Rankings, ratings, markings, grading... Why do I even care about rating? Just fly, be safe, have fun. Right? Maybe passing the test shows to your peers that you care enough about the sport? Maybe it is a way to prove to yourself that your skills advanced far enough that you can do things on demand, or under pressure? Whatever it is, I am not a rebel enough to ignore it completely.
...
I set a goal for myself to get H4 this year (advanced hang gliding rating). I thought, I would do it in the beginning of the season, but I had so much fun flying that rating-shmating didn't seem to matter at all. I got what I needed. Why care about some labels?
I dunno. As I was more and more comfortable with XC flying, and landing in some tiny obscure fields, I started thinking about passing the H4 test. Plus, Crystal was shaming me into it the way only Crystal can. I am too soft. Cannot handle peer pressure.
Anyhow, this Sunday (August 29th), I gave up. The day was gearing up a bit windy. I didn't really want to go anywhere, so H4 test seemed like a good idea. More challenging conditions even better - go big or go home.
H4 test consists of 2 parts - a spot landing test, and a written test. Spot landing always made me nervous. I never could hit a bullseye no matter how hard I tried. For this test, I had to hit the spot 3 times with average distance of 25 feet from the target (75, 0, 0 is acceptable :-) ) There was only one way to find out if I could.
The easiest way to do it was from aerotow. Eric towed me to 800' AGL so I had plenty of time to execute a proper approach. As soon as I pinned off, I felt a thermal picking me up... I made a couple of turns - yup, going up. Focus. Focus. Spot landing, not thermaling.
I left the thermal, and went to asses conditions on the ground. Wind direction, the best approach, etc. All went well, and I landed about 25 feet from a cone that Ilya set in some random place on the runway. Not too bad. Needed another 2 - the same or closer.
The second flight was even better. Thermals were trying to distract me again, but I stayed on target. Good approach... getting short again. Milked it, late of the flare, but a good landing about 10 feet from the cone! I can do it! I couldn't believe it myself, but I was getting what I needed.
Before the last flight, Eric, who was also rating me, told me not to try to land on the top of the cone, but rather show that I was in full control of the aircraft and execute my best landing, no matter the target. You got it, boss!
With the headwind I was getting, I was coming up yet short again. I could have milked it another 20 feet to be closer to the target, but if my rating official wanted me to do the best landing I could - this was what I was going to do... And I nailed a perfect no-stepper landing!
Thank you, Ilya, for filming all of this.
So this was done! Phew!
The conditions looked pretty good for a nice thermaling flight, but I opted to take a written test, just to be done with all of that rating nonsense.
In a couple of hours this was completed as well. Eric and I had a nice discussion on the questions I got wrong. Then he filled the paperwork for USHPA. I was officially an advanced hang gliding pilot! Thank you, Eric!
I am glad I went through this, and it is behind me now. Not a fan of any kind of tests and examinations, but I admit, this has some value. I want to thank every pilot I've met along the way - I learned from you, you made me a better pilot. Huge thanks to all my NE pilot friends - you gave me a lot of help and support over the years, and I wouldn't be where I am now without you
...
Now, a couple of new flying sites opened up for me. The one I really want to go to - Mt Washington. Hey, Weather Gods, can we have a nice easterly day soon?
...
I set a goal for myself to get H4 this year (advanced hang gliding rating). I thought, I would do it in the beginning of the season, but I had so much fun flying that rating-shmating didn't seem to matter at all. I got what I needed. Why care about some labels?
I dunno. As I was more and more comfortable with XC flying, and landing in some tiny obscure fields, I started thinking about passing the H4 test. Plus, Crystal was shaming me into it the way only Crystal can. I am too soft. Cannot handle peer pressure.
Anyhow, this Sunday (August 29th), I gave up. The day was gearing up a bit windy. I didn't really want to go anywhere, so H4 test seemed like a good idea. More challenging conditions even better - go big or go home.
H4 test consists of 2 parts - a spot landing test, and a written test. Spot landing always made me nervous. I never could hit a bullseye no matter how hard I tried. For this test, I had to hit the spot 3 times with average distance of 25 feet from the target (75, 0, 0 is acceptable :-) ) There was only one way to find out if I could.
The easiest way to do it was from aerotow. Eric towed me to 800' AGL so I had plenty of time to execute a proper approach. As soon as I pinned off, I felt a thermal picking me up... I made a couple of turns - yup, going up. Focus. Focus. Spot landing, not thermaling.
I left the thermal, and went to asses conditions on the ground. Wind direction, the best approach, etc. All went well, and I landed about 25 feet from a cone that Ilya set in some random place on the runway. Not too bad. Needed another 2 - the same or closer.
The second flight was even better. Thermals were trying to distract me again, but I stayed on target. Good approach... getting short again. Milked it, late of the flare, but a good landing about 10 feet from the cone! I can do it! I couldn't believe it myself, but I was getting what I needed.
Before the last flight, Eric, who was also rating me, told me not to try to land on the top of the cone, but rather show that I was in full control of the aircraft and execute my best landing, no matter the target. You got it, boss!
With the headwind I was getting, I was coming up yet short again. I could have milked it another 20 feet to be closer to the target, but if my rating official wanted me to do the best landing I could - this was what I was going to do... And I nailed a perfect no-stepper landing!
Thank you, Ilya, for filming all of this.
So this was done! Phew!
The conditions looked pretty good for a nice thermaling flight, but I opted to take a written test, just to be done with all of that rating nonsense.
In a couple of hours this was completed as well. Eric and I had a nice discussion on the questions I got wrong. Then he filled the paperwork for USHPA. I was officially an advanced hang gliding pilot! Thank you, Eric!
I am glad I went through this, and it is behind me now. Not a fan of any kind of tests and examinations, but I admit, this has some value. I want to thank every pilot I've met along the way - I learned from you, you made me a better pilot. Huge thanks to all my NE pilot friends - you gave me a lot of help and support over the years, and I wouldn't be where I am now without you
Now, a couple of new flying sites opened up for me. The one I really want to go to - Mt Washington. Hey, Weather Gods, can we have a nice easterly day soon?
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