Sunday, 9/28/2014 [Weather] and [Flight Articles] by [Ron Faoro] [timobarker] [BobA] [Sundowner] [Photos] [3D Google KMZ]

Ron Faoro (The Spin Doctor)
Sunday, 9/28/2014

Article copied from: http://scpa.info/bb/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3073#p9119
Posted by Faoro_Ron » Sun Sep 28, 2014 5:03 pm

Sunday Sirens

Article

Although the day didn't end up well for me, I'm glad Sundowner called me this AM and rallied the troops for a good day of paragliding.  He is in Piru looking for a ride and I am nursing my pride in front of the computer screen after four beers at Derf's with Dave Bader, Bart, Bob Hurlbett, Benson and his brother, Duncan, to take away the bitter taste of a bad outcome at Skyport.

Actually, it was a great outcome, all things considered.  It just seemed bad when the four emergency vehicles and the helicopter were summoned to launch after I settled in the bushes 250 feet below takeoff.  I had the wing in the bag after 30 minutes, but I heard the first siren 15 minutes after landing - then the second, then the third - as I watched the fire trucks climb slowly to Skyport up Gibraltar.  Damn, I hate it when this happens.

So, here is what transpired.  I have not flown in four months, and very few times all year, so I was very careful to set up properly and get a good launch.  I got off well enough on the second pull-up.  The house thermal was working well and I immediately climbed above launch.  Even though I had adequate altitude, I chose not to complete a 360 and did an S-turn back toward Eliminator.  I sunk out, but I knew the house thermal would be there for me on return.  I turned away from the terrain east of launch and a big surge made me bury the brakes somewhat.  Autopilot dictates coming off the brakes slowly and letting the glider fly as I tried to penetrate deeper into the thermal that I had entered on the edge.  Suddenly, I realized the brakes were mushy and the glider was not flying.  The wing fell behind me and snapped as I lost altitude.  I expected it to fly again and I assumed I was hands up, but Dave Bader said it looked like I still had a lot of brake input when he looked at the wing after the snap.  I was now drifting backward in parachutage and the wing never flew again.  I couldn't see where I was going and I sensed I was falling all too quickly toward a significant injury, a good story or both.  Since there was nothing I could do, I simply thought about the Punji stake-like, fire-hardened manzanita and the giant boulders below me.  Then I landed.

The harness had been rocking mildly while falling, but when I landed it was soft as a feather.  Thank you once again, deities, for preserving my future for more meaningful endeavors.  As I said, it wasn't long before the sirens were audible.  Having regrettably been in this situation a few times before, I knew they were for me and I wished I could call them off.  However, I almost made it back to Skyport before they descended the rotten terrain below launch to help me and they were the nicest guys imaginable.  I feebly tried to explain that not all pilots are this inept.

But here is the strange thing:  That is the third time my wing has gone into parachutage inexplicably in the last five flights!  All this follows my aborted launch about nine months ago (Manzanita again) where I broke three lines.  That was definitely pilot error since I stepped off with half my wing un-inflated, thinking it would snap open once airborne.  We fixed the three lines, but my suspicion is that something wasn't connected correctly.  At least that's my story and I am sticking to it.  We will send the wing in for analysis (admittedly, it was sent in after the first parachutage where I (happily?) landed next to a dozen naked coeds at More Mesa) and got the wing wet on one tip and had to hose it down to remove some sand.  But did they do a complete line check?  If the wing checks out fine, you will never hear me mention it again and I will be flying a new DHV-1 next time you see me.  If not, I will prominently display the results on this website.  The wing had never done that before in the one or two years I have been flying it.

Tom Truax just called.  He hitched a ride to Fillmore to make the bus and his wife Pam is picking him up in Ventura.  Dave Bader and Bart bought me lots of beers ($54 tab for pitchers); everyone else had a good flight and Sundowner is on his way home after another epic flight, so all is right with the world.

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