Pine Mtn Flight report

[Cloudsurf Paragliding]

On Saturday Johnny Van Duzer and I flew Pine Mountain.

I had checked the forecast and it looked good but not great. Johnny's call on Friday evening convinced me to make the trip down just to see what would happen.

Two images below are of the MM5 forecast at 2pm and 5pm. The first one shows good wind speed and direction at the ground for being able to start off at an early hour. Both Johnny and I were hoping to get to the summit hang launch early(ish) to avoid strong winds as the day developed. It also shows good lift to about 670mb (3,460m/11,400') which is decent but not the upper limit potential for Pine. The upper level winds were not strong which bode well for smooth climbs (we hoped) and the changes in wind direction meant that hanging out at different altitudes could help/hinder the XC flying. The moisture shown on the forecast seemed about right for maybe forming some Cu's to mark the climbs. 

The second picture of the 5pm MM5 didn't look quite as good, with higher winds at the surface and good lift to only about 700mb (3,100m/10,200') and increased moisture availability. 

We met at the Y at around 10:15am, took my Suby to the summit and I took a few extra minutes to stretch my B lines in the hope that should any large event happen my wing might want to restart in a timely fashion (I believe this is called foreshadowing in literature.) There were medium strength cycles rolling through the summit with regularity and I lauched around 11:15. 

The first half of the flight was straightforward, although climbs weren't very high and both Johnny and I agreed later that the air was not super relaxing. We were doing pretty well and making slow progress to the East whilst sticking together for the most part. Johnny out-climbed the bejesus out of me near the Brothers and I ended up going on a death glide low and a bit deeper into the terrain. I got absolutely drilled in what I imagine was the lee of a large thermal because it was marked by a nicely formed Cu just overhead/upwind of me. 

As got low it just felt like I was being blown down into the ground my wing persisted in a state of uncivility while I just continued to sink. It was one of those 'weird air' times when the wing just doesn't seem to be flying and pressurized like it normally should be. The air was so unsettled that I had a hard time staying on bar to try and escape the bad patch I was in. I was flying at about 600'AGL with little or no bar and at nearly trim with brakes when suddenly the wing completely frontaled and disappeared behind me. As I looked back to view it I saw that it was in horseshoe shape. I don't remember having any reaction at all as it collapsed because it was so sudden. When I saw the wing behind me and snaking about I went hands up and hoped for a quick restart as I knew my ground clearance wasn't super high. The wing made a violent snapping sound as it re-pressurized and flew forward asymmetrically. I'm not sure what I did as far as reactions up to this point, I'm thinking it was mostly hands up still - I was just waiting for a recognizable configuration at this point. As the wing flew forward and well below me while at about a 45 degree angle to the horizon I definitely had pulled a bunch of brakes but the energy of the wing and probably my delayed reaction (didn't know I was about to throw a tumble into the mix..) meant it was mostly man handling me at this point. As the lines went a bit slack the risers twisted a full twist and at this point I turned my attention to getting the reserve out. I distinctly remember grinning a huge grin as I grabbed my red reserve handle and thought about my conversation with Matt Wear a few days earlier. I had told him how jealous I was that he got to throw his reserve and I couldn't wait until I had the chance - this was my very next flight after that conversation. I chuckled at the irony of how soon I was now hungrily eating my words. 

Suddenly I felt a shock load on the lines and I paused just long enough to realize that my wing was now flying and inflated - albeit with a full twist still. I had both hands out of the brakes and I was listening to the separation of velcro in my right hand as I pulled on the handle. What the heck, I'll give it a quick try... I reached up and pushed on my lines above the twist and I easily untwisted. 

I grabbed the brakes and quickly radioed Johnny to ask if he has seen my shitshow and he replied he had. I told him it would be a miracle to climb out now but I was going to try. I was still sinking at this point and I didn't know how much of a miracle it was going to be. Take a Google Earth look at the track log around Brothers to see how low I got. Not only was I kicked out of the pod but I was leaning forward and putting my chest over my cockpit and eyeing the bush I was going to spot land when I felt a bump of lift. I honestly think I climbed out from 50' AGL but who knows from the adrenaline maybe it seemed lower than it was. As I frisbee'd back past the small hill I hung on to the lift for all it was worth and eventually connected with a proper thermal. I noticed Johnny coming over to join me and it really felt good to have a friend nearby after just experiencing 2 of the most intense events I've ever had on a paraglider. 

From that low point to my high point of 14,700' (almost 10,000' higher) a couple hours later things got easier. I reconnected with my wing (after she let me down like that) and now we're nearly completely good again. Also during this flight I experienced intense frozen hands and painful rewarming, some minor hypoxia which Johnny coached me through with an over-the-radio impromptu breathing class not unlike Lamaz, and another low(ish) save near highway 395 which wasn't very low but my flight instrument was showing 30+kph wind speed and I was really not looking forward to having to land in such high winds. 

I made the cursory call to Nick Blizzard to get the wind speed conditions further down my course line and of course to check for any possible airspace infringements. He mentioned that the thunderstorms I could see were on the Idaho border and they looked almost within reach. I would have kept going if I could have but unfortunately I got into Burns low and being blown downwind with a ground speed of 80-90 kph just meant there were not a lot of un-torn thermals left to grab. 

I caught a small bubble just before town which enabled me to glide over to the golf course and I luckily landed in between cycles in only moderately strong winds. 

Several golfers took short detours on their golf carts to see what I was all about. I felt like an alien visitor who just landed and was now encountering strange, drunken terrestrial beings talking a foreign language.

Quote of the day was from golf cart driver #3: "Dang, whatcha got there? Hot air balloon?" and as he caught himself identifying the wrong craft he quickly corrected himself: "Or a tent?" 

"Yeah, it's basically a suped-up tent, I replied." which is a phrase I actually often jokingly use to describe what I fly around through the air. 

Fun day and a PR for me. Super thanks to Johnny for the support and the retrieve. We were enjoying margaritas in town by 8:30pm. 

http://paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/636215

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Let's go flying!

Matt

Cloudsurf Paragliding

cloudsurfparagliding.com

ma...@cloudsurfparagliding.com

503 877 4448 (w.)

206 679 1963 (c.)

[Mark Sanzone]

Wow what a flight!  Looks like you almost hit 14K ft so no wonder you were a bit hypoxic.  Your peak speed was over 90kph, good thing you were not landing then.

Congrat's, Mark

[Dan Wells]

Congratulations on another great flight.

 

Another reminder that the wings we fly are not 100 percent safe and are subject to deflations, crevats and other bad things.  Glad you were able to recover without throwing.

 

I’m really impressed with your composure to keep flying after your “event”

 

I guess next flight you will be wearing warmer gloves…

 

Dan

Dan Wells

503 804-1077

danb...@comcast.net

 

From: cp...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cp...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Cloudsurf Paragliding
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2012 7:55 PM
To: Cascade Paragliding Club
Subject: CPC: Pine Mtn Flight report

 

On Saturday Johnny Van Duzer and I flew Pine Mountain.