Nothing banged, nothing bent. My chest (chute) hit first, but not that hard. You could do a fly-on-the-wall landing on any of the three sides of the LZ, or on the training hill, just pick the one with the least tail wind component. Good Flying, Too many loopless flightsOwen - Am I correct that your Vulto harness has a single buckle to attach the leg loops? If so, then, YIKES! Ken - Cheers, Jonathan one buckleyup, just one (seat belt type) buckle on the rotor harness for both leg loops. you do have to press buttons on both sides of the buckle simultaneously to disengage it. while adjusting "the twins" (thanks dan) i managed to do just that. there is a chest buckle in the rotor harness too, so i would not have slipped completely out of the harness, but hanging from my arm pits may have made controlling the glider a bit tricky.
bucke buttonsUnfortunately, you don't need to press the two buttons simultaneously to disengage. You press one and that side disengage and does not pop back. This happens when there is enough tension. Then later you press the other one and you are in trouble. I fly the same Rotor harness and tested it a while ago. I even worry that the buttons on my shirt or the metal of my belt buckle disengage it. I used to turn my belt so that the buckle is sideways when I fly. Other's say you don't need a belt. Then the big fat metal button on the jeans can make trouble. Hang check, hang check. ferenc /,o,\ |
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Glad You're Ok
I knew you were good at keeping multiple objects in the air at the same time. ;-)
- Alan