Re: Weak links
Posted: 2018/05/20 02:03:14 UTC
Steve...
Interesting that while they also don't design - and no way in hell could ever certify - anything to be foot launched or landed...
Steve Pearson on landings
And given what they say (Rob Kells feels like pulling outta his ass roughly based on what Joe Dickhead happens to be doing at Quallaby) about the U2 and Talon:
http://www.willswing.com/aerotow-release-attachment-points-for-wills-wing-gliders/
Aerotow Release Attachment Points for Wills Wing Gliders - Wills Wing
But to make things easier, less inconvenient:
There's no standard harness suspension length so a carabiner could be pretty much anywhere from just below the keel down to, in theory, just over the pilot's back. And on the high performance stuff performance freaks (such as Yours Truly) eliminate the carabiner and bolt the harness suspension directly to the glider's suspension hardware above the keel.
Then this little caveat - applicable to ALL of their gliders - down at the end:
How 'bout if we extend that concept by moving forward on the keel from the hang point? Or does it just automatically/arbitrarily take a nosedive beyond what you told us? Obviously not 'cause for all your gliders south of the U2 you specify increments forward on the keel. And for the aftmost of those you specify:
BULLSHIT. You douchebags were just too stupid, incompetent, lazy to do THIS:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8305999131/
And I'll claim credit for that particular innovation until somebody can present reasonable evidence to the contrary.
THIS:
By the way, Rob... How'd your Eagles do in their HGMA certification flights with fourteen inches of their lower surfaces unzipped?
Guess it's a lot more fun to write total crap like this than to do the job right and build a quality release system - like the design I offered you for free a dozen or so years back - into your fucking gliders.
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27736
Increase in our USHpA dues
Brian...
And y'all notice the conspicuous absence of discussion of this one on both the Jack and Davis Shows? That's OBVIOUSLY 'cause this is fucking GOLD for Team Kite Strings and likewise a monumental embarrassment for the u$hPa establishment.
Totally and majorly locked out for all intents and purposes at a lethally low altitude, suspension spreader set stupidly low, bar stuffed, straining against the port tail wire, knees coming forward, holding his breath, praying for the ground to stop coming up so fast, a little bit of horizon and all of the nice level tug visible - straight out in front in ideal normal position, Pilot In Command not fixing whatever's going on back there by giving her passenger the rope, semipro toad connection illustrating how totally normal/mild the tension is...
There's NOTHING the slightest bit close to this ANYWHERE.
And what does he use for a title shot?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ui8m0J4do8
Doesn't quite even show half the tug that just kept him alive by not making a good decision in the interest of his safety ten seconds earlier.
Here's my selection:
34-2805
http://c1.staticflickr.com/1/826/41460437604_8506a64cc6_o.png
six frames / 0.2 seconds after his.
005-003441
http://c1.staticflickr.com/1/842/40764766775_b927667ff0_o.png
...which freely rotates in its mount.
Something else I noticed and found interesting in this series...
18-1903
http://c1.staticflickr.com/1/963/40373977440_faf1e5088b_o.png
Even with the glider totally chopped out of the photo...
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Edit - 2018/05/29 17:30:00 UTC
Like this:
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1752/40627904380_3fcc071e74_o.png
---
...you'd be able to tell where the camera was mounted with fair accuracy by looking at the (somewhat faint) glory around the wingtip.
The only thing disappointing in this video is that the lighting, landscape, colors, exposure, color saturation all totally suck. Compare/Contrast with:
23-10629
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1843/44410454212_5ffcaa5588_o.png
And seeing as how Wills Wing doesn't design their gliders to be motorized, tethered, or towed (just to be SOLD to be motorized, tethered, or towed) they can specify whatever the fuck they feel like for whatever the fuck they feel like.Possibly, but Wills Wing does specify that setup on the U2 and Talon.
Interesting that while they also don't design - and no way in hell could ever certify - anything to be foot launched or landed...
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27086Gil Dodgen - 1995/01
All of this reminds me of a comment Mike Meier made when he was learning to fly sailplanes. He mentioned how easy it was to land a sailplane (with spoilers for glide-path control and wheels), and then said, "If other aircraft were as difficult to land as hang gliders no one would fly them."
Steve Pearson on landings
...they don't feel the need to bring THAT issue to the attention of the perspective customer or owner.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.
And given what they say (Rob Kells feels like pulling outta his ass roughly based on what Joe Dickhead happens to be doing at Quallaby) about the U2 and Talon:
http://www.willswing.com/aerotow-release-attachment-points-for-wills-wing-gliders/
Aerotow Release Attachment Points for Wills Wing Gliders - Wills Wing
one doesn't NEED to even use another point ANYWHERE. No safety compromise, of course. It's just that your lockouts...The Sport 2, U2s and Talons may be "Pro towed" without a top release, however this method is not as easy as using a two point release as described above. Towing without a top release will cause the base tube to be positioned much further back during tow , the glider will have increased pitch pressure, and lockouts are much more difficult to correct.
...will be much more difficult to correct. But what the hell, who amongst us can say he couldn't benefit from a bit more in the way of exercise? (Kinda makes one wonder, however, if the lockout can be CORRECTED with more difficulty how one managed the get into the lockout in the first place. (Any thoughts on that, Ryan?)lock
- a device used to prevent the operation or movement of a vehicle or other machine: a bicycle lock.
But to make things easier, less inconvenient:
So where the fuck is "the pilot's" hang loop or carabiner? (At least he spelled it right.)U2 145, 160 - On pilot's hang loop or carabiner - Set VG to 1/2
Talon 140, 150, 160 - On pilot's hang loop or carabiner - Set VG to 1/2
There's no standard harness suspension length so a carabiner could be pretty much anywhere from just below the keel down to, in theory, just over the pilot's back. And on the high performance stuff performance freaks (such as Yours Truly) eliminate the carabiner and bolt the harness suspension directly to the glider's suspension hardware above the keel.
Then this little caveat - applicable to ALL of their gliders - down at the end:
OH! The HIGHER the top tow point the BETTER. Meaning everything you wrote about anything BELOW the keel is pretty much total bullshit.Note: The higher the top tow point the better. If the glider is equipped with a DHV (longer than Wills Wing standard length by 8 inches) it is better to tie the release to the keel rather than attach it to the hang loop.
How 'bout if we extend that concept by moving forward on the keel from the hang point? Or does it just automatically/arbitrarily take a nosedive beyond what you told us? Obviously not 'cause for all your gliders south of the U2 you specify increments forward on the keel. And for the aftmost of those you specify:
The glider's ideal trim point is as far forward as you can access the keel without unzipping the lower surface. What a fortuitous coincidence.Sport 2 135, 155 - On keel, at back of bottom surface zipper - Set VG to 1/2
BULLSHIT. You douchebags were just too stupid, incompetent, lazy to do THIS:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8305999131/
And I'll claim credit for that particular innovation until somebody can present reasonable evidence to the contrary.
THIS:
is all you say regarding the ACTUAL issue here - which is to trim the glider such that at your...Towing without a top release will cause the base tube to be positioned much further back during tow...
...assumed tow speed is 32 miles per hour - which I think is a few miles per hour optimistic even for a Dragonfly - your bar position should be about the same as it would in normal hands-off free flight trim. We wanna be flying your fucking gliders on tow in something reasonably close to certified configuration. And the only instructions in which we can have any reasonable degrees of trust are for your single surface Falcons and your Eagles - for which you tell us to unzip the lower surface fourteen inches.The assumed tow speed is 32 miles per hour.
By the way, Rob... How'd your Eagles do in their HGMA certification flights with fourteen inches of their lower surfaces unzipped?
Guess it's a lot more fun to write total crap like this than to do the job right and build a quality release system - like the design I offered you for free a dozen or so years back - into your fucking gliders.
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27736
Increase in our USHpA dues
Fuck you guys.Mark G. Forbes - 2012/12/20 06:21:33 UTC
There are also numerous legal issues associated with accident reports, which we're still wrestling with. It's a trade-off between informing our members so they can avoid those kinds of accidents in the future, and exposing ourselves to even more lawsuits by giving plaintiff's attorneys more ammunition to shoot at us.
Imagine a report that concludes, "If we'd had a procedure "x" in place, then it would have probably prevented this accident. And we're going to put that procedure in place at the next BOD meeting." Good info, and what we want to be able to convey. But what comes out at trial is, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, my client suffered injury because USHPA knew or should have known that a safety procedure was not in place, and was therefore negligent and at fault." We're constantly walking this line between full disclosure and handing out nooses at the hangmen's convention.
Brian...
Yeah, I'm sure that's a first for me. But the way this one unfolded I felt I needed to start by dealing with the comments from the YouTube post.I noticed the stills weren't posted in advance this time.
And y'all notice the conspicuous absence of discussion of this one on both the Jack and Davis Shows? That's OBVIOUSLY 'cause this is fucking GOLD for Team Kite Strings and likewise a monumental embarrassment for the u$hPa establishment.
DEFINITELY. That was my pick o' the litter too. The money shot no question whatsoever.Although the subsequent one shows more dramatic control inputs and what looks like a closer proximity to the ground, this is my favorite.
17-1821
http://c1.staticflickr.com/1/962/40373978690_9aef9ff7ca_o.png
Totally and majorly locked out for all intents and purposes at a lethally low altitude, suspension spreader set stupidly low, bar stuffed, straining against the port tail wire, knees coming forward, holding his breath, praying for the ground to stop coming up so fast, a little bit of horizon and all of the nice level tug visible - straight out in front in ideal normal position, Pilot In Command not fixing whatever's going on back there by giving her passenger the rope, semipro toad connection illustrating how totally normal/mild the tension is...
There's NOTHING the slightest bit close to this ANYWHERE.
'Cept for the shadow combined with our knowledge of this being shot from a short focal length wing mounted camera this could've been taken by another plane with a telephoto lens of the glider at a thousand feet. It nearly totally fails to convey the seriousness of the situation - which you get by watching the video or the still in context with the others in the sequence.
And what does he use for a title shot?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ui8m0J4do8
Doesn't quite even show half the tug that just kept him alive by not making a good decision in the interest of his safety ten seconds earlier.
Here's my selection:
34-2805
http://c1.staticflickr.com/1/826/41460437604_8506a64cc6_o.png
six frames / 0.2 seconds after his.
Not as interesting as when the camera's mounted to a...P.S. Interesting how the framing changes due to camera mounting/area flexing.
005-003441
http://c1.staticflickr.com/1/842/40764766775_b927667ff0_o.png
...which freely rotates in its mount.
Something else I noticed and found interesting in this series...
18-1903
http://c1.staticflickr.com/1/963/40373977440_faf1e5088b_o.png
Even with the glider totally chopped out of the photo...
---
Edit - 2018/05/29 17:30:00 UTC
Like this:
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1752/40627904380_3fcc071e74_o.png
---
...you'd be able to tell where the camera was mounted with fair accuracy by looking at the (somewhat faint) glory around the wingtip.
The only thing disappointing in this video is that the lighting, landscape, colors, exposure, color saturation all totally suck. Compare/Contrast with:
23-10629
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1843/44410454212_5ffcaa5588_o.png