Re: You are NEVER hooked in.
Posted: 2014/05/06 20:08:33 UTC
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37348
Lawyer gone wild
- use
-- cheap, crappy, bent pin towing gear
-- dangerously and illegally light weak links that blow every other tow
- can't stay in position behind the tug
- crash in ponds on the peripheries of landing fields
- fly into taxiway signs on final and break their arms
- fuck up maneuvers and hafta come down under silk
- crash in nearby wheat fields and do major brain damage
I'da thunk that as they became more experienced, skilled, knowledgeable and better equipped they'd be more of ASSETS to the park. Or...
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=12403
weak link table
Can you tell us what they did to merit that treatment? Were they flying or behaving in unsafe and/or illegal manners. If so how come the issues weren't made public and their USHGA ratings weren't affected?
Did these individual have any rights to call for declaration and documentation of causes or present any defenses of any kind?
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec
http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=463
Davis Straub's "Oz Report" Conflict of Interest
Aerotow Primer for Experienced Pilots
Fuck their goddam tourist ride operations. When you make the trip on a booming day and sit in line all afternoon while all the tandems and Rooney Linker relights keep cycling in line in front of you till the soaring window has just about or totally evaporated it DOES NOT work out to fewer bucks per hour of airtime - it does the PRECISE OPPOSITE.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2907/14605946141_8443210741_o.png
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5154/14422541620_a48c55b758_o.png
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5529/14422573378_5385a9a99a_o.png
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3885/14422571978_d47ec5c921_o.png
08-2323
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5553/14097605903_0e4c69be73_o.png
22-2907
http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7345/14077539605_d356a1f6fd_o.png
...lotsa time, gas, spare downtubes, and...
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bRrpHNa68iY/UQ6Pv9gRZyI/AAAAAAAAjTg/Hc22bx5122Q/s2048/20943781_BG1.jpg
...LUCK.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052
Poll on weaklinks
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=21377
AT several Questions
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec
Lawyer gone wild
And if, because the park operator refuses to comply with safety regulations and the solo pilot wants to be towed safely, there isn't then the latter can go fuck himself.Brad Gryder - 2014/05/06 01:45:21 UTC
Be careful.
If you're getting your airtime at a flight park then there's a good chance that your tow fees are lower because of the tandems. The revenue generating tandem flights help subsidize the solo pilots' cost to the operators, allowing solo pilots to fly at the park at a reduced rate. When everything runs smooth, there's often a symbiotic relationship between the good solo pilot and the park operator.
REALLY? I'da thunk that the newest solo pilots, the ones with the least understanding of aerotowing and the lowest skill levels would be the greatest "liabilities" to the parks - the ones who:Solo pilots flying and behaving properly help draw in customers, and sometimes they help convert tourists into students and pilots. Some solo pilots eventually do become a 'liability' to the park...
- use
-- cheap, crappy, bent pin towing gear
-- dangerously and illegally light weak links that blow every other tow
- can't stay in position behind the tug
- crash in ponds on the peripheries of landing fields
- fly into taxiway signs on final and break their arms
- fuck up maneuvers and hafta come down under silk
- crash in nearby wheat fields and do major brain damage
I'da thunk that as they became more experienced, skilled, knowledgeable and better equipped they'd be more of ASSETS to the park. Or...
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=12403
weak link table
...does it not work quite that way?ian9toes - 2009/06/14 15:18:37 UTC
Gold Coast, Queensland
I strongly disagree with banning the one guy who has the most knowledge about safety issues involving what I believe is the most dangerous part of our sport. I hear someone dies every year from towing. I hope SG bites his tongue in the interest of public safety.
How? By nonstop harassment?...and are encouraged to move along...
Which times? Other than T** at K*** S******, of course, I don't believe I've ever heard of such a thing....or worse - sometimes they're banned from the park.
Can you tell us what they did to merit that treatment? Were they flying or behaving in unsafe and/or illegal manners. If so how come the issues weren't made public and their USHGA ratings weren't affected?
Did these individual have any rights to call for declaration and documentation of causes or present any defenses of any kind?
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec
I'd really like somebody to tell me. The only thing that I can come up with is...Jim Rooney - 2013/03/07 18:24:58 UTC
Go back to Tad's hole in the ground.
While you're there, ask him why he was banned from every east coast flying site.
http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=463
Davis Straub's "Oz Report" Conflict of Interest
Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/12 06:56:36 UTC
Without naming names (I'm curious to see if they'll own up to it first), on May 10, 2009, one Director wrote:That same day, another Director responded:We need to consider getting an injunction against this guy communicating with the FAA on this subject.For those who don't know, Tim Herr is ... USHPA's lawyer!!I forwarded the letter to Tim Herr yesterday asking about this.
A third Director (who I'll call "Mr. X") chimed in that same day with this:That's an example of USHPA's typical tactics: Call up the lawyer, then Attack, Attack, Attack.Perhaps a strongly worded letter from Tim will do the trick. We can't force Tad to work within the USHPA framework but we can make it unpleasant and expensive for him if he chooses to makes derogatory and false statements about USHPA to the FAA he can't back up.
If I understand the previous comments, his sending USHPA a draft letter is an indication of willingness to engage in some dialogue before going to the FAA.
Good luck with this guy!
Oh, fer sure. And they, of course, will repay that kindness because people who control flight operations are such inherently...Be kind to your local flight park operators, tug pilots, and tandem customers.
http://www.wallaby.com/aerotow_primer.phpMatt Taber - 2009/07/12
GT Manufacturing Inc. (GT) and Lookout Mountain Flight Park Inc. (LMFP) make no claim of serviceability of this tow equipment. There is no product liability insurance covering this gear and we do not warrant this gear as suitable for towing anything.
Aerotow Primer for Experienced Pilots
...DECENT individuals.Wallaby Ranch - 2014/05/06
If you fail to maintain the correct tow position (centered, with the wheels of the tug on the horizon), the weak link will break before you can get into too much trouble.
I SO hope so.Fly nice. There are some lawyers out there ready to cash in and laugh all the way to the bank while the park closes its gates for the last time.
And that would make them worse than any of the flight parks I can name HOW?They care not whether you have a place to fly or not.
Fuck their goddam tourist ride operations. When you make the trip on a booming day and sit in line all afternoon while all the tandems and Rooney Linker relights keep cycling in line in front of you till the soaring window has just about or totally evaporated it DOES NOT work out to fewer bucks per hour of airtime - it does the PRECISE OPPOSITE.
Spools and spools of...Davis Straub - 2014/05/06 03:28:58 UTC
Most pilots do not seem to realize what it takes to run a flight park.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
...130 pound test fishing line. Also...Jim Rooney - 2011/08/26 08:24:31 UTC
Thought I already answered that one... instead of quoting myself (have a look back if you don't believe me), I'll just reiterate it.
I don't advocate anything.
I use what we use at the flight parks. It's time tested and proven... and works a hell of a lot better than all the other bullshit I've seen out there.
130lb greenspot (greenspun?) cortland fishing line.
In stock at Quest, Highland, Eastern Shore, Kitty Hawk Kites, Florida Ridge, and I'm pretty sure Wallaby, Lookout and Morningside.
Not sure what Tracy up at Cloud Nine uses, but I'll put bets on the same.
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2907/14605946141_8443210741_o.png
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5154/14422541620_a48c55b758_o.png
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5529/14422573378_5385a9a99a_o.png
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3885/14422571978_d47ec5c921_o.png
08-2323
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5553/14097605903_0e4c69be73_o.png
22-2907
http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7345/14077539605_d356a1f6fd_o.png
...lotsa time, gas, spare downtubes, and...
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bRrpHNa68iY/UQ6Pv9gRZyI/AAAAAAAAjTg/Hc22bx5122Q/s2048/20943781_BG1.jpg
...LUCK.
Really deep discussions...They just show up (take a week off from their job) and fly without ever seeing what goes on behind the scenes.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
...about why 130 pound Greenspot is so ideally suited as a one-sized-fits-all standard aerotow weak link and...Jim Rooney - 2011/08/26 07:51:12 UTC
This is what I'm talking about when I politely inform people that they're not going to be informing me about towing.
It's not that I think I'm "all that"... it's that I've spent more time discussing this shit with people that know what the hell they're talking about then you have time discussing anything about hang gliding at all.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052
Poll on weaklinks
...how to swing your body way outside the control frame so it stays up there while you reach out with one hand and release.Brad Gryder - 2013/02/21 23:25:31 UTC
There's also a way to swing your body way outside the control frame so it stays up there while you reach out with one hand and release. Come on - do some pushups this winter. See if you can advance up to some one-arm pushups.
As well as a totally obscene...Since I live at a flight park (Quest Air) for three months a year I have some idea of what it takes.
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=21377
AT several Questions
...incestuous relationship with them. I'm guessing they don't raise the price of their lift tickets and rent when you brown nose them like that.Davis Straub - 2011/04/05 14:00:25 UTC
The flight park procedures here at Quest Air are the result of years of evolutionary pressures and experience that provide the focus on safety.
I'll bet when somebody gets killed at a golf course...It is a huge amount of uncompensated work. This is not a golf club (with the commensurate fees).
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec
Paul Tjaden - 2013/02/07
Beyond these facts anything else would be pure speculation. I have personally had numerous weak link breaks on tow, both low and high, after hitting turbulence and have never felt in danger of a tumble. I have witnessed countless others have weak link breaks with no serious problems. We train aero tow pilots how to handle this situation and I am certain that Zach had also encountered this situation many times before and knew how to react properly. Apparently, Zach simply hit strong low level turbulence, probably a dust devil that could not be seen due to the lack of dust in Florida, the nose went too high and he tumbled at a very low altitude.
Strong dust devils in Florida definitely do exist even though they are rare. My wife had a near miss when she encountered a severe dusty a couple years ago and I almost lost a brand new $18,000 ATOS VX when it was torn from its tie down and thrown upside down.
I wish I could shed more light on this accident but I am afraid this is all we know and probably will know. Zach was a great guy with an incredible outlook and zest for life. He will be sorely missed.
...there's no big fuckin' mystery as to why.Jim Rooney - 2013/03/07 18:24:58 UTC
You're the one speculating on Zack's death... not me.
Hell, you've even already come to your conclusions... you've made up your mind and you "know" what happened and what to do about.
It's disgusting and you need to stop.
You weren't there. You don't know.
All you have is the tug pilot report, who himself says he doesn't know... and HE WAS THERE... and he doesn't know.
I'll make sure I do that. And maybe you can come up with a suggestion for a flight park where the operators have a fuckin' clue what they're doing and can assure me that I won't end up like Zack Marzec in similar circumstances.Think about this the next time you just take it for granted that there is a nice flight park ready for you when you are ready to fly.
You're not at a disadvantage. It's not a good feeling to have your life in the hands of incompetent corrupt law-breaking morons who make you eat shit and tell you it's good for you every time you manage to get to the front of the launch line.Brian McMahon - 2014/05/06 14:18:42 UTC
You guys have me at a disadvantage, I've never flown at a flight park of any kind.