My path to Pilot

We had a half day today at Wes/Mar. It was cold and overcast with a chance of some precipitation. On my way there I saw some light snow falling but when I pulled up Noel, Matt, and Mike were all there setting up gliders to fly. I got out the Northwing Horizon again and flew it for the second time. I do like that glider. I think it looks amazing with Red, Yellow and Blue underside and White top. It also feels great in the air. Now that I've been seriously considering buying a glider I've started thinking about how to actually make a decision. I've done some reading on a few different gliders that I figured would be in my skill range and pretty much across the board the reviews are good. I didn't really see much difference in customer reviews between the Northwing Horizion, Airborne Sting, or the Wills Wing Sport 2. And anyways I don't think reading reviews is nearly enough to make a decision. I want to see and feel and fly the glider I'm buying. So I think I...

I made a visit to California this weekend to visit relatives in the San Fransisco Bay area. After hearing so much about Fort Funston and the Hang Gliding community there in SF I decided to take a day and go flying. Specifically, I wanted to work on foot launching since I have so few hills here in Ohio. I made contact with an instructor via the USHPA website and scheduled a day of lesson on Saturday at Ed Levin Park. The Park is great because it's got large wide open lawns and a mountainside with established launches at a bunch of different altitudes. So it's perfect for practicing skills. I think it is often soarable but the forecast for Saturday was very light winds and slightly overcast. I met John Simpson at the park in the morning and we set up and got started working on foot launches from 50 feet. From this launch I practiced executing a strong run downhill in light conditions. John expected the wind to change from south-south-west to more northerly and sure enough it ...

This Saturday was another relatively warm and sunny day with a gentle breeze to tow in. When I got to the training field John asked what glider I wanted to fly. I haven't had a choice before, I've always just flown the Falcon. Here's what I know about gliders: The Falcon 170 that I am used to flying is a single surface low performance glider that is designed to be exceptionally easy to turn and land. As you increase the performance of the glider, for example by adding a second surface (to the underside of the wing and enclosing the sail frame) you often have to sacrifice in other areas, such as responsiveness in handling or landing characteristics. I often hear people talk about the "flare window" getting smaller for high performance gliders. The flare window is that ideal moment to flare in order to come to a complete stop for a no-step landing. So when John started talking about trying a different glider, I was concerned that a higher performing glider would giv...