Clipped-Wing Syndrome (It's kind of long.)
Shane Partain
My first experience with flying was in an old army parachute being
pulled behind a car. It was 1976 (I was only 5) and their was some
kind of mad craze sweeping the country. My father and a group of
his friends were also bitten by the bug. They would go out to an
open field every weekend and "fly" the only way they could.
It sounds a little crazy now. But, the whole ultralight thing was
born from the same kind of insanity. The first hang gliders were
just bamboo and plastic sheeting and the first ultralights were
motorized hang gliders.
Every weekend I would go with them and watch. These lunatics would
strap themselves in and run like hell! This was merely a parachute,
not a parasail, and it didn't produce much lift. So, after being
airborn for a few hundred yards, the car would stop and the person
in the chute would drop like a brick.
There were other kids that came along. They were usually playing
while their parents were getting their fix. But, I spent every minute
begging them to let me try. They finally said yes! Nowadays, they
would have all been locked up for child abuse. But, I really *did*
understand the risk. I used to hear them talking about what would
happen if the chute collapsed. But, I didn't care.
They had to wrap the harness around me twice because I was so small.
And, someone had to help me run because my little legs just couldn't
carry me that fast. The memory is still crystal-clear. The sound of
the wind blowing through the chute, the rush, the feeling of falling
out of the sky, and the flash of light when I hit the ground. I still
have a small scar where a buckle from the cinched harness busted a hole
in my chin.
They wouldn't let me do it again. They finally got a real parasail. And
even after seeing my 100 lb. mother slapped around like a rag doll in gusty
winds, I continued to lust over the idea of flight. I watched hang gliders
evolve into ultralights and dreamed of actually flying one.
Even after getting a private ticket in a C-152, I never matched that feeling
I got from that short hop. Now, it's been years since I've flown. I've
spent the last year and a half learning the ins and outs of computers, and
the search for an active project I can learn from has brought me here.
Reading these newsgroups and scanning charts has started to give me that
awful feeling of being an eagle with clipped wings. Most people don't
understand. Some will actually get mad if you talk about flying (I don't
know why). So, I figured if anyone could understand my affliction it would
be you guys.
Could someone tell me where in southwest Florida (I live in Bradenton) I
could get help. Could someone take me flying? Hang gliding? Parasailing?
Skydiving? Oh well, it never hurts to ask.
Thanks for reading,
Shane
P.S. Sorry for such a long post. But, I feel that I may have started out on
the wrong foot in this group. I wanted you to know that my heart's in the
right place.
suferman
here,
(I only started hang gliding in 1989, ) but I bought a broken Mitchell B10 from
1976,
and reading the technical bulletins and newsletters that came with it just
brought the
smell of the early crazy days to me.
I now look differently at the badly broken wing and
hope to have it airborne again by the end of the year. Ultralight (and even more
open
cockpit Ultralight flying) is something I won't stop so soon, since it takes the
fatigue of
the hang glider away.
Here in France, I know a farmer who is in his 70's and still flying.
It's only when he has to walk that he needs his stick. Seen from this angle, I
still have time at 38, huh?
Johan
luc...@metrowerks.com
Shane Partain <map...@pair.com> wrote:
Even though I've been completely obsessed with the notion of flight
ever since I can remember being alive, I didn't actually get around to
actual it until about a year ago. My first flight that I remember was a
ride in a Zenith CH2000 general aviation trainer right before I began
GA flight training in earnest.
The most thrilling flight experiences I ever had and the ones I still
remember, though, were my first GA solo and my first flight with my BFI
in his old Sprint II.
Now, I have about 70 hours behind me in my MX Super (now being rebuilt
into Captain America IV) and about 70 hours in general aviation and I
still remember those two flights.
I still fly GA and find it very rewarding. And for recreational flying,
my Super is the closest thing I've found to the ideal.
Lucien S.
PP-ASEL.
Captain America IV Now In Progress.
--
Lucien S.
PP-ASEL.
Captain America IV Now In Progress.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.