Kite Strings

Here's a compilation of Jack's entire participation in discussions about one really spectacular mangling and fifteen recent fatals:

2007/10/18 - Bille Floyd
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=4046
Accident Report

Jack Axaopoulos - 2007/10/20 19:03:19 UTC

The impact broke both legs at the ankles and drove his shin bones out the bottom of his feet 6 inches.

Owww oww OWWWWWWWWWIEEEEEEEEEEEEE

2008/08/29 - Jeff Craig
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=8254
Another Fatality at Sylmar

Jack Axaopoulos - 2008/08/30 18:47:00 UTC

Damn My condolences to family and friends

2008/08/30 - Kunio Yoshimura
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=8288
Another Brother Falls

Jack Axaopoulos - 2008/09/02 01:02:27 UTC

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!
My sincere condolences to Family and Friends

2009/01/03 - Steve Elliot
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=9993
Steve Elliot

...

2009/08/31 - Roy Messing
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=13491
]Please give prayer for Roy

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/09/01 13:40:19 UTC

Triple crossing fingers here. Hoping for the best.

2009/08/31 - Roy Messing
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=13545
tow accidents

My thread sent to Basement.

2009/09/19 - Bill Vogel
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=13712 UTC
Very sad news

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/09/20 21:51:56 UTC

Nooooooooooooooooooooo.....
My condolences to his family and friends. What a sad day... this sucks.

2009/09/19 - Bill Vogel
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=13744
control

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/09/23 18:10:04 UTC

Not seeing power lines and hand position are not correlated.
The atos isnt even weight shift. Hands high or low you still have roll control.
The pitch pressure is super light too.

I would like to see hands low on the down tubes until in ground effect myself but this has nothing to do with the accident.

He didnt see power lines in time. Sounds like a POTENTIAL judgment error of some kind. It also seems that he turned away from the powerlines, so turning wasnt the issue. Turning low maybe... maybe some other stuff. WHO KNOWS. Thats the point. No need for people to talk out their a** about something they know very little about and piss everyone off.

The timing of this thread is awful.
Locking thread... this is troll/flame bait with extremely weak implications.

2009/11/16 - Tony Ameo
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14410
Wallaby fatality

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/11/16 17:01:31 UTC

Nooooooooooooo!

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/11/17 14:20:28 UTC

UGH..... heartbreaking

2009/11/27 - Christian Thale
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14608
Another HG death.

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/11/28 16:16:10 UTC

My condolences to family and friends, oh what a sad day

2010/06/05 - Tom Mayer
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=17038
CSS Regional Hang Glider Aerobatics Competition - June 5th

Jack Axaopoulos - 2010/06/07 20:48:10 UTC

So terribly sad.....

2011/01/15 - Shane Smith
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=20529
Shane Smith - RIP

...

2011/04/09 - Yossi Tsarfaty
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=21474
fatal accident in Israel

...

2011/06/05 - Tim Martin
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=22132
choochoonooga incident.

...

2011/07/23 - Keavy Nenninger
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=22619
Sad News from Highland

...

2011/10/28 - Lois Preston
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=23775
girl killed in training flight. UK

...

2012/04/28 - Lenami Godinez-Avila
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=26970
HG accident on front page of CNN

Jack Axaopoulos - 2012/08/24 21:42:19 UTC

Followup on that story....
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/24/report-pilot-error-led-to-womans-fatal-fall-from-glider/

2011/05/26 - Charles Matthews
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=26238
Tug pilot killed at LMFP last Saturday?

...

You can tell how deeply affected he is by these because by the length of time he holds keys down when he's typing words, his use of smilies, and the fact that sometimes he's too overcome to post anything at all.

The only time he makes anything resembling actual comments is to jump in with the mob, attack Yours Truly, and lock my thread down after I suggested that if people are interested in getting better results than Bill Vogel did they might want to consider not repeatedly and continually doing the same thing he did.

Note that you also won't find Bob participating in any of these discussions - either on The Jack Show before his old buddy knifed him in the back or on his own show afterwards.

Also note the absence of participation of anybody from Wills Wing.

Rob was a friend to every pilot he met, and his impact on and contributions to the sport of hang gliding cannot be overstated. He will be missed by everyone who knew him, and especially so by those who knew him best.

The people who control this sport are NEVER gonna do anything of any substance to fix any problems 'cause in order to accomplish anything one needs to take a principled stand and start calling spades spades. And that's never a good recipe for being friends to every pilot you meet and winning popularity contests, membership in your organization, loyal customers, and/or votes in your Region.

All they really care about is having people get along reasonably well and not too far out of line.

So let's start a pool. Pick the number of "o"s Jack will use in the word "No!" the next time somebody:

- forgets to do a hang check;

- stays on too long trying to save a bad tow instead of releasing and starting over;

- forces the tug pilot to make a good decision in the interest of his safety;

- is saved from a lookout by a Rooney Link; or

- gets turned downwind at the Happy Acres putting green practicing for that inevitable day when he'll need to stop on a dime in a narrow dry riverbed with large rocks strewn all over the place.

The current record is twenty-three.

Found the other one Jonathan was referencing. Jack actually engages in a bit of discussion on this one. Is so bold as to suggest that airspeed when trying to punch through low level turbulence and gradient can be a GOOD thing. Hope he doesn't get into too much trouble with his cult members for taking such a controversial position.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=7453
60-Year-Old Man Killed In Hang-Gliding Accident - CBS 2

newshound - 2008/06/22 01:00:11 UTC

Los Angeles - A 60-year-old man died in a hang-gliding accident near El Cariso Golf Course, according to a city fire official...

Jack Axaopoulos - 2008/06/22 01:41:46 UTC

Anyone have the scoop?

I'm sure somebody does, Jack.

NMERider - 2008/06/22 16:52:22 UTC

From Windsports:

Yesterday's flying weather brought tragedy to our l/z with the first hang gliding fatality in Los Angeles county in the past twenty one years. SHGA pilot and friend Richard Seymour was unable to prevent getting turned downwind in the turbulence he entered on final approach to the l/z.

Do we get to hear...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27086
Steve Pearson on landings

Steve Pearson - 2012/03/28 23:26:05 UTC

I can't control the glider in strong air with my hands at shoulder or ear height and I'd rather land on my belly with my hands on the basetube than get turned downwind.

...where his hands were? Or are we gonna skip over that little detail 'cause Windsports has spent decades teaching everybody all about the fabulous control you can achieve flying upright and how much safer it is to come in with your head way above ground level?

NMERider - 2008/06/22 18:37:55 UTC

A more detailed account is now available on the SHGA site by JT:

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=1030
Fatality at Sylmar Today?

JT - 2008/06/22 17:34:34 UTC

I think everyone was a little stunned and reluctant to bring the news to our club:

Richard Seymour side-slipped a turn close to the ground, in difficult conditions and impacted near the homes to the West. Joe Greblo was present, witnessed the event and was first on-scene to provide life-support. I'm sure an accident report will follow.

Richard was unconscious and never regained consciousness while paramedics attempted to resuscitate him. His wife, Julie was notified and a crisis unit from LAPD was responding. She did not seem to want any interaction with friends at the time and intended to bring the news to his parents yesterday evening.

According to Joe, this is the first fatality at Sylmar-Kagel in 21 years.

Note: I was at a bicycling event not far away (and talking about soaring) when this happened. It was 108 deg F and it seemed to be a turbulent and unstable day with strong thermal breezes knocking over canopies, etc.

Rob McKenzie - 2008/06/22 19:01:28 UTC

What a lousy time out at Kagel. Our condolences to the entire community and especially to Richard's wife.
Well, to have a couple hundred or more members and go 21 years between fatalities is indeed a good safety record.

Sure it is, Rob. If you're just counting kills you can throw out all the broken arms and dislocated shoulders and the unhooked launches that people survived.

I imagine it will be tough, but they should take pride in their overall safety at the site, while mourning their loss this week.

Whatever you say, Rob.

Jack Axaopoulos - 2008/06/22 19:05:17 UTC

My condolences to family and friends

Fuck you, Jack.

Jason Dyer - 2008/06/23 03:18:35 UTC
Medicine Hat

Just last weekend I slipped into final into a little more gradient then I was expecting...

Meaning you weren't carrying as much speed as you could've been.

...and allot lower than I would have liked and I grazed the wheel in the dirt on the round out going very fast. This accident reminds me how close I came...

- Still proned out, right? 'Cause if you'd been upright you'd have been fucked.
- But let's not make wheels mandatory - just standard aerotow weak links because they increase the safety of the towing operation. PERIOD.

John Wright - 2008/06/23 03:27:49 UTC
Carlsbad

This may be a good time for discussion about the last turn... do you slip it to drop altitude or carve it to keep from slipping too far down?
If you turn with the bar stuffed, you'll drop faster, but does it also mean less control?

Here's a thought...
Stuff the fucking bar BEFORE the turn so you can do whatever the hell you feel like in it.

Jack Axaopoulos - 2008/06/24 05:18:08 UTC

Well, that depends on whether or not I need to dump some altitude/energy or not.
Bar stuff turns = more control in my opinion. If I dont have solid bar pressure when near the ground, I dont feel safe.
Scary being slow and banked up near the ground.

You mean like when you're coming in like THIS:

http://www.flyatos.com/bill_landing.jpg


and suddenly find some powerlines in front of you that you really need to avoid?

Even when I have to coordinate a turn to maintain altitude, I do it with speed, and at the end of the coordinated turn (when im slowest) I pull in fast to regain my speed and control ASAP.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=13744
control

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/09/23 18:10:04 UTC

I would like to see hands on the basetube until in ground effect myself but this has nothing to do with the accident.
Sounds like a POTENTIAL judgment error of some kind. Turning low maybe... maybe some other stuff. WHO KNOWS? That's the point.
No need for people to talk out their a** about something they know very little about and piss everyone off.
The timing of this thread is awful.
Locking thread... This is troll/flame bait with extremely weak implications.

Motherfucker.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=7453
60-Year-Old Man Killed In Hang-Gliding Accident - CBS 2

fly n mater - 2008/06/24 15:54:48 UTC

I agree with SG, speed = control.

No! REALLY?

I stuff the bar on the down wind and keep it there until I round out. It just feels so much better coming through the gradient with tons of speed.

Best of all in my mind, is that I can always let it back out if I need to, but it's not necessarily true the other way around.

And this needs to be discussed amongst people who already have their Hang Twos?

PeteR (pecofly) - 2008/06/25 04:15:19 UTC
Penticton, British Columbia

With regards to speed is safety, I do agree with this, but in my experience it will not always help you especially if you are very close to the ground.

Yeah, and since it may not help you then you should probably try slowing it down a bit to see what happens.

I got whacked really hard once when coming in and was getting thrown really hard from wing to wing, was in gradient about five feet over ground with a ton of speed...

In retrospect, could you have been carrying MORE speed?

...and still prone, when suddenly, the bottom fell out and and WHACK!!!

- And maybe skimming lower?
-- If you're at:
--- five feet you can fall five feet.
--- one foot you can only fall one foot.
-- And at one foot:
--- your gradient issues are pretty much behind you; and
--- it's a lot harder for Mother Nature to fuck you over with other stuff from her bag of tricks.

- What did you have in the way of wheels, if any? I'm guessing you didn't have any 'cause I don't hear you saying anything about how they didn't do you any good.

Just no way to guarantee that doin the right stuff will save you.

Yeah, there pretty much IS.

- Yes, whatever it is that you're flying Mother Nature has got something she can throw out that'll overwhelm it. So don't fly in those conditions in which the overwhelming stuff is a possibility. People in all flavors of aviation have flown for many decades proving that this is fairly easily doable.

- And if there IS just no way to guarantee that doin' the right stuff will save us we shouldn't be flying. 'Cause REAL pilots don't roll dice.

But ya gotta try.

And you've also gotta know when NOT to try. But:
- that really ain't rocket science; and
- I don't believe you were landing in conditions that made that pounding inevitable.

Sometimes ya just get whacked!

Ever hear Cessna pilots making statements like that? Ever wonder why not?

After I pulled my head out from under the nose of my glider and realized that other than a bloody nose and and several readjusted neck vertabrae, I was basically ok.

That's not a sentence.

Now, I have made a habit of pulling my harness angle up as high as it goes just in case I do whack, I'll have a chance to swing through instead of head hitting the ground.

Bullshit.

- The more you rock up the less speed you can attain and the slower you are the more you're vulnerable to whacking.

- And the more upright you are when you hit the more angular momentum your head will have WHEN it rotates forward and down until it gets stopped by the surface.

Just my idea and wondered what the rest of you think of this?

It's The Jack Show. So no matter how loony a proposal is you're bound to find a fair amount of support for it.

But I've got a thought... How 'bout - instead of landing in a configuration optimized to whack BEST - land in a configuration optimized to NOT whack. In other words, shoot for a SAFE landing over a FOOT landing.

Jack Axaopoulos - 2008/06/25 05:09:36 UTC

I think you just proved how important speed is.
If you werent going THAT fast, the bottom would probably have dropped out at 15 feet, and you would have nosed in head first and possibly broken your neck.

He didn't get hit at fifteen feet.

Whenever I come in super fast, and the bottom still suddenly drops out and I have to quickly snap flare to just barely pull it off, I think to myself "WHEEEW, good thing I came in hot, or I would have been toast"

Yeah Jack, make sure you stop it on your feet EVERY TIME. Keep snapping that flare.

PeteR - 2008/06/25 05:14:52 UTC

hmmmmm

Hey SG
maybe!
I agree that speed is better than slow, but all I was saying here is that there is surely no guarantee that it'll save you.

I notice you're not saying that you came in with all the speed you could handle.

I just got lucky.

Then keep up the good work! Maybe you'll keep on getting lucky and won't get quaded.

No thots on harness angle on approach to lz when conditions suggest nasty?

I dunno, let's ask Steve Pearson.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27086
Steve Pearson on landings

Steve Pearson - 2012/03/28 23:26:05 UTC

I can't control the glider in strong air with my hands at shoulder or ear height and I'd rather land on my belly with my hands on the basetube than get turned downwind.

UnTuckable - 2008/06/25 11:17:45 UTC

Crashing prone isn't using your head.

We're not interested in CRASHING - asshole. We're interested in LANDING. And...

Christian Thoreson - 2004/10

Thus wheel landings, the safest and easiest way to consistently land a hang glider...

...a WHEELS LANDING - fully prone and leading with your head - is the safest and easiest way to consistently land a hang glider.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2Gd2kcyOes

1-2717
http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7094/13952342741_f71f343877_o.png


http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7151/13952329131_03e535bc8b_o.png
6-4518

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=1030
Fatality at Sylmar Today?

Roz - 2008/06/23 18:16:35 UTC

I was just a visiting pilot from SLC, but happened to be in the LZ with my video camera. I caught all but the impact (thankfully), and was one of the first on the scene.

So where's the video?

Oh, right. We're not allowed to see videos of Hang Check Rooney dangling from the basetube and diving his glider and passenger into the powerlines, Quallaby Release Robin locking out back to the surface, or Standup Seymour getting turned downwind - 'cause those would cause us to question just how safe our Industry Standard procedures and pieces of equipment are.

I just want to stress that we only get one chance to land, so everything must be premeditated and carefully planned, especially on hot rowdy days such as Saturday.

Yes. When (but not Whether) to rotate to upright.

So to everyone returning to Earth, keep that bar in, speed is safety, and into the wind. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

Suggesting, perhaps, that he WASN'T holding the bar in and preparing for the worst.

My sincere condolences to the family and friends who lost one so close to the heart. He went doing what he loves.

Yeah, losing control of the glider, getting turned downwind, slamming in, and lingering for a bit in 108 degree heat. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Fly high, fly far, and fly safe.

The only part that angered me was the slow response and seemingly apathetic care from the EMT's. Since when does "emergency" translate as "walking pace"?

My call is that he was upright.

- He was slow and got turned downwind.

- You're a zillion times more likely to lose control and get slammed in when upright.

- If he'd been prone we'd have never heard the end of it. All the standup junkies and Nazis would've had a perpetual field day talking about how crashing prone isn't using your head.

Whenever somebody goes in prone and smashes his head or breaks his neck...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=13745
Good News vs Sad News

NMERider - 2009/10/01 22:31:04 UTC

We had a Sylmar pilot die from massive head injuries last summer when he got drilled into the ground by sink while he was still prone. His helmet covered head struck a boulder.

...it's always all about how much better off Jeff Craig would've been upright. But whenever somebody ends up just as dead starting prone it's rarely mentioned as a contributing or catalyzing and non mitigating issue.

Kinda like when Robin is so bold as to refuse a Davis Link then that - not the piece of shit Davis Release - is the reason he was able to get into too much trouble.

And the fact that Roy Messing, Steve Elliot, Lois Preston got into just as much trouble without compromising on the focal points of their safe towing systems is conveniently ignored.

And the facts that the primary things precipitating the landing and tow crashes are the upright configurations and Davis Links are even more conveniently ignored.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=28320
Cliff launchers, do some aerotow!

John Fritsche - 2013/02/11 23:54:02 UTC
Lompoc, California

If only aerotowing existed in the West... we're all still in the dark ages out here. I love foot launching, but I sure wish I had the aerotow flight park option, too.

Wallaby and/or Quest and/or whoever need to expand and open branches in the West.

Yeah, and Quest has been doing such a stellar job lately too.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14221
Tad's release

John Fritsche - 2008/12/12 05:38:02 UTC

Do people still use those (IMO, stupid) releases that involve bicycle brakes?

They're still use those stupid releases that involve bicycle brakes because they:
- find the kill rate acceptable; and
- have a huge track record.

Be careful what you wish for, dude. When Highland Aerosports was getting established at Ridgely it was a dream come true for me. I now realize that this Dragonfly bullshit was one of the biggest disasters ever to befall the sport. The LAST thing we need is these motherfuckers expanding their control, power, and influence over hang gliding and more of the country.

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3840
[TIL] About Tad Eareckson

Orion Price - 2013/03/10 05:57:24 UTC
Northridge, California

(Today I learned) There is a guy who reads our forum every and does detailed analysis on all our comments. This guy has Rafferty amounts of extra time to just be an idiot and not fly/work/live.

In place of adding to our discourse he bought a website in which he makes comments about our comments. That's just weird. Apparently we are all we are all suicidal idiots and destroying the sport. Also he apparently really doesn't like NME_RIDER/LA Glide. JD to him is apparently Satan with a glider and a youtube account.

Look at this shit. He literaly goes through every comment and makes his own comment on his own webside:

http://www.kitestrings.org/topic10-310.html

I know that haters' gonna hate. But what is with weird antisocial behavior? Who has the time to not go flying, but to sit around and organize and edit weird videos (rafferty)? Who has the time to register websites and make their own PHPBB dedicated to every comment on the SHGA? Weirdos, Y U NO JUST FLY?

I ain't even mad. This is just FYI

[TIL] About Tad Eareckson

(Today I learned) There is a guy who reads our forum every...

Every what? Hour, day, week, month, year?

...and does detailed analysis on all our comments.

- Perish the thought that ANYONE should do a DETAILED ANALYSIS on ANYONE'S comments - especially in a sport in which the average attention span of a participant is about fifteen seconds and the overall understanding of the sport has been going progressively backwards from the late Seventies.

- Not ALL your comments. But there ARE some real gems that come along every now and then.

This guy has Rafferty amounts of extra time to just be an idiot...

We're ALL idiots...

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3275
OPs arm

Orion Price - 2012/05/20 17:58:25 UTC

Great flight from McGee. 12k for some time. Cored a thermal with a gigantic eagle. 1:20 or so flight. Went downwind away from the lift once everyone else was on the ground and packed up.

Nice big field where one of the PGs landed first. Popped up during hand transition. Came down fast across the ground. A few steps, glider came over faster than I could run. Small wheels dug into the ground.

No ligament or joint injury. Just a clean downtube through the ol' humerus routine. Bone grinding against bone before immobilization was painful.

...dude. But some of us are just a bit better than others about managing the times and places to let our idiocy fully manifest itself. For example at the very instant you were practicing your technique for emergency landings in narrow dry riverbeds with large rocks strewn all over the place...

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3398
A broken humerus, guess the cost.

Orion Price - 2012/07/16 06:39:18 UTC

It was almost 70k. 68 and change. Just for the surgery.

...I wasn't. But, what the hell...



Your flare timing is probably a lot better than mine.

...and not fly/work/live.

- Yeah, people who don't fly are all SCUM.

Orion Price - 88538 - H3 - Joe Greblo - 2011/04/03 - FL 360

- I left flying with A LOT more merit badges than you have.
- You don't think doing detailed analyses of all your comments is work?
- Yeah, my life totally sucks. Sometimes you've gotta just accept things you can't change.

In place of adding to our discourse...

- So if I don't pay Sylmar dues for the privilege of posting on your forum and instead post elsewhere...

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3638
FTHI

Steve D - 2012/10/25 06:23:16 UTC

An article by Tad Eareckson:
http://www.energykitesystems.net/Lift/hgh/TadEareckson/FTHI.pdf

Mike Blankenhorn - 2012/10/26 02:39:07 UTC

Wow, I never saw it put quite like that before. Great write up!

...I'm not contributing to your discourse.

- Seems to me that this very post of yours is actually a pretty good evidence that I AM contributing to your discourse.

- What *I* tend to find megarepugnant is that the vast overwhelming majority of you useless goddam assholes have no discourse WHATSOEVER on issues critical to this sport and your lives.

For example... In your "Safety and Incidents in Flight" section the "Looking for a Safety Mascot" thread is still going strong with 42 posts and 1152 hits. The numbers of posts and hits on the 2013/02/02 Zack Marzec fatality ARE BOTH ZERO. You guys can all go fuck yourselves as far as I'm concerned - particularly George Stebbins.

...he bought a website...

What's your data on that statement, dude? I'm not even the Site Administrator.

...in which he makes comments about our comments.

Wow. That's just weird.

That's just weird.

I see you agree with me. Someone making comments about someone else's comments... Can you JUST IMAGINE what would happen to glider forums if suddenly everyone all the sudden started making comments on other people's comments.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

Tormod Helgesen - 2013/02/12 18:15:49 UTC

I'm with you here Jim, Deltaman just startet an argument with me on a subject we agree on, the man is clearly deranged.

The man is clearly deranged.

Apparently we are all we are all suicidal idiots and destroying the sport.

No, you're all suicidal idiots who destroyed the sport decades ago.

Also he apparently really doesn't like NME_RIDER/LA Glide.

I don't like him but he's actually pretty high up on the acceptability end of the range of people I don't like. He says a lot of the right things a lot of the time - but that doesn't come anywhere close to cutting it in this game.

JD to him is apparently Satan with a glider and a youtube account.

He's not a liar - that counts for a lot. And he doesn't hold a candle to scum like Rooney and Davis.

Look at this shit.

Thanks dude, I can use all the free advertising I can get. Positive, negative... doesn't really matter.

He literaly goes through every comment and makes his own comment on his own webside:

http://www.kitestrings.org/topic10-310.html

Did ya wanna say anything about the SUBSTANCE or LEGITIMACY of any of the comments? I virtually never hear anyone actually doing that.

I know that haters' gonna hate.

And fish gotta swim.

But what is with weird antisocial behavior?

It's like weird antisocial behavior. I'da thunk that would've been pretty fucking obvious.

Who has the time to not go flying...

I dunno...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 04:55:25 UTC

Don't even get me started on Tad. That obnoxious blow hard has gotten himself banned from every flying site that he used to visit... he doesn't fly anymore... because he has no where to fly. His theories were annoying at best and downright dangerous most of the time. Good riddance.

Somebody who has nowhere to fly perhaps? And DESPISES about 99 percent off the kinds of assholes this sport tends to attract?

...but to sit around and organize...

Yeah, we REALLY don't wanna see anybody from outside of the commercial interests which control this sport ORGANIZING anything, do we dude? That could be REALLY dangerous to A LOT of people.

...and edit weird videos (rafferty)?

- Sorry to disappoint you dude, but my digital talents stop at editing stills.

- If the videos are weird...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4JFe7rUCnc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBMDjomY2Mw

32-1901


...(and they ARE) that's ENTIRELY the fault of your "instructors" and "pilots" - NOTHING to do with Yours Truly.

- I must get to know more about this "Rafferty" person when I have the time.

Who has the time to register websites and make their own PHPBB dedicated to every comment on the SHGA?

The only website I've ever registered is:

Freedomspyder - 2013/03/07 18:48:37 UTC

About all I want to say about Tad is he sure takes some nice pictures of his strings.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/?details=1

Took about five minutes.

Weirdos...

So you have a problem with weirdos? OK, so name ONE SINGLE ADVANCEMENT EVER MADE in ANY flavor of aviation by someone who WASN'T a weirdo.

Y U NO JUST FLY?

Because the only type of flying I want to do - the flying I dreamt of when I started in the sport in 1980 - years before it became a practical reality - was aerotowing. And because of the incompetence, corruption, and duplicity of the scum that gained control over that aspect of the sport EVERY SINGLE FLIGHT I EVER TOOK had a built in possibility - over which only the assholes at the other end of the string had control - of ending up like THIS:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bRrpHNa68iY/UQ6Pv9gRZyI/AAAAAAAAjTg/Hc22bx5122Q/s2048/20943781_BG1.jpg


And I didn't wanna end up like that.

I ain't even mad.

That's OK, I've got that end more than covered.

This is just FYI

That's what Kite Strings is ALL about - providing information. Welcome aboard, our newest member OPOP.

Wow, you have a lot of time on your hands. Keep on crusading! The truth is out there my friend. Stay hungry.

I recently make a camera boom from some carbon fiber tubing. Do you have any ideas to get a good angle?

Arg, I can't post the link because I'm new. Google: "Carbon rod gopro"

Wow, you have a lot of time on your hands.

I have EXACTLY the same amount of time on my hands as anybody else - including you - does. Different people spend their time in different ways to achieve different results.

Keep on crusading!

- Why? What do you see fundamentally wrong with the sport that requires crusading to fix?
- If you do see something fundamentally wrong with the sport that requires crusading to fix then how come YOU aren't crusading?

The truth is out there my friend.

With respect to hang gliding, what's mostly out there is lies, corruption, incompetence, total crap. You want the truth you're gonna find one helluva lot more of it in here than you are out there.

Stay hungry.

I'm real tired of crusading and being hungry - I wanna start seeing some results. And the more people I can get taking on the scum that controls this sport the better results I'm gonna get. Any interest in taking on the any of the scum that controls this sport? Your chance to become part of the history of the revolution.

I recently make a camera boom from some carbon fiber tubing.

Super. If you're capable of engineering at that level you're very probably also capable of tying a piece of 130 pound fishing line in loop and doubling it. And that's all that would've been needed on the afternoon of 2013/02/02 to turn a fatal whipstall from 150 feet into a really nice soaring flight.

Do you have any ideas to get a good angle?

- None better than anyone else's - seeing how I've never once gone aloft with a camera.

- How come you're more interested in discussing camera angles than the totally unnecessary / easily preventable death of a young hang gliding instructor trying to get in a nice thermalling flight?

Arg, I can't post the link because I'm new.

Sorry 'bout that, wasn't aware that we had that limitation. I'll try to fix thing's so's once you're activated you can post immediately without restrictions.

Google: "Carbon rod gopro"

Sorry, couldn't find an obvious result in the first couple of pages.

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3840
[TIL] About Tad Eareckson

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/03/10 18:20:34 UTC

I first learned about Tad Eareckson when...
Eventually... it became necessary to ask Tad to leave the US Hawks forum, and he is currently the only person who's been completely banned from the US Hawks.

Orion Price - 2013/03/11 02:34:19 UTC

I can imagine...geez. He's written a 10 page treatise about this very thread we're in now.

Yeah, writing ten page treatises on a hang gliding forum - in which the average participant has an attention span of about ten to fifteen seconds... If that isn't enough justification for a banning then, geez, what is?

Hi there Tad. I can feel you watching in.

Hi there, OP. You most assuredly can.

Doug Martens - 2013/03/11 05:45:36 UTC
Reseda

Could the CIA have prevented the Apollo 1 fire?
Article:
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/797/1
Taken from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1#Fire

On January 28, 1986, the Soviet Union disclosed that cosmonaut Valentin Bondarenko died after a fire in a high-oxygen isolation chamber on March 23, 1961, less than three weeks before the first Vostok manned space flight. [33][34][35] This revelation caused some speculation whether the Apollo 1 disaster might have been averted had NASA been aware of the incident.[36]

Not a snowball's chance in hell if they're operating anything like hang gliding - and they frequently ARE.

Orion Price - 2013/03/11 15:12:28 UTC

Final bit of troll food...

FINAL? Are you QUITE sure? I'll wager it's not.

I read about Tad's reputation this morning.

Wow. I'da never thunk you'd have had the attention span to pull off anything that intensive.

Tad Eareckson is a generally discounted crackpot and internet troll.

Yep.

He doesn't fly and has been perma-banned from most everywhere: .org, oz report and all the local club websites with discussion forums like ours.

Yep. (And they're pretty much ALL like yours.)

He has two main speaking points.

1. All HG landings should be done prone as belly landings using wheels. All other foot landings are suicidal, he will say.

Quote me saying that, ANYWHERE EVER - motherfucker.

He schadenfreudes hard at our accidents...

You guys don't have any ACCIDENTS, dude.

...and especially fatalities

Yeah, sure, why not...

2. He is a self proclaimed "engineer" and inventor of Rube Goldberg tow bridles.

Do you know the difference between a bridle, release, weak link, and release system? Just kidding.

As you can see his elegant designs are a huge commercial success sweeping the industry.

By all means, stay with The Industry, dude. It's been five and a half weeks since I got my last schadenfreude fix and I'm starting to climb the walls.

His explanation of how his bridles work indicated he doesn't have any education on the subject.

Gawd no!
- NONE of his releases are "within easy reach of the pilot" (as was specified in the USHGA SOPs until five days after Zack Marzec was snuffed).
- He uses STRAIGHT pins for his barrel releases so you can't close them over thick ropes without using weak links.
- His one point bridles are WAY too short.
- Doesn't even mention hook knives - let alone the best place on the harness to mount them.
- He uses weak link strengths:
-- A LOT higher than most folks care for
-- proportional to glider capacities
-- ONLY to protect the aircraft from overloading
-- NOT to provide protection for the pilot from excessive angles of attack, high bank turns and the like for that form of towing
-- which render the weak links virtually useless as instant hands free releases

Hell, probably hasn't even read the excellent book, "Towing Aloft", by Dennis Pagen, Bill Bryden, "Hang Gliding For Beginner Pilots, the Official Flight Training Manual of the USHGA", or Dr. Trisa Tilletti's "Higher Education" series of aerotowing articles in the magazine. Totally fuckin' clueless.

His situation reminds me of a tragedy of a family friend. As began to loose his edge...

(His edge was MUCH tighter before...)

...he proportionality wanted to write people weirder and weirder letters. Newspaper editors, distant relatives, and especially the government would receive long rants pointing out his intelligence and schadenfreuding over their failures.

Jack Haberstroh?

Eventually his internet usage had to be monitored, and his snail-mail letters "mailed" by someone else. The failure mode exhibited here is nearly identical.

Jack Haberstroh?

He may not fly, but I do.

Entirely on equipment and under training and procedures that YOU had ZERO part in developing.

And it's all about the flying.

And let's not forget...



...healing from your "flying".

Last month:

2:36
Narrated Flight - First time making it back from Big T.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJPhDTtjFZk
horatio allger - 2013/03/10
dead

Super. You can turn a glider in little circles all afternoon. I can't begin to tell you how much I'm dazzled by such a unique unprecedented accomplishment. The world is now a much better place thanks to that feat of skill and daring.

[/feeding weird internet troll]

Thanks for the snack.
Weird Internet Troll out for a bit.

P.S. Really cool the way the term "troll" has been extended to include someone who ONLY posts on his OWN FORUM. (Asshole.)

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3840
[TIL] About Tad Eareckson

Doug Martens - 2013/03/11 23:12:47 UTC

I don't know a lot about towing...

In hang gliding YOU HAVE NO FREAKIN' *CLUE* what an advantage you have right now.

...but looking through all the different ones on Tad's pages makes me think there should be 1 or 2 standardized designs and weak link designed to exacting standards.

- For two point aerotow releases there should be as much variation in design as there is for VG systems from glider to glider / manufacturer to manufacturer.

- YES. A STANDARDIZED design - but STANDARDIZATION based upon STANDARDS - rather than upon opinions, track records, whatever everybody is being sold, using, told/forced, stupid enough to use.

- Weak links don't need to be designed to exacting standards. There's a very wide range between never-gonna-blow-in-a-Zack-Marzec-situation and light-enough-to-keep-the-glider-from-being-bent. Limit all solo gliders to around five hundred pounds towline tension and our weak link problems disappear.

I was looking at mountain bike accident statistics for any insight:
Mountain Bike-Related Injuries Down 56 Percent, According to a U.S. National Study:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110203113812.htm
somewhere I read body armor can reduce accidents on mountain bikes.

This is pretty much useless and the wrong way to be approaching these issues. We DO NOT wanna be thinking about how to REDUCE INJURIES - we wanna be thinking about how to MAXIMIZE *PILOT* CONTROL and ELIMINATE CRASHES.

Yeah, use whatever helmet you think will best protect you in whatever sort of crash you think you're most likely to have. Wear gloves, protective clothing, kneepads, body armor, whatever. But in an unhooked launch, low lever lockout, Rooney Link induced stall, mistimed standup landing flare don't expect them to make any significant difference. There are situations we can't EVER allow ourselves to get into because the outcomes can be so devastatingly bad.

In a way I feel left out for not being mentioned anywhere on Tad's forum.

I beg to differ:
http://www.kitestrings.org/post2270.html#p2270
http://www.kitestrings.org/post3150.html#p3150
http://www.kitestrings.org/post3507.html#p3507

And I only call you an asshole on 67 percent of those - which actually means that, as far as hang glider jockeys go, I hold you in rather high regard.

I am also very glad to not have been injured to where I would be mentioned there.

You CERTAINLY don't need to be injured to be mentioned here - although that DOES tend to help. But so does doing or saying something incredibly stupid or brilliant - and there's a lot of stuff in between that makes the cut.

I am also very glad that, apparently, you have not been significantly injured in this sport. (I have. It's not as much fun as lotsa glider folk crack it up to be.) And note that there are a few people around who believe I can reduce their probabilities of being injured. And you'd be quite welcome to participate in a discussion here if you so choose. (The membership waiting list got a little shorter yesterday morning.)