Why the cool kids do it....

On Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 11:58:25 PM UTC-6, Paul Villinski wrote:
Paragliding is the only soaring sport that's actually growing, and this pretty much explains it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxkXNC31Z4
Or, any other vid by Jean-Baptiste Chandelier.

Hmm, looks like "a skateboarder takes up paragliding". Lots of slides, stepping on high objects, buzzing old folks...real mature stuff.

Not my idea of flying fun (tough to do loops and rolls, for starters), but whatever....

I doubt if this is the crowd we want in gliders! Think of all low passes that would result!

Kirk

On Friday, March 6, 2015 at 3:06:50 PM UTC-5, kirk.stant wrote:
On Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 11:58:25 PM UTC-6, Paul Villinski wrote:
Paragliding is the only soaring sport that's actually growing, and this pretty much explains it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxkXNC31Z4
Or, any other vid by Jean-Baptiste Chandelier.

Hmm, looks like "a skateboarder takes up paragliding". Lots of slides, stepping on high objects, buzzing old folks...real mature stuff.

Not my idea of flying fun (tough to do loops and rolls, for starters), but whatever....

I doubt if this is the crowd we want in gliders! Think of all low passes that would result!

Kirk

Yeah the highspeed bulbs attracted by all the fun the pilots were having in 'A Fine Week of Soaring' is what soaring needs/sarcasm
PS loops and rolls are both possible

On Friday, March 6, 2015 at 2:54:36 PM UTC-6, GB wrote:

Yeah the highspeed bulbs attracted by all the fun the pilots were having in 'A Fine Week of Soaring' is what soaring needs/sarcasm
PS loops and rolls are both possible

Really? I'd like to see that! I bet point rolls and cuban 8s are tough, though ;^)

Just sayin, what I saw in that vid looked like it was really geared for the skateboard crowd - and that's OK, got to start then young.

Me, I'm more into the "UK Smokin" style of flying....

Kirk
66

So, I found the loops:

https://vimeo.com/79345814

The helicopter starts look interesting. The loops look INTERESTING. That wing sure does some odd things at times!

Rolls? not so far. I've seen guys with the motorized PGs do the steep turn with a wingtip on the ground thing, and my impression was that it was an accident waiting to happen...but people say the same thing about low passes so as long as no-one gets hurt...

And I guess a high speed pass is out of the question (although worm-burner low speed passes seem common).

Cheers!

Kirk
66

On Friday, March 6, 2015 at 5:53:35 PM UTC-5, kirk.stant wrote:
So, I found the loops:

https://vimeo.com/79345814

The helicopter starts look interesting. The loops look INTERESTING. That wing sure does some odd things at times!

Rolls? not so far. I've seen guys with the motorized PGs do the steep turn with a wingtip on the ground thing, and my impression was that it was an accident waiting to happen...but people say the same thing about low passes so as long as no-one gets hurt...

And I guess a high speed pass is out of the question (although worm-burner low speed passes seem common).

Cheers!

Kirk
66

Roll https://vimeo.com/119970283
Lots o looping https://vimeo.com/ozone/infinite
Eight point rolls probably aren't possible, but who knows with kids these days...

On Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 9:06:50 AM UTC+13, kirk.stant wrote:
On Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 11:58:25 PM UTC-6, Paul Villinski wrote:
Paragliding is the only soaring sport that's actually growing, and this pretty much explains it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxkXNC31Z4
Or, any other vid by Jean-Baptiste Chandelier.

Hmm, looks like "a skateboarder takes up paragliding". Lots of slides, stepping on high objects, buzzing old folks...real mature stuff.

Not my idea of flying fun (tough to do loops and rolls, for starters), but whatever....

The "Speed Gliding" proximity folks are regularly using rolls to give them a second or so (per roll) of effectively 0 G trajectory to follow terrain dropoffs down. I think some of them are even pausing inverted to get more downward acceleration, in the same way that jet fighter pilots do, while maintaining positive G to the pilot and canopy.

https://vimeo.com/108395176

On Friday, March 6, 2015 at 8:24:06 PM UTC-6, Bruce Hoult wrote:

The "Speed Gliding" proximity folks are regularly using rolls to give them a second or so (per roll) of effectively 0 G trajectory to follow terrain dropoffs down. I think some of them are even pausing inverted to get more downward acceleration, in the same way that jet fighter pilots do, while maintaining positive G to the pilot and canopy.

https://vimeo.com/108395176

Wow - I'm officially impressed! I didn't even really know there was a "speed gliding" category of paragliding (although it was on Top Gear a few years ago" - I assume they are not suitable for soaring?

Anyway - I stand corrected on the loops and rolls, and learned something.

BTW, jet fighters are accelerated by unloading to the angle of attack and g-load that produces the least drag - which isn't always zero g; in the F-15 it actually varies from "light in the seat" to several +G at high speed, due to the big, cambered wing. In the F-4 we just unloaded until it got dusty in cockpit and went for it!

Cheers,

Kirk

On Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 12:22:04 PM UTC-5, kirk.stant wrote:
On Friday, March 6, 2015 at 8:24:06 PM UTC-6, Bruce Hoult wrote:

The "Speed Gliding" proximity folks are regularly using rolls to give them a second or so (per roll) of effectively 0 G trajectory to follow terrain dropoffs down. I think some of them are even pausing inverted to get more downward acceleration, in the same way that jet fighter pilots do, while maintaining positive G to the pilot and canopy.

https://vimeo.com/108395176

Wow - I'm officially impressed! I didn't even really know there was a "speed gliding" category of paragliding (although it was on Top Gear a few years ago" - I assume they are not suitable for soaring?

Anyway - I stand corrected on the loops and rolls, and learned something.

BTW, jet fighters are accelerated by unloading to the angle of attack and g-load that produces the least drag - which isn't always zero g; in the F-15 it actually varies from "light in the seat" to several +G at high speed, due to the big, cambered wing. In the F-4 we just unloaded until it got dusty in cockpit and went for it!

Cheers,

Kirk

Speedwings will soar. Not really in thermal conditions but ridge, usually beach dunes, in strong winds. The definition of speedwing is broad and rapidly evolving. There are very small ones that wouldn't soar in a tornado up to ones that are slightly scaled down paragliders and will soar in everything except really light conditions. Example of something in the middle https://vimeo.com/38541740

Very impressive video! Well done! We need more high production value content like this in our category of the sport for sure......

It's not just video production values. Shot from the groundhog's point of view, paragliding close to the ground is much more photogenic than soaring.

When my glider is close to the ground, I try to keep is as dull as possible.