Re: CPC: One Oceanside salal incident...

[lan...@comcast.net]

Ill have to remember that useful bit of info next time I'm sitting there with my wing settling about me.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4GLTE smartphone

----- Reply message -----
From: "Reed Gleason" <ree...@comcast.net>
To: "cp...@googlegroups.com" <cp...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: CPC: One Oceanside salal incident...
Date: Wed, May 2, 2012 7:52 am


might be instructive:
I pulled up in the the usual mild conditions that day, turned, and stumbled.  I was falling forward, mostly straight down the hill, and so I thought "This should come out OK.  Trying to stop while I'm headlong would be unpleasant, and I'd hold up the line if abort the launch."
So I ran forward and down toward the right gap, pulling the wing, expecting it to start flying.  It never did.  I gave a final shove of the brakes in an hopeless attempt to clear the salal, and the wing spun as I settled in.
What I didn't realize is that when I had recovered from my stumble, I had done so by pulling hard on the brakes, using them for support.  That set my wing well back, making recovering unlikely (for me...switching to pushing on the A's immediately might have gotten me out of there.)

At the last Oceanside meet I had seen a pilot do the same thing while being jerked around in the strong winds and having his wing spin.  I felt smug.  I shouldn't have.
Great thanks to Jim Baldo for carrying my wing up.

Don't you just love the salal?
"Gaultheria shallon has been used for its medicinal properties by local natives for generations. The medicinal uses of this plant are not widely known or used. However, the leaves have an astringent effect, making it an effective anti-inflammatory and anti-cramping herb. By preparing the leaves in a tea or tincture one can take the herb safely to decrease internal inflammation such as bladder inflammation, stomach or duodenal ulcers, heartburn, indigestion, sinus inflammation, diarrhea, moderate fever, inflamed / irritated throat, and menstrual cramps. A poultice of the leaf can be used externally to ease discomfort from insect bites and stings. [wickipedia]

[skf...@effectnet.com]

Thanks for the post Reed. Over the weekend there were a lot of wings
that never got overhead and ending up spinning. Running hard while the
wing is behind you will usually result in that. Some of the times the
wing was close enough to overhead but the pilot was on the brakes. Some
of these launches the pilot either dropped the A's early or was turning
around forward too soon. I was having my own problems with the FR which
likes to horseshoe in light conditions so you need a quick dab of the
brakes then back on the A's, not the easiest wing to launch in light
conditions.

Steve

[Alan]

I had 5 flights on Saturday, and 7 launches - 2 of which were aborted
after one step off the ground. My wing never quite felt right those
times, whether because I stumbled or just didn't quite pull it up
aggressively enough I don't really remember. Either way, forget about
holding up the line! I ditched and dropped my wing nice and easy in
the grass. I think it was a habit I developed during the week in Costa
Rica where we'd abort launches sometimes four or five times before
getting away over the jungle.

Salal is probably worse, but I think tarantulas are more intimidating.
"Tarantulas (as the term is used in North America) comprise a group of
often hairy and very large arachnids belonging to the family
Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been
identified. Some genera of tarantulas hunt prey primarily in trees;
others hunt on or near the ground. All tarantulas can produce silk—
while arboreal species will typically reside in a silken "tube tent",
terrestrial species will line their burrows with silk to stabilize the
burrow wall and facilitate climbing up and down. Tarantulas mainly eat
insects and other arthropods, using ambush as their primary method of
prey capture. The biggest tarantulas can kill animals as large as
lizards, mice, birds and including Snakes." [Wickipedia]

Alan

On May 2, 8:57 am, skf...@effectnet.com wrote:
>    Thanks for the post Reed. Over the weekend there were a lot of wings
> that never got overhead and ending up spinning.  Running hard while the
> wing is behind you will usually result in that. Some of the times the
> wing was close enough to overhead but the pilot was on the brakes. Some
> of these launches the pilot either dropped the A's early or was turning
> around forward too soon. I was having my own problems with the FR which
> likes to horseshoe in light conditions so you need a quick dab of the
> brakes then back on the A's, not the easiest wing to launch in light
> conditions.
>
> Steve
>