Search found 292 matches

by Zack C
2011/03/17 12:53:56 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: Surface tow, foot launch release opinions.
Replies: 28
Views: 10436

Re: Surface tow, foot launch release opinions.

My turn to miss someone's post... You are, by definition, doing it [first stage release] a long ways from the ground. Not if you're using it with a payout winch, in which case the tow line angle increases very rapidly. Not sure I understand this one. Yeah, if you're launching close to the winch. But...
by Zack C
2011/03/17 04:44:14 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: Releases
Replies: 976
Views: 579803

Re: Releases

Tad Eareckson wrote:EXTREMELY disturbing about the Koch two stage.
He said "the one release problem I had was with a different mechanical release." I took this to mean he's only had one release problem ever and it wasn't with a Koch release. I asked on the original thread for clarification.

Zack
by Zack C
2011/03/17 04:31:58 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: landing
Replies: 1395
Views: 442882

Re: landing

Tad, Regarding your approach to approaches...you, sir, are a much better pilot than me. I've been moving through this sport rather slowly and I've got a long way to go before I have the confidence to try that kind of stuff. If I do a nice "conservative" long final and I'm...high I pull in ...
by Zack C
2011/03/11 14:37:21 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: landing
Replies: 1395
Views: 442882

Re: landing

Then seven years ago Bo's at Currituck on a borrowed Combat with two millimeter racing wires that he's been advised not to get creative with. And he gets creative with it. And he breaks it. That happened not long before I started flying. I heard that he was looping that glider while visiting Lookou...
by Zack C
2011/03/11 14:17:20 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: Weak links
Replies: 1840
Views: 776125

Re: Weak links

They hit upon a pretty good solution but they really didn't understand the physics of what was going on and couldn't extrapolate to a somewhat different environment. Where they (and just about everyone else) failed is in their belief that there's a direct correlation between line tension in speed c...
by Zack C
2011/03/10 03:54:20 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: Weak links
Replies: 1840
Views: 776125

Re: Weak links

But beyond establishing values what other experimentation was going on...? What I meant by that was that besides testing different materials, they tested various numbers of strands, the effects of knots in the middle of strands, and the effects of various materials connected to the weak link. ...ho...
by Zack C
2011/03/06 02:03:19 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: Surface tow, foot launch release opinions.
Replies: 28
Views: 10436

Re: Surface tow, foot launch release opinions.

What those sonsabitches are saying is that they're more concerned about one of their lights maybe getting broken than one of your necks probably getting broken. I'm pretty sure they didn't know enough about what we do to even consider safety. What bugs me the most is that they didn't consult us fir...
by Zack C
2011/03/06 01:58:38 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: landing
Replies: 1395
Views: 442882

Re: landing

I never knew about that tandem incident at Lookout (or that Bo was ever an instructor there). I don't know what the field was like in 1991, but I know it's much bigger now than it was originally. There's no reason to fly over trees at any point during an approach there today. Even today it's far fro...
by Zack C
2011/03/06 01:58:31 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: Weak links
Replies: 1840
Views: 776125

Re: Weak links

But I really doubt that anybody really understood WHY what they were doing was pretty optimal and I notice that nobody engaged me to justify it. I disagree. I think no one engaged you because they didn't read your posts (too many paragraphs) or didn't want to take the time to respond. Our first gen...
by Zack C
2011/03/04 05:29:28 UTC
Forum: General
Topic: Surface tow, foot launch release opinions.
Replies: 28
Views: 10436

Re: Surface tow, foot launch release opinions.

Tad, can your single-point four-string mouth release be used for foot launching? Columbus airport management blames any broken runway lights on us (I think we've broken one in the past but paid to replace it and since took precautions to prevent it). Last weekend we were told we could no longer doll...