Session #19

Date: Sept 23, 2018

Cummulative flights to date: 28

Site: Dog Mtn

Vertical to LZ: 1462 ft

Conditions: 4:00PM launch, 5-8 W (cycling NNW some with light thermal cycles) 60F

Harness configuration: Chest pack chute, hammock harness and shoulder lifters.

Assistance: none

Launch: solid, step into step and easily swung opposite leg up. Video shows a slight left cant as I flew away from the hill but basically tracked straight out.

The flights: 1

Video/Photos: Tina Jorgenson shot 3 stills and a short video clip.

Landing: Crashed in at close to full flying speed (~20mph) into the tall grass way short of the mowed area. Nothing damaged except the PVC step which I will need to repair. The tall grass spread the force out over the entire wing, bringing it to a stop without damaging the spars or struts as far as I could see. It disassembled normally. None of the fairings were damaged.

Narrative: This is the second attempt to fly here (crashed after takeoff last year in June). Direction switched to north as I waited through fairly ideal conditions 5 minutes prior. Had to wait it out and when it got back to light west again I launched. I was banked slightly left and did not react with rudder control but rather swung my legs to the right which corrected the bank and then stepped up into the cage. Had no problem and held things steady hanging by my arms until well clear of the hill using the PVC step I fabricated which worked flawlessly. . I kept it flying at or above 20mph on the Dwyer pretty much all the way down slowing it down a few times but always going back up to 20 or so. I think this is much faster than I need to be flying but did not want to experience a spin as I experimented with a couple 360’s to the right and one to the left. Ended up entering my standard pattern too low and could not complete my turn to get into the wind and crashed in the tall grass while turning. I was probably going close to 20 when I crashed in but the only thing that appeared to be damaged was the step. I did bruise my right ankle and also hit my left rib cage which feels like a light crack even with the rib protector vest on! Still feeling it the day after and expect a slow heal. Went for a 12 mile hike today on the ankle and although I could feel it, I think it will be healed in a week. Neither injury will be a problem flying. I did not use the hammock and just let it hang free the entire flight. I felt I had my hands full just feeling out the pitch for trim as I moved my feet back and forth on the leading edge.

Take aways: The chute nor the hammock presented any problem launching or flying. The closure clip for the hammock was perfect and allowed me to easily step into the cage prior to clipping in the lifters. I need a solution to the lifter clips. They need to be easy to clip in and unclip with no hanging up on the webbing loop. Need to re-build the right rudder to account for the short bracket I used on the lower trailing edge. This will require some re-rigging. It is currently about 3/8” short. This may partially account for the TE wing joiners being off about that much which puts a bunch of bending force right at the wing joiners making it really hard to set up. I nearly decided not to wear my rib protector vest and was so glad I put it on because even with it on I bruised a rib or two. I could see the mark on the vest where it hit the left hang tube. The vest is an absolute requirement when flying a cage-style glider because of the total exposure your rib cage has to the frame cage.