What's that bouncy thing over there?

After my first tandem flight I was at Tanner-Hiller every weekend, often coming for a Friday evening lessons as well. Learning to fly from aerotow one needs smooth conditions and weather might not cooperate, so I took every chance I could get.

It was a fun month and half. I logged 15 tandem flights and 5+ hours of air time, and was making pretty good progress. A couple of times Rhett towed us a mile high and I had some time to relax and enjoy the view. It started to sink in how different and wonderful experience of flying was. While you are up there, it is something else.

I also had a chance to work on my patience. A big aspect of hang gliding is hang-waiting. We depend on weather and weather doesn't always do what you want it to do. You cannot be mad at the weather... all you can do is wait. Sounds boring, but in reality is a welcomed change in pace from my normal life. A community of people around this sport makes it fun even when there is no flying.

Here is what my month looked like (I had plenty of time to practice my photography):

Tandem flight in calm air just before sunset.

Sunset landing. Nature is always ready to provide some incredible views.

Takeoff before sunset. Perfect conditions for learning.

Louie trains his dog.

Tandem takeoff

Local police gets curious about hang gliding as well.

After the rain. Dana Harris and Scott Burke discussing nuances of hang gliding.

Rhett landing after a tow.

Louie jumps on a pogo stick. Gotta do something between those lessons.

Everyone  is watching Louie's show.

Evening of flying

"Red Wolf"

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Of course, very soon I discovered a very uncomfortable feeling of not being sure if I could make it back to the airport. No engine - almost no room for mistakes. I looked at other pilots that would fly cross-country or even flying far away and making it back as sky gods. It was incredible to me that people could do it in unpowered aircraft. To get to that level required more than just a physical skill of controlling a glider. It required understanding the sky, weather patterns, and much better observational skills. A lot of things to work on...

Anyway, at the end of June, Rhett and Louie declared that I was ready for a solo flight. We waited for winds to die down. Dan (another pilot) let me borrow a harness and I got into a Wills Wing Falcon 170 that Rhett had for rent.

As soon as tug started to pull, my mind started to throw fault codes and alarms "what the hell are you doing here and why?". But it was too late to stop. The launch proceeded to be very jittery at first because I transitioned from a big and heavy tandem glider. I was over controlling little Falcon.It didn't help that there was some patches of rough air up to 1000 feet. Eventually, I got it all under control and relaxed. The rest of the tow went ok all the way to 4K. All that practice was paying off.

After I released from the tug and played with controlling the glider a bit, another panic attack started to creep in - NO Louie next to me. I am responsible for landing this thing. No time to dwell on that as it was time to start my final approach. Very soon I realized that I started my approach with too much altitude and I might overshoot end of the runway (there was no way I could actually, but with my limited experience I didn't know that). Anyway, I got really nervous and pulled all the way. Falcon happily responded with speedy dive. It took me awhile to register that I had too much speed too close to the ground. I started to round out too late and bounced off the ground. Since I was landing on wheels, I was still prone so wheels and harness took most of the impact. Glider bounced up another 10 feet or so and I helped it by pushing out even more. Glider stalled, recovered, and we bounced again... then landed normally.

Everyone who was watching, was sure that something got either bent, or broken. Either on me, the glider, or both. Nothing was except for some scuffs on the harness (sorry Dan). I was lucky to be in one piece, but I had invaluable experience attached to that luck. I was eager for another try.

Rhett let me go for another flight, and this time it was perfect. I landed the way they taught me, with no drama. Now I needed to get me a glider and a harness. And I was yet to learn how to land on my feet or foot launch from a hill. I was not about to quit after all that effort. I was planning to fly for a bit longer!

Happy hang glider pilot after his first 2 solo flights. (photo courtesy of Marilyn)